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And traveling with a kid, a pool. Even when we are on vacation sightseeing, I put time in the schedule for some pool time play, it's a big part of our vacations.
I vote cleanliness too. Everything else is secondary. If we get past cleanliness, a club and indoor pool would be next.
For me it’s bathrooms. I want large marble bathrooms with separate shower and soaking tub. I actually hunt for the hotel with the best bathrooms whenever I am looking to book a hotel in a city I’m visiting.
Do bathrooms matter to you? If not what does?
What matters most? Room service that will bring anything off the menu from the restaurant downstairs.
What? Your hotel doesn't have its own restaurant?
Why, you ask? Not only because I'll use it for my dinner on the evening I arrive, I'll also use it for breakfast each morning, to save on time.
Further, you can bet that the hotel will have granite/marble, have rave reviews, and an amazing shower. I always double check that these things are present, but in general, they will be present in most cases.
I travel for long weekends of 3 and 4 days, not weeks at a time. Lets me do more and stay in nicer hotels.
There are a couple different scenarios based upon the type of travel.
If I am on road trip the hotel is budget and clean with good reviews.
If I am on travel leisure sightseeing like my trips to foreign countries, I want proximity to public transit in a relatively safe area with a hopefully quiet room. Sometimes its just not possible I recall one of my trips I stayed in La Spezia, Italy as my launching spot to tour Cinque Terra and the room was tiny cramped and near the train station so I never got a good sleep the nights I was there.
Basically, I travel to see and experience things in an area and the 'home base' - hotel only needs to have a few requirements some of which are difficult to know unless there are enough recent reviews of fellow travelers experiences.
1) Mid to lower price (will pay premium for proximity based on where I am (last time in Vienna and Budapest I spent more to stay near certain areas. Cleanliness is expected but not always to my taste. I once had a terrible Boston Marriott experience in my road warrior days where the room was obviouls y not cleaned and immediately went back to front desk. On euro travels the place I stayed in Venice, Italy was while a great convenient inexpensive (for Venice) location left a lot to be desired.
2) Convenience to transit options (when not a road trip or having a rental car i.e. foreign travel)
3) Complimentary breakfast or dinners
4) My own bathroom - not in issue in USA travel but need to check in some foreign countries
5) Reasonably quiet area relative to the city in question I am visiting.
Basically, on most travel vacations I am not staying in the hotel a lot, so posh hotel amenities are not high on my list.
However, when I have a leisure vacation in one location for sun and relaxing, I select the apartment like hotels (Residence Inn, Comfort Suites, et al) because I will spend a little more time in unit, cooking a few dinners for myself and perhaps just hanging out after doing something during the day.
Last edited by ciceropolo; 10-31-2018 at 05:53 PM..
Reason: addtnl
What matters most? Room service that will bring anything off the menu from the restaurant downstairs.
What? Your hotel doesn't have its own restaurant?
Why, you ask? Not only because I'll use it for my dinner on the evening I arrive, I'll also use it for breakfast each morning, to save on time.
To each their own but I consider it part of visiting somewhere and something I get excited about, heading out that morning to find what is available nearby for coffee and breakfast. Sometimes it's a nice cafe with a view of the street to go with a coffee and pastry, sometimes it's a tiny restaurant with breakfast combos of eggs and fruit, sometimes it's stool in a loud local market eating fish porridge, but it's all part of what makes travel fun and I sure don't want to save time by skipping it.
Same with dinner, I get the advantage if you arrive late that first night but after that no way am I looking to eat dinner at my hotel especially in the room. There is food to be found, and I've usually got a giant list of local dishes that I want to check off before I leave the country that are much better tried in some local place than in a hotel restaurant with a bunch of tourists and a menu that must meet their tastes.
To each their own but I consider it part of visiting somewhere and something I get excited about, heading out that morning to find what is available nearby for coffee and breakfast. Sometimes it's a nice cafe with a view of the street to go with a coffee and pastry, sometimes it's a tiny restaurant with breakfast combos of eggs and fruit, sometimes it's stool in a loud local market eating fish porridge, but it's all part of what makes travel fun and I sure don't want to save time by skipping it.
Same with dinner, I get the advantage if you arrive late that first night but after that no way am I looking to eat dinner at my hotel especially in the room. There is food to be found, and I've usually got a giant list of local dishes that I want to check off before I leave the country that are much better tried in some local place than in a hotel restaurant with a bunch of tourists and a menu that must meet their tastes.
I understand that - still not a bad plan, either.
In the Southeast, breakfast is a big thing, especially Southern style home cooking. Breakfast joints are NOTORIOUS for not accepting any kind of calls-ahead or reservations.
I don't do well with waiting 45 to 60 minutes just to place my order. My "thing" is that when I order breakfast in, I then hit up a restaurant for my evening meal at 3:30-4:00pm. (I only eat twice a day.) Walk right in and be seated.
Many posts ago, I expressed how I get frustrated with a paced-out service "designed" to be exactly 2 hours, or however long. I prefer to be in-and-out.
Quiet is important. I like the older concrete block hotels that are block even between rooms. Usually I am just passing through but if the stay is longer than just the night I want a tranquil outdoor space to hang out. Air bnb is great for this.
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Everything else is secondary. If we get past cleanliness, a club and indoor pool would be next.
