![]() For example, a four-star hotel may charge you a ridiculous hourly fee for Wi-Fi access, while a two-star hotel may offer the same service for free. Important note: Some of these extra services may not be free. These may include room service, office center, meeting rooms, fitness room, laundry service, restaurant and concierge services. The hotel will have an elevator, probably Wi-Fi, and certainly 24-hour reception.įour-star hotel: All of the above, plus many extras. Three-star hotel: Rooms will almost certainly have cable TV, minibar, safe, iron, air conditioning and private bath (with hair dryer). The reception will probably be open 24-hours. The hotel may have an elevator and may offer Wi-Fi or some sort of Internet access. Rooms may have air conditioning or at least a fan. Two-star hotel: Rooms probably have a TV (maybe with cable), and probably have private baths. (Note: Some family-run one-stars have antique furnishings and large rooms - so take these as generalizations!) The reception may be closed during certain hours, and may even be in another building. The hotel probably doesn’t have an elevator. The rooms probably do not have air conditioning or TV, and may or may not have private bath. One-star hotel: Most likely offers smallish rooms with simple furnishings. Here are some guidelines that I would generally follow regarding hotels in Europe: Just please don’t assume that more stars necessarily offers a “better” hotel experience, as they won’t tell you anything about the criteria that I find absolutely essential to choosing a hotel for my own travels. ![]() The more stars, often (but certainly not always), the larger the room, as well. The more stars, the more amenities and services. I would recommend using the star ratings to assume certain things about your room. Star ratings should be used to make assumptions. So how are you supposed to make any sense out of the ratings? I’d recommend just making some assumptions… 6. A three-star hotel in Spain does not have the same criteria as a three-star hotel in Italy. To make it all a tad more confusing, rating standards change by country. (Well, maybe not the cosmetic mirror - but those things just get in the way anyhow, and seldom flatter.) You wind up paying more for a largely unchanged experience. First off, you may not need any of those “extras.” Secondly, in many cases, the property had previously offered all of these things to anyone who asked at the reception. This is fine and all, but often the hotel experience hasn’t actually improved. And of course, they sport new rates to match. How? Many times they’ve simply gone on a shopping spree, throwing a hairdryer and cosmetic mirror into the bathroom, a mini-safe and iron into the closet. ![]() While in Europe reviewing hotels for EuroCheapo, I’ve often visited a property already on the site only to find that they’ve “gained a star.” Perhaps it’s a two-star hotel that’s suddenly become a three-star. Thus, it should be no surprise that some hotels look for a speedy way to inflate their star rating. For one thing, it often permits them to charge more for their rooms. ![]() Many hotels would like to increase their star rating. This might make adding an elevator impossible, which would the prevent the hotel from achieving three-star status, no matter how lovely the rooms are or cordial the management. A two-star hotel located in a historic neighborhood in Paris, for example, will certainly have restrictions placed upon its ability to do renovations. We’ve visited many hotels that are stuck, for reasons outside their control, with a low star rating. A four-star hotel may be far less charming than a two-star hotel. But it doesn’t say anything about the room decor, the hotel’s location or the helpfulness of the staff. You can be certain that a four-star hotel offers elevators, room service, private baths, cable TV, Internet, air conditioning and so forth. More stars do not always make a better hotel. The hotel’s star rating doesn’t tell you how the inspector feels about the hotel. The tourism officials who inspect and rate the hotels are not making judgment calls here - it’s a straight-forward process of checks and tallies. Hotel star ratings are not like other ratings.Ī restaurant given a three-star rating is usually considered “better” than a restaurant that has received only a one-star rating. The Castex Hotel in Paris has private baths, elevator, extra comforts-and three stars.
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