What Should I Check Before Booking a Hotel?

A hotel can look perfect online and still be completely wrong for your trip.

I've learnt that over the years. I've stayed in beautiful hotels that looked fantastic in photographs but didn't quite work for the trip I was taking. And I've stayed in places that didn't necessarily have the most impressive website, but that I still remember years later.

Sometimes it was the location. Sometimes it was the atmosphere. Sometimes it was something as simple as having a comfortable room after a long day of sightseeing.

That's why, when I research a hotel, I try not to make a decision based on photographs, star ratings or price alone. I want to understand what staying there will actually be like — and, more importantly, whether it makes sense for that particular trip.

Here are some of the things I consider.

Start with the location, not the hotel

One of the first things I check is where the hotel actually sits within the itinerary.

A hotel description might say "perfectly located in the heart of the city", but that doesn't tell you very much.

What does the area feel like? Can you walk to restaurants in the evening? Is there public transport nearby? How long will it take to get to the places you actually want to visit?

I've compared hotels that looked almost identical on a map and ended up preferring the one that was technically further from the main sights.

Why?

Because it was in a neighbourhood where I would actually enjoy spending time. There were restaurants, cafés and places to wander in the evening, rather than simply being close to a landmark.

If you're visiting a city for three days and plan to spend most of your time sightseeing, I might prioritise convenience and transport.

If you're staying for a week, I may care much more about the neighbourhood itself.

The address is only the beginning. I want to know what it means for the way you're going to travel.

There is another practical detail I consider when looking at a hotel's location: how easy it will be to get there. A hotel can be perfectly placed for sightseeing but less convenient if the journey from the airport or station is complicated. Welcome Pickups is one option for arranging a private transfer in advance, which can make the arrival part of the trip a little easier.

Don't just look at the hotel rating

I rarely make a decision based on a hotel's overall rating alone.

Instead, I read the reviews looking for patterns.

If one guest complains about noise, I probably won't worry too much. If I see the same complaint repeatedly in recent reviews, that's different.

The same applies to the positive comments.

If guests consistently mention helpful staff, a great breakfast or a particularly good location, I take notice.

I also pay attention to how recent the reviews are.

A hotel isn't necessarily the same hotel it was three years ago. There may have been a renovation, a change of management or changes to the service.

I've seen hotels improve dramatically after a renovation, and I've also seen properties that no longer quite live up to their previous reputation.

Sometimes reviews won't make me remove a hotel from the list. They'll simply make me choose a particular room or ask for one away from the street, lift or bar.

Those small details can make a surprisingly big difference.

Look carefully at the room you're actually booking

This is one of the easiest things to overlook.

Hotel websites are very good at showing you the most beautiful version of a property. What matters, though, is the room you are actually going to sleep in.

I check the room category carefully.

How big is it? Where is it located? Does it have natural light? Is the bathroom practical? Is the balcony actually included in that room category, or is it only shown in the hotel's general photography?

And I think about how long I'm going to stay.

For two nights in a city, a small room might be absolutely fine. You're probably going to leave in the morning and come back in the evening.

For a ten-day stay, I might feel very differently.

After a few days, having somewhere to put your suitcase, a comfortable chair, enough storage and a decent bathroom becomes much more important.

These aren't necessarily the things that make a hotel look exciting on Instagram, but they're often the things you remember when you've been staying somewhere for a week.

Look at the real price

I always check what is included in the rate and what isn't.

Breakfast, parking, local taxes, resort or destination fees and other extras can change the final price quite quickly.

Cancellation terms are important too.

For a straightforward weekend where everything is already confirmed, I might be perfectly happy with a non-refundable rate.

For a more complicated trip, especially one involving several hotels or flights, I'd often rather pay a little more for flexibility.

Saving €50 on a room doesn't feel like much if you later lose the whole booking because your plans change.

I also compare hotels on what you're actually getting, rather than simply comparing the nightly rate.

A €200 room with breakfast, a great location and flexible cancellation can sometimes make much more sense than a €160 room where you have to add breakfast, parking and other extras.

The little things can matter more than you think

One of the things experience teaches you is that the details you notice when researching a hotel aren't always the ones that appear in the hotel's marketing.

• Is there somewhere pleasant to sit?
• Is the bathroom well designed?
• Will you have to carry your suitcase up a flight of stairs?
• Is the hotel likely to be noisy at night?
• Can you have breakfast at the hotel, or will you need to find somewhere else every morning?

None of these questions sounds particularly exciting.

But put them together and they can completely change how comfortable a stay feels.

And this is where I think good hotel research becomes less about finding the "best hotel" and more about finding the right one.

The hotel should make sense for the whole journey

This is ultimately what I'm trying to understand whenever I choose accommodation.

I don't want to recommend a hotel simply because it has beautiful photographs, a high rating or a recognisable name.

I want to understand how it fits with the destination, the itinerary, the pace of the trip and, most importantly, the person travelling.

For one trip, the right choice might be a beautiful boutique hotel in the centre of everything.

For another, it might be a quieter property a little outside the centre, with more space and a better atmosphere.

And sometimes the hotel that looks slightly less exciting when you're scrolling through hundreds of options turns out to be the one you'll remember most.

That's why I don't think choosing a hotel should be reduced to comparing prices and star ratings.

It should be comfortable when you need to rest, well located when you want to explore, and have the kind of atmosphere that makes you happy to come back at the end of the day.

For me, that's what good hotel research is really about.

At Canvas Travel Club, I see accommodation as part of the journey, rather than simply another booking to make.

Because where you stay can quietly change the way an entire destination feels.