7 Things That Make A Great Hotel

I’ve stayed in a lot of hotels.  Most of the time for business but sometimes for fun.  What I’ve learned is that it doesn’t matter what your reason is, there are just certain things that make great hotels stand out from the rest.  What makes a great hotel?  Well, everyone has their own wants and needs but for me here is my top 7 list.

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1. Free WiFi.  Shame on the hotels that are still charging their guest $15.95 per day to log onto the internet.  We pay an exorbitant amount for our hotel rooms, room service and parking that the least you can do is throw in a little free WiFi.
2. A comfortable bed.  Not every room needs to have a Heavenly bed (though it would be nice) but if the hotel manager wouldn’t put his/her elderly grandmother on the bed, then he/she shouldn’t offer it to his guests.
3. Fair warning.  Tell me BEFORE I truck three suitcases, a cranky toddler and four creepy baby dolls to a room on a high floor that you’ve put me in a handicap accessible room.  Toddlers need bathtubs, a shower just won’t do.  And for that matter, I need a toilet that is low enough I can reach the ground (I know, TMI).  If you tell me what type of room I’m in (and I don’t just mean 2 doubles or 1 king), I can politely tell you why it won’t work before I make my way to the room.
4. A mini fridge.  It’s not like I’m stocking the fridge full of booze (those are the girls weekends away…lol), I’m filling it with water I bought at the CVS down the street because I can’t afford the $7 bottle of water sitting on the desk.
5. Real thermostats.  You know, the ones that have numbers instead of colors?  You usually find them on the wall.  You can regulate the temperature much better (probably saving the hotel energy costs) and there is no profanity in the middle of the night from adjusting it for the tenth time.
6. Free breakfast.  How much does it really cost to throw out some bagels, boxes of cereal and a little juice?  I will go out of my way to find a hotel that serves free breakfast.  Not so much because of the cost of buying it myself but because of the convenience.  I’m definitely not a morning person so an extra ten minutes of sleep is golden to me.
7. USA Today.  What else am I going to read on the ride home?

These are just a few of the things that make a great hotel for me.  Sure there are other things like a kick-ass bar and a Zagat rated restaurant for now, I’ll be happy with these things.

What do you look for when booking your hotel?