Are Budget Hotels Always Poor?

When I tell some friends that I like to use budgetsuch simplicities. Knowing that it has a swimming pool
hotels they tend to look at me as though I'm mad.is useful but it's information that's already available to
They suggest that I must be brave for dealing withus in many brochures.
such poor facilities.What we really want to know is what the service is
Although I try and tell them otherwise, many simplylike. Are the staff efficient and helpful? If not, a hotel
refuse to accept that budget hotels needn't be lowwith the best facilities can still be really disappointing.
quality places to stay. It's perfectly possible to findFortunately, this is where independent online holiday
accommodation that is both cheap and cheerful.reviews can really come into their own. These will
So why do people assume that it would beoften tell us much more about the reality of the
impossible to find a decent hotel unless it has a highsituation.
number of stars? One of the reasons is that manyBy listening to what previous guests have to say
people don't realise that official ratings can varyabout the accommodation, we can get a far better
considerably.idea of what to expect. It's for this precise reason
They'll often be awarded bases on completelythat we are now able to identify budget hotels that
different criteria, depending upon the country orare actually of a high quality.
region involved. It's likely that a hotel will have beenListen to what other customers have to say, rather
awarded its rating, in many cases, based on a hotelthan simply looking at the official ratings. You may
inspector ticking off its facilities on a list.find that this approach can really help you to find
The trouble with such an approach is that the qualitysome bargains.
of a hotel is likely to be defined by much more than