It is a habit for many hotels to display their stars prominently at the front of their building so that individuals can see them. During your stay in London or any other major city, you may have seen different hotels with different numbers of stars raging from 1 to 5. You probably know what these stars mean in brief but we will go into more detail about their functionality. Here is a break down of the star rating system and how it can guide you to a quality stay and a good nights sleep:
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The Hotel Star System
In simple terms, the hotel star rating is a system that ranks hotels according to their quality. In Europe for instance, government agencies and independent bodies rank hotels from a scale of 1 to 4 stars with four stars being the highest possible rating hotels can achieve in Europe. It is vital to note however that star rating systems are not standard throughout the globe. Despite the country-to-country discrepancies though, these ratings can be helpful guidelines for guests who make hotel reservations. Its also useful to note that hotels can be self-assessed, a process whereby the owners rate the hotel themselves, this is not done via an external ratings specialist so look for this when booking a hotel room to be certain of what quality and facilities to expect.
To give readers an idea of what to expect, the higher star hotels tend to have all the modern conveniences such as free Wi-Fi, luxurious en suites, round the clock room service, a twenty four hour concierge and a mini bar amongst other things! The rooms are equipped with spotless quality linen, huge flat screens, VCR, complex CD stereos, in-room video and Jacuzzi tubs. You also have access to restaurants, fitness center, shopping, and swimming pools or spas.
The Price Difference
When traveling to another location whether within your country or abroad, for either pleasure or business, one of your main concerns is the travel expense. Accommodation takes a toll on your overall travel expenses more than any other thing once you factor in airplane tickets, taxis, rental cars and any other leisure trips within your trip that you might choose to embark on. To help minimize these expenses many try to find a cheaper but decent hotel. The hotel star rating systems can guide you as to which hotel is more affordable by just a quick glance which is one of their main benefits. Since the stars are an indicator of the quality of the hotel, the lower the rating the cheaper the hotel.
Therefore, if price is your main concern, you can opt to book a hotel room with a lower star rating. However, you will not have the same quality service as in a four star hotel. At times, it is even possible to find a small four-star hotel in London at a very reasonable price by searching patiently and thoroughly through coupon sites such as Groupon that often offer great deals where guests can get fifty percent off the usual price of a nights stay.
Finally, It is your right to examine a room before you pay for it. Thus, if circumstances allow, you can visit the hotel and examine the rooms before you decide to stay in them. The internet can also be a powerful tool in helping you evaluate the rooms in different hotels so take a look online, trip adviser is another fantastic tool for this as people can leave hotel reviews giving you an even more in depth idea as to what to expect from various hotels around the UK’s capital city.
It’s approaching summer time and London has many beautiful sites on offer to go and visit – if you’re looking for a B&B to stay at Lucy recommends BB-Belgravia.
