by Peter Sides
If you want to travel through Europe and you are on a budget you might be able to plan a great city break or an entire vacation by only using the information available on the internet. After getting a flight booked the most important step is finding a good hotel at an acceptable rate.
The first step is to run a quick internet search (for example "London hotels" if you plan to visit London) and you will get a list with links to websites offering accommodation in the desired city. The relevance might vary from link to link and I am not going to tell you what website you should chose but I will try to point out some tips on how to make a good accommodation choice instead:
1) Price - for city breaks the price should be as small as possible, preferably with breakfast included; that will save you the time lost with preparing/buying it yourself and will force you to wake up early in the mornings (so you have more time to visit the city). Last but not least the price should be adequate to the number of stars the hotel has and to the market.
For example a two-star hotel's price ranges between 40 and 80 euro room / night depending on time, location and events taking place in the city. The early you make the reservation (even three months before) the lower the price will be. It is possible to run into special offers too like "pay your 5 nights accommodation in advance" at some incredibly low prices.
2) Location - although most travelers prefer central hotels I like to choose hotels near subway - it's easy to use and it only takes up to 20 minutes to get to the center. Generally less central hotels are cheaper.
3) Number of stars - in general inside EU a 2-star hotel is a two stars and a 3-star is a three stars meaning it complies to the international standards. Countries which are an exception to the rule are Greece and Turkey as in there a four stars hotel is 3-stars (compared with the international standards), a three stars hotel is a 2-star and so on.
4) If you booked through an agency and paid in advance search the hotel on the Internet, call and make sure the booking is made for the period requested and for the number of people desired. So you have time to modify any errors or to check the hotel really exists.
5) If possible try to find out if the windows can be open; as strange as this might sound there are some places where the room's windows cannot be open.
6) Depending on you being a smoker or not chose the room accordingly - this can save you from a lot of discomfort.
7) I prefer large,reputable hotels- even if they are more impersonal the large hotels are less likely to change your room for various reasons; they also have standard customer service and any complaints are taken seriously.
8) From two-star up the hotels have a safe-lock inside the rooms and this can prove very useful for keeping your valuable things safe while you are out.
9) Check the hotel description carefully as it might not have the facilities you need - like parking or internet access.
10) Pay attention to your timing- it will be next to impossible to find a hotel in Vienna in November available for the Christmas.
Hopefully these tips will help you find the most suitable hotel for your needs so you can enjoy your vacation.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Sides
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