There is great debate between travellers about the standards of
hotels around the world. The debate is centred round whether European
hotels offer the same value and level of accommodation as North America
and Asia.
Now different people have different tastes when it comes
to staying in a hotel or any type of accommodation away from home. Some
people want everything to be like it is at home. Others value the
cultural differences and expect accommodation to be different in other
countries. And it also depends on what type of holiday experience you
have in mind. The type of accommodation in a ski resort will be
different to a beach front hotel in Waikiki. If you are on a European
coach tour visiting several cities over a week you will encounter many
hotels that are "pit stops" for the night. These hotels have been
selected to fit in with the tour schedule and price. And there is
nothing wrong with that as you are only "checked in" for the night and
leave early the next morning.
However, if you are staying in a hotel for several days or longer you
want to make sure you have selected a hotel that meets your
requirements of location, accessibility, spaciousness, standard, quality
and price. Every city around the world has good hotels and poor quality
hotels so it is dangerous to generalise about the quality of
accommodation across a continent.
Generally, people who have
travelled the world agree that the standard of European hotels is not
comparable to North America and Asia. Let's compare.
American Hotels
Generally American hotels are larger hotels and
part of a hotel chain whereas many European hotels are smaller family
run hotels. Of course there are the large hotel chains in Europe, more
hotels are becoming part of chains and new hotels are built.
American
hotels have larger room sizes than comparable European hotels for the
same or less money. There are often additional facilities like two queen
beds, large bathrooms, kitchenettes and air conditioning. Price is one
of the biggest differences between hotels on each side of the Atlantic.
Some American cities, such as Las Vegas, have incredibly high standard
hotels at very cheap rates. Now these hotels do make most of their money
from the casino you have to navigate through before you get to your
room. And that's the trick, getting to your room with your wallet
remaining in good health.
Another point that many world travellers
say is that the restaurant meals in American hotels are larger and
better value than in Europe. The quality of the food may vary but I
would tend to agree with that too.
Asian Hotels
The main advantage with Asian hotels is that they
are considerably less expensive than both American and European hotels
for a comparable property. Even backpackers can afford to stay in good
hotels in Asia whereas in Europe they are confined to sharing a dorm
room with many other travellers.
Asian hotels tend to give much
better value than their European equivalent. The average hotel size in
Asia is relatively larger with many rooms. The room sizes are larger,
bathrooms larger and newer. The facilities like pools and restaurants
are usually better. World travellers have indicated they love to holiday
in Asia because they can afford to stay in a hotel on the beach or one
block from the beach. Dining out every night is inexpensive and makes a
vacation more fun.
European Hotels
Unless you book a relatively expensive hotel, 4 or 5 star the standards are less than North America and Asia.
Many
hotels in Europe are smaller, family run hotels. Many people find this
type of accommodation has more charm and offers local hospitality over a
large and sometimes impersonal hotel.
There have been many
complaints about European hotels. Some people often complain about the
small bathrooms with poor ventilation. Others complain about the poor
linen, like in Italy where they give you those very thin towels that are
like a small sheet. Others complain about the lack of views from the
windows.
What Europe does have is the history and old world charm.
Considering that when you are on holiday in Europe you won't be
spending much time in your hotel room - does it matter?
Well, yes
it does matter. You have paid for a hotel room and you don't want to
have your European vacation spoilt by poor quality hotels where you
don't feel comfortable.
In many European cities, visitors are
recommended to stay in a hotel outside the city centre and commute to
the tourist attractions. These hotels tend to be newer, larger and
comparable to hotels in the USA and Asia. This is not a problem in most
European cities as their public transport infrastructure is very good
with wide coverage and easy access to most parts of the city.
For those who are travelling to Australia, the hotel standards are similar to North America.