10 Things to watch out for when booking a hotel

Note: I don’t have 10 items yet, but I’ll add to these as I find time…

1. If there’s something you’re really looking forward to having or doing in your hotel, don’t be afraid to ring the hotel and check:
   a) That it’s there
   b) That it’s working
   c) Are there any conditions/restrictions
   Ever arrived at a hotel and found that the swimming pool is closed for maintenance, or only usable in Summer? If it’s important to you, ask.
2. Check if your room has inter-connecting doors or is next to the lift shaft. The insulation in an inter-connecting door can sometimes be nominal, which means you can hear the people next door talking and you can hear their TV.
3. Take Tripadvisor with a pinch of salt, maybe reviewers have different tastes, maybe they stayed in the presidential suite whereas you’ve booked the classic (can sometimes be a polite way to say unrenovated/dated) room, -most reviewers seem to forget to mention this important detail. Maybe there was one thing that really put their nose out of joint and therefore they’ve spat the dummy and unfairly slagged-off every small detail about the hotel.
4. During your stay, if you find something that isn’t working or anything that doesn’t seem quite up to standard (or disappoints you about the hotel or service) let the hotal management know. Don’t stew on it and then make a vitriliolic whinge on Tripadvisor. Do something positive about it and let management have a chance to remedy the situation.
5. Don’t over-pack. If you can’t carry the suitcase (not pull it on its wheels) easily then you’ve packed too much. There will be times when you have to lift or carry your case a short distance, and it shouldn’t give you a hernia. Just because you’re going on a 3-week holiday doesn’t mean you need 3 times as much stuff as for a 1-week holiday. You will need the same for both, but you’ll just be washing/laundering more often on a longer holiday.
6. If you’re staying at anywhere that is below 4.5 stars, try to avoid school holidays. A lot of families will be staying in 3-4 star properties, so you may find that 4.5-5 star properties are not as affected by school holidays as other establishments. You can Google to find the dates or try http://australia.gov.au/topics/australian-facts-and-figures/school-term-dates/