We spent our first night in the UK in a lovely chain hotel because the hotel my husband originally booked:
1) does not allow children under 14. We have a 4yo. However, seeing our distress they decided to make an allowance this one time.
2) But then I skipped around to various sites to read the reviews over half of which rate the place “terrible” or “poor” for reasons like mold and people shooting up…
One reviewer noted the place was “Ok but not for women to stay in, a lads place”.
“Going home” was a common best thing as was “nothing”.
Hotel rating systems are complicated. Europe uses a four star system, except when it doesn’t. The US uses a five star system. The star systems tend to reflect basic facilities and services available without accounting for attention to detail, which often makes the difference between a lovely experience and a place to sleep. This can be an issue.
The bigger problem is that the stars are given out by a polyglot of guidebooks, travel agencies and associations, local government agencies, and random independent organizations. Plus, each travel website has its own star system. One thing they agree on is that a one star rating means basic rooms that are clean and safe but have limited amenities.
There are two rating systems in Britain. The Visit Britain scheme whose one star rating critera requires things like ensuite bathrooms, staff on site at all times, dining room serving hot food, and more. And the AA system whose one star rating is similar.
Booking, however, lists the Royal Chambers as a hostel, not a hotel. Rating for hostels seem to be even less regulated. However, we’ve stayed at a lot of hostels all over the world and had some great, and not so great, experiences.
Hostels generally offer basic accommodation in clean, multiperson dorms. Many also offer private or family rooms. Bathrooms are down the hall, and the facilities often offer a kitchen and some kind of laundry service. They tend to be well located or within easy access of public transportation. In the modern era wifi, at least in the common areas, is a given.
But clean and safe are, again, a bare minimum. For a one star. Booking rates the hostel we fled as three stars. In no world is this true.
Not to slag off on the place. The bed linens were clean, the location was good, there was wifi access in the room, and the people we encountered just lovely. But it is not three stars. Two stars would be generous. It is not a place I would recommend to the average woman traveling alone, much less to a family with small children.
This is not our first kerfuffle with Booking and its rating system. Though it is the most egregious. This is a system that is not to be trusted. Which is why when I book I read the reviews, check out the hotel site, and compare the property on other travel sites. I, however, am an anxiety ridden neurotic. People shouldn’t have to do all that every time we book a room.