Choosing a hotel is one of the most important parts of planning a solo trip.
You want somewhere comfortable, welcoming and safe. Accommodation is likely to absorb most of your travel budget too, so you want value as well as comfort.
But what should you actually be looking at when you’re picking somewhere to stay?
I’m a mature solo traveller with over three decades of choosing hotels, and I’ve refined this into a reliable process. Here’s how I do it.
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How to Choose a Hotel: The Short Version
These are my top 10 considerations, roughly in order of importance to me as a midlife solo female traveller:
Every traveller’s priorities are different, so use this as a starting point rather than a rulebook
1. Pick the perfect location
It’s a cliché, but with hotels it really is location, location, location.
For most destinations, the best location is close to the main attractions, restaurants and transport hubs. My hotel doesn’t need to be in the thick of things, but I like to be able to walk to as much as possible.
Build a shortlist
I start on Booking.com. There are other platforms, but I’ve found it gives the broadest choice and the most useful filters for most destinations.
Say I’m looking for a hotel in Florence. I enter the destination and dates, then filter by location, guest rating and free cancellation.
As a starting point I aim high, filtering for guest reviews above 9. If that doesn’t return much, I drop it to 8+, then sort by top reviewed. From there I pull together a shortlist of up to half a dozen hotels.
Check exactly where a hotel is
Personal safety is a priority for many travellers, particularly if you are a woman travelling alone, so I always confirm if a hotel is in a safe part of town. This is where a bit of intuition comes in.
I open Google Maps, switch to Street View and drop the pin on each shortlisted hotel to get a feel for the immediate area, not just the entrance. A dingy, rubbish-strewn street or a tired-looking building can be enough to rule a place out, even if the hotel itself looks fine in its own photos.
It only takes a minute or two per hotel once you’re used to it.
Digging into travellers’ reviews on booking.com may also give you clues about the area. More on this later.
The other factor I weigh up here is proximity to good restaurants, local amenities and train or bus stations.
2. Check the fine print
Travel plans don’t always go to plan, so I look for hotels with free cancellation.
It’s worth checking the detail though. Free cancellation up to six weeks before arrival is far less useful than free cancellation up to 48 hours before. I also check the cancellation penalty if I need to pull out after that window closes, since this varies from one night’s cost to the full stay.
A few other things worth a quick check: some high-end hotels place a deposit on your card for incidentals, and not every hotel takes every type of card, so confirm they accept yours.
3. Stick to your travel budget
Bagging a great hotel at an affordable price is one of the tenets of affordable luxury travel.
Whether you are a luxury traveller, flashpacker or backpacker, your shortlisted hotels need to sit within your price range. And be wary of anything that seems too cheap. In my experience, if a hotel is unusually cheap, there’s usually a reason.
4. Check other travellers’ reviews
Once I have a shortlist, reviews help me weed out the duds.
Booking.com reviews are a good starting point for details like cleanliness and staff friendliness. I also check TripAdvisor, though with a bit of caution, since stays aren’t verified there and the ratings can be gamed.
Like most review platforms, it attracts extremes of opinion. People are far more likely to leave a review after an excellent or a disastrous stay.
And some of the complaints are wildly out of proportion. Did you really expect a doorman at a £40-a-night Travelodge?
Context matters. Use a bit of common sense to filter out reviews that don’t reflect the price point or type of hotel.
5. Determine room quality & amenities
When it comes to hotel rooms, we all have standards.
One of my friends always checks that there is an iron and an ironing board. Another friend will give a place that has nylon shower curtains a wide berth (I’m with her on this one).
I look for a comfortable bed and tea & coffee-making facilities. If there’s a Nespresso machine, I’m like a dog with two tails.
Whatever matters to you, check the hotel description and photos closely. A few red flags to watch for: rooms that look unusually large for their stated square footage (a wide-angle lens can be very generous), a listing with plenty of photos but nothing of the bathroom, or far more photos of the destination and common areas than of the room itself.
6. Is your hotel choice a good fit?
The right hotel for a busy city break is often very different to the right hotel for a beach holiday.
On a city break, you’re unlikely to spend much time in your room, so a super swanky hotel with a long amenities list may not be the best use of your budget. On a resort holiday, you’re far more likely to use those facilities.
It’s also worth thinking about the type of vibe you want. Some people like the predictability of a corporate chain hotel. I prefer somewhere with more character, a guesthouse or boutique property, though I do feel a bit out of place in an ultra-trendy urban hotel.
7. How quiet is the hotel?
As I’ve moved from backpacking in my 20s and 30s to travelling solo in midlife, my tolerance for noise has dropped considerably.
I used to sleep through anything: Vespas backfiring on solo trips to Rome, revellers singing outside my window at 3am, toilets flushing two floors up. Not any more. Now I check reviews for mentions of noise, and I always request a quiet room.
8. Check the Wi-Fi arrangements
Most of us rely on Wi-Fi to stay in touch, and for business travellers and digital nomads it’s essential. You’d think hotels charging for it would be a thing of the past. Some still do. Check that free Wi-Fi is included in your room rate before you book, not at check-out.
9. Check the hotel amenities
Amenities matter less on a city break, but a rooftop pool or sauna is a genuine treat after a long day of sightseeing.
If breakfast matters to you, check it’s included, what standard it’s likely to be, and what it costs if it isn’t. A high-end city hotel breakfast can add up fast. If you’re after spa facilities, bear in mind these range hugely, from a tiny pool and tired sauna to a proper wellness centre.
10. Consider the clientele
There are different types of hotels for different types of travellers.
Whilst I had a wonderful stay at the Santhiya Koh Yao Yai in Thailand, the resort was dominated by loved-up couples. That’s not to say that a single traveller shouldn’t stay at a beach resort, just be mindful that you will be in the minority
On the other end of the spectrum, if you are searching for a quiet holiday, avoid family-friendly places (think of boisterous kids splashing in the pool). Also, give a wide berth to hotels that attract groups of friends, especially hen and stag parties. These tend to gravitate towards budget-chain hotels.
What I Don’t Consider When Choosing a Hotel
I’m a fan of frequent flyer schemes, but that loyalty doesn’t extend to hotel chains.
Large chains only account for a fraction of the choice in most destinations, and sticking to a few brands for a free breakfast or a room upgrade narrows your options and can rule out better properties.
That’s not to say chain hotels can’t deliver – the Ritz Carlton in Kuala Lumpur immediately springs to mind – but some of the best places in which I have stayed have been quirky independent hotels. And quite frankly, when you stay in many of these multinational chain hotels, you could be anywhere.
A Final Thought
Your choice of hotel can shape your trip, but it’s not worth losing hours over. Like most decisions in life, choosing a hotel is a bit of a gamble, just a fairly well-informed one.
As long as the price is fair for the destination and the location works, the rest is down to making the most of the stay.
Adjust your budget and expectations to the destination and the type of trip. A good attitude does more for a holiday than a perfect hotel ever could.
Happy travels.
About Bridget
Bridget Coleman has been a passionate traveller for more than 30 years. She has visited 70+ countries, most as a solo traveller.
Articles on this site reflect her first-hand experiences.
To get in touch, email her at hello@theflashpacker.net or follow her on social media.