You need a good home away from home when you travel. The right hotel can feel safe, inviting and a place to recharge for your adventures on the road. The wrong hotel can leave you drained and even more stressed than you already are from travel. Use the ideas and advice from the following paragraphs to find the right hotels for your coming trips.
To keep your packing to a minimum on a long trip to one destination, choose a hotel that offers a coin laundry facility. This way, you don’t have to pack as much, and when you are about halfway through your trip, you can wash and dry everything. When it’s almost time to go, repeat the process so you don’t get home with a bunch of dirty clothes.
To save money on a minibar or vending machine at a hotel, pack a cooler before you start out on your trip, and throw in some six-packs of soda or beer and a bottle of wine. When you get to the hotel, if you have a small fridge, you are all ready. If there isn’t a fridge, use the ice machine and your cooler to keep things chilled.
To make sure that you don’t have an allergic reaction to the soaps and shampoos that you find in hotel rooms, bring your own, particularly if you have sensitive skin. While it’s nice to find the freebies, the rash that sometimes results is quite unpleasant. Take along your own things to keep things clean.
To help your family get into the hotel as comfortably as possible when you are pulling in for a late-night checkin, pull the car under the porte cochere, and leave the engine running while you go inside to check in. Even if you don’t get lucky enough to get to have a room close to the front and have to drive to another entrance, this minimizes the traipsing that they have to do.
When traveling with a pet, your choices of hotels will be limited. Once you find a hotel that is pet friendly, find out what the policies are with regard to pets. Most hotels charge an extra fee for pets, and they may have designated areas in which to walk your pet. Be sure you know the particulars ahead of time to avoid potential problems later.
Part of trip planning is knowing what time check-in is at your hotel. If you don’t know when you can check in, you may find your room is not ready when you arrive at your hotel. If you’re going to come to the hotel before you should be checking in, call them first to see if there’s anything they can do for you.
When traveling with small children, try to choose a hotel that caters to them. Most hotels offer cribs. Some have playgrounds and/or pools to help keep your kids entertained. Some even offer or children’s programs during the day or babysitters at night. Many hotels do not charge extra for children under a certain age to stay in the same room with their parents.
Before you decide to book, always find out if there are any hotel transfer fees so you won’t be surprised on your bill. Hidden transfer costs can really make a room not worth it. Inquiring in advance will mean more savings for you.
A good hotel is essential to good travel. You want to sleep soundly at night when away from home, so that you are energized, stress-free and ready to go the next day. This is true for all travel, be it business or pleasure. Use the ideas and advice you learned from this article to find your perfect future travel hotels.