Whether you travel a lot or you just manage to get away some of the time, you need to make sure that you are doing all you can to plan for a holiday as well as possible. There are a lot of things to consider here, but there is no doubt that one of the most important is the resort or accommodation that you have chosen to stay in. Most of us actually find this to be one of the most challenging decisions of all, and yet it is also one of the most vital if you want to ensure you have the best time possible.
In this article, we are going to look through some ideas relating to how exactly you can choose the right resort for your next trip or holiday. As long as you bear the following things in mind, you should find that picking out the right resort is going to be a lot easier.
Budgeting
Before you do anything else, you need to get very clear on what kind of budget you are going to be working with. It is best to know this from the outset, as that will make it a lot easier to narrow down and choose your resort options. It is usually wise to add around ten percent to the top estimate of what you think you have spare to spend on the resort, as there are often costs that you forget to bear in mind at the planning stage. As long as you do that right, you’ll have a pretty accurate idea of what kind of budget you have to work with, so it’s definitely something to think about.
It can also be helpful to have a wide range for your budget. You might have an upper limit – this is the most important for most people – but you’ll also want a lower end budget, so you know what you won’t go below. If you can get that right, you’ll be much more likely to choose well on your accommodation or resort, so this is definitely something to spend some time on. A lot of people struggle with budgeting, but it is worth putting all the necessary effort into getting it right, so that you can much more effectively know what you are working with as you choose your resort.
Arguably, a resort’s most important quality is its location. You might well choose a substandard resort that has a decent location over a badly placed but worse hotel. That is a matter of opinion, of course, but a lot of people would probably ascribe to that anyway. One thing’s for certain: when you are choosing resorts, you are certainly going to want to spend a lot of time thinking about the location of them, as this is always going to be a huge determining factor no matter what. So what are some of the things that you will need to bear in mind regarding location?
Most of all: is the resort in the right kind of spot for your holiday plans? Are you near enough to the activities that you would like to do, and have you researched the travel options if not? Does it seem as though you have a good trade-off between location and quality of the hotel? The more that you have thought about all of this, the more likely it is that you will be able to choose a resort that is in the right kind of location, and that is going to have a huge effect on how much of the right choice you feel that resort is.
Facilities
There are many countless kinds of facilities that a resort might have on offer, and you need to decide which are the most important for you and which you could probably do without. Only by being clear on this can you make sure that you are going to find the right resort for you, rather than just the most famous or the priciest resort, which can often seem to be the most attractive. So what kinds of facilities might resorts and hotels offer that you might be interested in? There are so many things to think about.
For a lot of people, a resort needs to be entertaining in more ways than one. If you are traveling with your family, you might want the resort to have a lot of family entertainment, for instance. If you are due to go on a romantic holiday for two, your needs will be quite different. But you will probably want some kind of entertainment provided by the resort, whatever it may be. Sometimes that is as simple as a pool, indoor or outdoor. Sometimes it’s more to do with events that the hotel itself has organised. It’s up to you.
Then there are those facilities which are more to do with practical needs: being able to get some laundry done, or having access to an iron and ironing board, or having lots of tourist information at your fingers so that your trip is a lot easier. All of these things are likely to be worthwhile seeking out, so they should definitely be on your list when you are looking at trying to find the right resort. If nothing else, this will help you to weed out the lesser resorts: always go for the one that gives you more value for money.
Specific Needs
Many travelers have specific needs that might need to be attended to, and this can dramatically change how you look for a resort when you are going away on vacation. It’s impossible to list all of the situations that this might include, but you may, for instance, be a veteran, in which case Walt Disney World’s Military Resort is likely to be the kind of place you’ll look out for. Or maybe you are elderly, and you want to find a resort that caters to older people. Maybe you want a no-kids hotel. It’s all about working out what you need, and then finding the resort to suit.
The best resorts tend to have a lot of different options when it comes to the rooms that they offer. You might know exactly what kind of room you need, or you might simply want to check out a variety and see which seems best. Either way, it is helpful when there are a lot to choose from, and it can also help financially as you don’t want to spend any more than is strictly necessary. So always opt for a resort that gives you a lot of say over the room options. That is going to result in a much more enjoyable stay in general.
Friendly Service
It can be hard to know what kind of service you are going to get at any resort before you get there. But the better that you plan for this, the more likely it is that you are going to be able to get the service you most want. The best way to look into this is to look up some reviews of the hotel or accommodation you have in mind, and see what previous guests have been saying about it. Sites like TripAdvisor are always handy for this, but there are many other sites as well.
An alternative is to ask around with people who you know personally, as they are definitely going to give you an honest appraisal of any resort that they have tried. This is always worth doing if you know anyone who has gone to a particular destination, so make sure that you don’t forget to do this. It could be that you actually get some good tips that you can then use to find the best resort. All in all, the service you get at a hotel is really important.
At the top of this article, we spoke briefly about budgeting. But this is actually a separate thing to seeking value for money. After all, a hotel can provide value for money whether it is a cheap hotel or a six-star extravaganza. The whole point is that what you are getting seems fair for the amount you are paying. This, again, is something that can be hard to know upfront, and which you might need to look to reviews for, but nonetheless it is something that you will want to be aware of as best as you can be.
A place has good value for money if you feel as though you are getting a lot for what you paid. You can get a sense of this, apart from through reviews, by looking at the kinds of things you are being promised. You might find that there is a feeling of things being fair, or not, and it’s up to you to pay attention to that feeling before you put any money down on a resort. As long as you do that right, you should find that you can much more effectively choose the right resort.
