Adults only and quiet are not the same thing
An age limit keeps children out, not music, day guests or a lively pool. How to judge quiet from the map, the room plan, the restaurant and the calendar.
Insider
Longer reads on rooms, timing and the questions worth asking before you book.
Beachfront: what the word hides and what to check before booking
A road, a public beach, a steep path or a season of seaweed can all hide behind one word. What to check on the map, in the photos and with the hotel.
Dogs welcome: what the small print really says
Two words on a hotel website can mean a meadow outside the door or one room by the service entrance. The questions that tell the two apart before you book.
Family hotels where parents rest too: how to tell the real ones
A real family hotel gives the parents a holiday too. How to tell it from a house that merely tolerates children, and what to ask about ages and supervision.
Old house, new wing: how to stay well in a historic hotel
The facade sells the room, but your bed may be in a later wing. What to ask about wings, windows, lifts and public rooms before you book an old house.
The last leg: hotel transfers by boat, seaplane and car
On an island or at the end of a long road, the last leg decides the first evening. Who runs it, how it meets your flight and what to get in writing.
Private pool villa: what the phrase can mean, and what to ask
From a plunge pool to a 12 metre pool by the sea: how to read the phrase, and the questions on size, heating, sun and privacy that settle it before you book.
The shoulder season calendar: how to find a hotel's quiet weeks
The weeks either side of high season often give you the same place without the crowds, if you know what closes, what changes and which months to leave alone.
Forty rooms or fewer: what a small hotel gives and what it asks
Below forty rooms the staff know your name and breakfast waits for you. What you give up in return, and how to judge a small hotel from its website.
Starred kitchen in the hotel: book the table first, then the room
At a hotel with a starred restaurant the table decides the trip. Closing days, seatings, half board, dress and diets: what to settle before you book the room.
Programme or slogan: what to ask a hotel that calls itself green
Almost every hotel now calls itself sustainable. Five questions about certificates, power, water, staff and waste show which ones have changed how they run.
The room matters more than the hotel: what to ask before you book
Two guests in the same house can have very different stays. How regulars choose floor, side and building, how to ask by email, and when an upgrade request is fair.
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