"" Writer's Wanderings: Standard, Deluxe, Suite--What Kind Of Room To Book?

Monday, January 14, 2019

Standard, Deluxe, Suite--What Kind Of Room To Book?

In many ways I think it's easier to figure out what kind of stateroom on a ship to book than it is a room in a hotel. Cruise websites usually have some good diagrams of room layouts and mostly the stateroom's position on the ship and whether or not there is an obstructed view are the main things you look for.

Hotel room descriptions are as broad and different as the types of hotels there are. A standard room is usually the lowest priced but even then they often offer different types of beds--single queen, two doubles and sometimes two queens. 

But some of those same rooms in another hotel might be labeled deluxe for a bed larger than a double or two rather than one. A deluxe label might be applied simply because there's a coffee maker or refrigerator and microwave added. The deluxe room is one that is compared to other rooms in the same hotel. What is deluxe room in one hotel is not necessarily the same deluxe in another. (While hotel chains try to standardize their room selections, we've found some differences among them as well.)

And then there's the suite. Just what is a suite? A suite can range anywhere from a room with a couch in it to a sitting room with the bedroom off to the side and/or a kitchenette. The kitchenette may be only a counter with a sink, small refrigerator and a microwave. Other suites we've found have had a full apartment sized kitchen. In one hotel, we were told we were being upgraded to a suite and it turned out to be just a larger room on the corner of the building.

Of course after you decide on your standard or upgraded room, there's always that little description "with a view." Sometimes that view may only be seen by putting a cheek to the window and looking down an alleyway to the "view." Ocean front hotel are notorious for calling it an ocean view if you can see even a sliver of the water from your window. 

As I always say, do as much homework as possible before you book especially if it is for more than a night's stay. I can do with most anything for one night but as we discovered years ago on our first get away trip after the twins were born, two nights of looking up at a ceiling that was water stained, peeling and bulging was too much. When I cried myself to sleep, Bob booked the rest of our stay in a nicer hotel and we enjoyed a much nicer stay even though we stretched out budget thin.

No comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...