How to find out if a hotel location is reliable

Have you ever accidentally booked a hotel in the wrong from the city?

I already.

It was in San Francisco, and to this day I have a bad impression of the region because of it.

Our hotel was great: comfortable room, staff helpful, good internet… But the neighborhood was scary.

The employees themselves encouraged us not to explore on foot, and rather use the free van service to the main tourist attractions they offered.

Every time we got into the vehicle to head towards the more upscale neighborhoods, I felt apprehensive. And we were in the United States, a first world country.

Of course, it didn't help that it was cold and windy in the middle of summer, and that everything in the city was extremely expensive. Even so, I know that the feeling of insecurity It's what stopped me from loving San Francisco.

The positive point of this episode is that now I research a lot about the location of the hotels I intend to stay at. I discovered that by adopting some practices, it is possible to find accommodation in safe areas even if I have never visited the city.

In this post I'm going to give you some tips for choosing a hotel in a good region, even if you don't know anything about your destination.

How to find out if a hotel location is reliable

Research where to stay before to look for hotels

Like all steps in planning a trip on your own, figuring out where to stay involves a lot of effort. search.

And I recommend you discover where stay before to search for hotels. Imagine falling in love with an accommodation at a great price, only to discover later that the area is dangerous? You will be comparing this hotel with those in better areas, and it will be difficult to find accommodation with similar quality for the same price in safer neighborhoods.

The same suggestion applies to when you are going to stay in a hostel ou airbnb. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out this post with 5 accommodation alternatives to use when traveling.

And how do you find out where to stay?

websites and blogs

To start the search, I like to use the Google. Simple and direct.

A search for “What's the best place to stay in…” (what is the best place to stay in…) can indicate the best regions. For international destinations, there are usually more results in English. It's okay if you don't speak the language, just do the same search with the phrase in Portuguese.

Personally, I like to start with information from great travel outlets, like Lonely Planet, or magazines like Travel and Tourism. Despite being printed publications, the digital content leaves nothing to be desired.

For personal opinions, it's no surprise that I'm partial to reading Blogs. I especially like the ones that are dedicated to my destination (a blog that only talks about California and I'm going to Los Angeles, for example), but the ones that talk about everywhere are also cool. The latter have a more tour of the location, and they probably already did the same research as you and chose that location for a reason.

Forums and Groups

Better than reading about other people's experiences is being able to ask questions directly to them. This is what the forums.

My favorite is the doubts, entirely in Portuguese and which brings together travelers from all over Brazil. You can learn about your destination from other people's questions, or ask your own questions.

Read also Meet dubbi – Collaborative platform by travelers for travelers!

If you can get by with English, the forum TripAdvisor It is also packed with information.

Another option, often faster, is to use Facebook groups. There are both those who talk about travel in general, as well as to specific places. They are a great source of knowledge and, most of the time, they will already have posts talking about the best places to stay.

Keep an eye out as specific hotels are often recommended. Make a list of suggestions to use as a reference when searching for hosting sites.

In my experience, asking questions in groups and forums works best when you've done your research beforehand. This way you can ask a more targeted question (“Is X neighborhood safe?”) instead of a general question (“Where do I stay?”).

Google Street View

In Google Street View, it's as if a street opened up on your computer and you were walking along it. You can see buildings, houses, restaurants, shops and what the neighborhood is like in general.

If you're still unsure of where to stay, take a look at the regions and imagine whether you'll feel at ease (or less nervous lol).

Searching for hotels

Based on the information from your search, you already know whether a hotel's location is reliable and safe.

GUIDE: How to use Booking and get the best prices!

Location note

If you have questions about the location, see the location note. I already told you in an email to blog email list, but Booking invites all guests to review the property after their stay.

In this evaluation, it is possible to give different scores for different criteria, including location.

And, according to the my experiences, this note really reflects reality.

Here are two examples, with hotels I've stayed in:

The first is the Crowne Plaza Times Square, New York.

It's a comfortable hotel, but I've definitely stayed in better ones. Its biggest attraction is the address, as it is in the best area of ​​Times Square.

The total score on Booking is not exceptional (just 8,2), but the location earned a 9,4 from guests, and most reviews in Portuguese mention how incredible the surrounding area is.

Already Cova Hotel, our pick in the history of San Francisco, has a rating of 7,5, but only a 5,9 for location.

Although this score does not just refer to security, it can serve as a guide when choosing your hosting.

Read the reviews

Lastly, I would like to hit that key again: read the reviews that other guests have left about the property.

If they felt unsafe or if an incident occurred, it will definitely be written in the reviews. Likewise, if the region is incredible, they will highlight it as one of the hotel's highlights.

No Booking.com (I know, I seeeeee… Booking again? But it really is my favorite site and where I make most of my reservations) you can filter the reviews to read only those that mention the location or only those that are written in Portuguese.

Additionally, TripAdvisor and Trivago also rely on customer reviews, and I recommend reading what is written on all three sites before making a decision. It is always better to be informed than to be surprised.

What do you need to know:

These are the practices I use to know if a hotel's location is reliable. It's no crazy trick, just a lot of research.

If you are going to do the same, remember to:

• Search the destination’s neighborhoods on websites, blogs, forums and Facebook groups;
• Look at Google Street View to familiarize yourself with the location;
• Use region filters on Booking.com;
• Look at the hotel location note;
• Read reviews from other guests.

And remember that, even if you stay in a bad area, it's not the end of the world, your trip can be incredible and you just need to be more careful. Always ask hotel staff about your surroundings before heading out to explore on foot.

And you, have you ever made a reservation for a bad area without knowing it? How was the experience? Let me know in the comments and if this post helped you, Share with the friends : )