To not want to stay in a 3 star hotel

[Cheekycheeky12]

Am I being really snobby, anybody stayed in a 3 star hotel? Looking for holidays for the summer and not used to the summer holiday prices as my daughter is now in year 1, DH says I’m being ridiculous and should just appreciate a holiday.

In all honesty, no. I always filter for the 5 and 6 stars and then choose one that suits. If the location only has accommodations that are 3 stars I may stay in them, but it's more likely that I'd try to stay in a neighbouring town with better hotels.

I'm just not at the age where I want to 'make do' anymore. Holidays are meant to be enjoyable and if it's going to mean a worst quality of life than back home, then I'd rather not go.

I go by traveller recommendations and photos.

Stayed at an amazing Premier Inn last year, three stars, very clean and quiet, better than many 4+ hotels I've stayed at.
But no gym or pool, which totally fine with me.

We've stayed in some beautiful 3 star boutique hotels, other than occasional pool use we usually are out and about during the day. I don't go to another country to stay on the resort. Also like to experience local restaurants etc. Boutique 3 star are often quiet, and relaxed. As long as the room is well appointed, the pool is good and breakfast is good, we're exploring/active the rest of the time. I don't need a concierge or someone to do my laundry, I'll take it home. If you spend your holidays around the pool, eat all or most of your meals at the hotel, want evening entertainment... and want to put the dc in a kids club, 3 star boutique isn't for you.

The stars relate to facilities rather than comfort or style.. I used to work in a very plush and comfortable 3 star country house hotel. They couldn't access the 4th star because they didn't offer 24hr room service, only between 7am and 11pm.

We stayed in a lovely small 3* in Mallorca, it was only £70 a night too.

We were going on a last minute long weekend and it was the choice between that and a 4* at twice the price.

The reviews on the cheaper one were better so I took a chance and it paid off. Lovely rooms, spotless, really nice food, big balcony overlooking a beautiful pool.

It was perfect for what we wanted. Unfortunately it's been refurbished into a 4* and they've doubled the price so we probably won't go again.

With a 4* you're often paying for amenities that you don't even use like a business centre or 24 hour reception.

Or if budget is an issue it's often better value self cater and combine eating out with easy food in the accommodation. Make lunch out your main meal and have things like cheese, olives, crisps and booze on the balcony after DC is in bed.

Really depends on what you are doing on holiday. We are generally out and about on holiday, up, bite to eat from something we can store in the room, out the door early. Out on adventures all day, either back to the room for a quick shower and change of clothes and out to dinner somewhere, or we go directly to dinner on way back from day out. So I figure if we are really only in room from after dinner until we wake up I’m not spending a fortune and go basic.

If we go to a resort where we don’t go out exploring but just sit around the resort then it must be 5 stars with all the bells and whistles, but we would rarely have these holidays as I don’t see the point. I do stay in 5 star places for work when travelling but that’s different as I’m not paying.

They are also rated by different organisations. If you watch 'The Hotel Inspector' she will sometimes advise places to be rated as a B and B rather than a hotel.

A hotel can go up a star if they put their staff in a uniform or change an 'eating area' into a dining room / restaurant.

So the lovely little B and B run by a couple that provides a play room and toys for children and an outdoor play area might only have one star.

The 'plastic' new build with no character but 200 rooms and staff in uniform and the only thing for children is to watch TV in the room might have 3 stars.

Look at the actual hotel and what you want. Do you want a pool? How close to the sea? What attractions are near by?

Also look at the area, if you are in a hotel surrounded by restaurants and bars then do you need to be in a hotel with a bar?

You have a young child, you might want to pick somewhere with other families.

I would expect 3* to be perfectly ok. Clean, well run.

If I'm travelling for fun & will be busy doing stuff in the day, then I am totally fine with 3* to sleep.

On the other hand, if I'm booking a lazy overnight & it's on expenses, I'll go 5* & enjoy the...well, I don't know, really. The free cardboard slippers? Too many cushions?

Possibly I'm a bit jaded because of work travel, but 5*, meh. It's still a room with a bed in it.

I don’t think you understand how the star rating works - it’s largely a matter of facilities available, not the quality of the rooms or service.

Stayed in a 3* last week. Beautiful room, absolutely stunning location and views, wonderful breakfasts, fab service all round. But did not have stuff like lifts, its own car park, lots of TV channels, guest laundry service, night porter, super fast WiFi, air con etc because it was in a remote location in a historic building and only had about ten rooms.

By contrast I’ve stayed in chain hotels in shit locations with a mediocre restaurant, average service at best, a lukewarm buffet breakfast, shoddy cleaning, a view of the bins etc that had four stars because they had a load of stuff I couldn’t give a shit about, like a gym, 24-hr room service, an underground car park etc.

I’m not the type that needs my hand holding a gym or a swimming pool for sightseeing type trips. I’ve stated in some very nice 2 and 3 star hotels in France and Italy. One in Venice was near St Marks Square for a very good price. It was cheaper because reception and breakfast were in the lovely 4 star ‘sister’ hotel next door.

Yes ud say bigger hotels with the stars and facilities can still be shit holes.
That little green village where the family runs it,clean,amazing food,nice people might have less stars because it a home,bed,food place buy it's a sight more lovely than the gritty bigger hotel.
It's really confusing nowadays.
We go for area then start searching the lists and click straight down to review from picture.sometimes without even reading description.
Actually a quick hotel search and blog review can be good( if they aren't paid)
Do not look on social media( will be paid usually)
And be mindful on reviews nowadays if they were asked to stay by so and so which means they want a review in their favour.
And to the person that said that's why they won't camp.ha! Lots of posh campsites with 5 stars 😬

Star ratings are usually a red herring. I've stayed in plenty of four and five star hotels with rooms requiring attention. Equally I've stayed in some fab 2 star rated hotels and b and bs.

If a pool and a squash court are important you will need to book a high star rating. For me I like a good sized, well appointed room with a good bathroom with plenty of storage. I'm always irritated by the number of hotels where there is no socket near the mirror you would for drying your hair, poor lighting for make up etc.

So 3 star does not necessarily mean grotty. It could be but so can 4 and 5 star hotels.

People get hung up star rating

i don’t stay in anything less than 10 star personally.

Having worked in 4star hotels one with a cocktail bar. The bar was removed after many years hotel lost 1star

It’s not snobby at all, it’s a holiday I like a little comfort. 4 or 5 stars for me only!

I've stayed in loads of hotels of varying stars. Most are fine. 3 or 4 stars in East Ibiza or East Majorca were lovely.

I can't stand hotels and their poky rooms/standardised bed covers/lack of privacy/space

Yet you go on about how marvellous Youth Hostels are? About as cheap and basic as you get with lots of communal sharing and living? You also have a very weird idea about what a hotel is, based on the big chains like Hilton.

People like different stuff. A week in a youth hostel or camping would be like a prison sentence for me. Spent my childhood camping/caravanning and NEVER AGAIN.

The OP seems to have fucked off but yes, shamefully ridiculous.

I live near there too? What’s so hard to believe?

And I agree with the PP, it’s really rough-looking on the outside.

To OP, I’m currently staying in a 3 star in Belgium, it’s nice, clean, has AC but I’m here just for a couple nights and the aim of my trip is sightseeing, so I really just need a decent place to sleep.

Much better to check Trip Advisor and go in general consensus than the star rating.
premier Inn is 3* and is fine for a city break but you’d want more From a resort hotel.
Star ratings are v different overseas too.

I wouldn't stay in a 3 star hotel. You have to knock one star off to UK standards (in resorts not cities). So you'd be staying in a 2 star.

As pp pointed out there are some 3 stars that don't have great facilities but are nice. I assume because you have a child you're looking for pool etc.

What’s wrong with wanting to stay in a hotel with more facilities than a 3 star? I wouldn’t want to stay in a 3 star unless we really couldn’t afford anything else and were desperate to go on holiday.

It's not the 'wanting more facilities' it's the idea that a 4 star hotel is automatically nice and a 3 star hotel will be inferior and less nice that people are taking issue with, because it's really not true at all.

Some 4 stars will be lovely. Some will be tired, old fashioned, grubby, in poor locations etc etc.

Some 3 stars will be tired, old fashioned, grubby, in poor locations etc etc. Some will be lovely.

You can't automatically determine whether a hotel will be nice to stay in based solely on the star rating because it just doesn't work like that.