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.

I stayed in one the week before last, in Paris. Lovely, comfortable bed, air conditioning, friendly staff (I speak French but they were pleasant to those who don't).

Not all three star hotels are the same.

I'm firmly in the camp of must be as nice/nicer than my house for a holiday. So no, I wouldn't choose a 3 star and I think that's fine if you can afford it.

If it was the choice of not having a holiday or staying in a 3 star then I would choose the 3 star.

I have stayed in hostels and basic hotels when younger, but at this stage in my life it's just not what I want to do anymore.

I would stay in eg a Premier Inn for an overnight trip for a conference, event etc but not for an actual holiday.

TripAdvisor reviews can be misleading as well because people will have higher expectations of a 5 star hotel and will mark it down for minor irritations with service, whereas a basic place will be marked highly simply for being clean. I like to look at what people have actually written.

I go for modern contemporary decor and then look at facilities. I have seen 4/5 star hotels but they just have old fashioned decor and I would not stay there. Equally some 2/3 star hotels are stylish and I've booked it.

Depends on what your looking for really.

Remember Trip advisor reviews are written set against the expectations of the author which may vastly differ to yours. I stayed in a hotel in Majorca, can't remember the star rating. It had great reviews but wasn't nice. Broken tiles in bathroom, dirt on ceiling, soaked carpets in parts, one area reeked of rotten fish, food awful. Many broken sunbeds. I thought I was booking a cheap but cheerful as that's all I could afford at the time post separation but have previously stayed in far nicer places, having researched well. I was used to better, but to many guests this was a great place to stay.

Depends what you want from a holiday. I spent my childhood staying in 4-5* hotels which would probably now be AI. I can't think of anything I'd rather do less.
I'd rather either camp and use the money we save on some really lovely days out and really REALLY good food (we spent the same on a single meal this week as our total accommodation cost for a week camping somewhere naice and it was ERMOMG) or a great self catering break and have a few nights at a local bistro.
I can never shake that feeling of sitting by a pool and watching a coach load of people arrive.
Horses for courses.

Three star isn't grotty though. High star ratings usually apply to facilities like if there's a bar or a spa.

This is a 3* that a friend of mine used to work at during the summer season. Indoor pool, outdoor pool, gym, refurbished rooms, 2 restaurants, evening entertainment, creche, kids club, sports facilities, spa treatments available.

Doesn't look too grotty to me, I've stayed in much worse 4 and even 5 star hotels.

www.seymourhotels.com/merton-hotel/

Three years ago we went on a big trip to California and stayed in a couple of 3 star hotels at San Francisco and Yosemite. It was the difference between going for 14 days or going for 10 days and quite frankly we were not in the room that often? I’m now at a 5 star in Mauritius but it’s low season here at the moment… I wouldn’t pay the increase to come here in high season I’d definitely downgrade the hotel. I don’t need a butler turning down the bed and throwing rose petals in the bath which is what you seem to get. I’d definitely think about the type of holiday you want and which “services” are must haves.

the rooms look like cabins on a ferry

I don't really care if it's nicer than my house as when we go on holiday we tend to not just sit in the hotel room. I want it clean, safe, and with comfy beds, but we mostly just are there to sleep and are out and about all day, so the decor is irrelevant. So it depends what kind of holidays you like, I suppose. If you spend a lot of time in the hotel then that's where you prioritise your money. If you are barely there then save your money for activities instead.

And yes I don't really look at star ratings at all when I book somewhere. I look at reviews, pictures, etc.

Depends which country you are in

3 stars can be excellent in some countries

Star ratings are not a measurement of how "nice" a hotel is, it's just a guide to the kind of facilities you can expect. There are good and bad 3 star hotels just as there are plenty of good and bad 5 star hotels.

There are really nice 3 star hotels which may just not have a spa/pool etc and if you are just using it as a base to explore the area then that would be absolutely fine. If you are looking for a luxury spa hotel then a 3* probably won't cut it.

It's daft to consider the star ratings in isolation, basically.

We never stay in hotels. We prefer pensions or the equivalent. Much nicer and more personable.

Depends so much. I've stayed in 4 stars that have rubbish facilities and tatty rooms. The star rating doesn't mean a lot. Look on trip advisor, Booking.com etc for current reviews and look at the 3&4* reviews rather than just 1 & 5's

I've booked a couple of chambres d'hote for this summer, have 9/10 rankings but are basic, it's not always about stars, these are quirky, historic and in a gorgeous location

I went to a party there many moons ago, it was gorgeous.

@ShirleyPhallus Maybe not to everyone's taste but I was just demonstrating that a hotel with 3 stars doesn't have to be a grotty hole with no facilities as some on this thread seem to assume.

I once worked in a 3 star boutique hotel in Yorkshire that was absolutely stunning (and priced to reflect that) but didn't have 24 hour reception or room service so couldn't be graded any higher.

The star rating system worldwide isn’t comparable to the system in the UK. Here I wouldn’t stay below 4. Somewhere like Greece, I would discount anything below a 5.

No idea why my last sentence was in bold

But I don’t think anyone has said a 3 star hotel is a grotty hovel? But the place you’ve linked very much looks like a 3 star, I think basic, clean and decent amenities probably covers it pretty well

Many are the holidays I've had utterly, irretrievably ruined by the lack of a rain shower in the bathroom or decor that is not to my taste in my hotel.

Sorry to be brutal and I’ve not RTFT but, stars don’t equate to poshness.
Hotels get stars for things like ‘conference room’ ‘pool’ ‘ballroom’

So a really nasty, cheap, tacky hotel can be 5 stars because it has a pool, a conference room, gardens or whatever, but they use polyester sheets, fibre duvets and offer no extras.
Whereas a cheap, tiny place with 400 thread count cotton sheets, feather duvets, bottled water and really nice toiletries can be zero stars because they don’t have a dining room let alone a banquet hall.

you’re being a snob.

Definitely check out the reviews rather than rely on star ratings.

We’ve just had a week in a 3 star Spanish hotel and it was lovely, very clean, great food, couldn’t fault it. Have booked a 5 star for next year though as got a great deal on it