One of the most important decisions that you’ll be making as you travel is choosing the right hotel. In fact I’d go as far as saying that the choice of hotel can be the make or break of your holiday. If the room is terrible, the food is awful and the receptionist is moody; well, these are all things that you will remember once your holiday has ended.

In terms of hotels there are two real options to choose from; the independent ones and the large chains like the Ritz or Holiday Inn. Both options have got there good points and bad points. Here’s a simple guide to choosing between the two.

Chain Hotel
The great thing about chain hotels is that you know exactly what to expect when you arrive at the hotel, because everything is standardized. These hotels for example offers spacious rooms, award winning breakfast and so much more.

Independent Hotels
There’s no two ways about this, the quality of independent hotels varies enormously  If you find a nice hotel this can be a real plus, as the service is often far superior and often times more personalized than what you can expect from a hotel chain. However the opposite is also true, we’ve all read about the travel horror stories of people arriving at a half finished hotel with damp running up the walls and a mattress that looks like it was stolen from a prison.

Top End: Five Star Chains Vs Independent

Five Star Chains
I’ve actually stayed in my fair share of five star chain hotels and I’ve got to say that the experience was generally pretty disappointing  Fom the outside, chains like the Ritz and the Hyatt look incredible. The reception area is normally beautiful. They’ll have great amenities, like swimming pools and possibly even a sauna, but then you see the room, which is often small and has almost no personality.

Five Star Independents

To make a name for yourself as an independent five star hotel you really need to impress your customers. This often means hiring in world class designers to come up with an awesome room layout and putting thought into all of the little extras you can give to the customers to make the experience of staying at the hotel sensational.

Winner: Hands down the independent hotels always offer better quality.

Mid Range: Mid Range Chains Vs Independent

Mid Range Chains
The big difference between the mid range chain hotels and the five star chain hotels are the amenities on offer. The reception area will be tastefully decorated, but you won’t be seeing any chandeliers. Chances are the hotel hasn’t got a swimming pool or a sauna either. However, when you arrive in your room it will look almost identical to what you’d get if you had booked into a five star chain hotel.

Mid Range Independent
Mid range independent hotels can be great, but they can also be not so great. Room decoration can vary between pink frilly bedcovers that you’d find at your grannies to the trendy minimalist design of a modern apartment. The problem is that without doing a lot of reserach before hand you just won’t be sure what to expect.

Winner: By a margin the Mid Range Chains.

This is a sponsored Post.