Reviewing a hotel - how important is WiFi?

It would depend on how much I needed wifi access.

Have I chosen the hotel for a work trip, haven't purchased either my carrier's international package or a local country SIM or eSIM, called ahead to confirm that the wifi was good, checked earlier visitors' reviews of wifi reliability before booking, only to find that I can't get online to do the work I need to do?

The difficult wifi situation would figure pretty prominently in my review.

Am I on vacation, have a phone that has access to the cell network, and wish I could check things on my ipad in the hotel room ?

I wouldn't care that much that the wifi didn't work, and probably would only add a phrase so that other potential tourists would be aware.

Anyway, people will 1) know themselves whether this is something they care about when reading your review and 2) read through the lines on your review to understand if your review is "overly" or disproportionally focused on any given issue.

Since a lot of travelers' plans, ticket purchases, mapping depends on wifi, it counts pretty high in this day and age.

For a general review, I could see docking the dating, but obviously state specifically that it was due to inoperative Wi-Fi, since they advertised it as such, and it was not available.

I had the same issue in Seville, stayed in a very upscale hotel annex (had a great deal on new suites through Booking.com) and the Wi-fi was non-functional most of the first day. We went to the desk a couple times, at first they just did not get what the issue was, finally they called a service tech, and later the Wi-Fi worked...otherwise, the place was great.

My only complaint with Booking.com this trip, is that the term "balcony" leaves it open for lots of creative options...but that is another thread.

I would mention it. Since most people have phones/watches/laptops, WiFi is a necessity. That it wasn't fixed would be a minus for that hotel.

It’s a big deal, so you have to mention it. I stayed in an apartment in France recently that I loved, but the wifi was spotty and frequently out. I would stay there again because I can live without wifi, but some people really need or want it. I wrote a glowing review, but pointed but that the wifi was not reliable when I was there.

It’s more important than it used to be since everything is done over the Internet now. However, if I just needed to check email or some minor thing, I’d just head over to where it worked and write it off. I’d mention it in the review, but would necessarily mark the hotel down if everything else was fine. No sense penalizing the hotel if it was a service provider issue.

I would mention it in my review. It would definitely influence my opinion and I would understand that that Sunday is a tough day to get anything fixed in a small town in France and a lot of other places. For me good wi-fi in the hotel is a huge deal even on vacation because of my work requirement. It's one thing for the wi-fi not to be fixed over the weekend but by Monday, it should have been fixed or the staff should have appeared to care about it more than this hotel staff did so I think it is absolutely fair to mention the situation and have it affect your view of the hotel. You could, for example, give the hotel 3 stars and say it would have gotten 4 but for the wi-fi situation and explain what happened. I actually pay attention to reviews like that because they appear rational and well thought out.

I agree with others to mention it in your review, giving the facts as you've done here. Others can decide if this is important to their situation.

I had this happen in a hotel in Amsterdam in May. It was in the time when you still needed a negative Covid test to return to the US so data was essential to making the testing appointment, getting the results and uploading them to the FlyReady app. I DID have a data plan and was truly thankful for that and will never travel without an international plan.

I have WiFi as one the filters for my hotel searches. While I can do without it for a day or so (and manage with data), I read reviews for WiFi related comments. I am unwilling to do without it except for emergency type situations. So you would be doing me a favor to mention it in your review, whether you gave them a lower rating or not.

I'm with Bets . When I started traveling some twelve years ago wifi was pretty spotty . While I do my pre trip planning in great detail , I rely on the internet for a lot while on the road. Staying on top of the news , both foreign and domestic is high on my list . I book hotels where I'm reasonably certain I can be connected. And as Pam , I also take a Monthly Verizon plan . If all else fails, I have that , it's good insurance .

Good question. I would definitely mention it in my review, but I wouldn't take off a star.

I would definitely mention it in my review, but I wouldn't take off a star.

See, I would. Not because Wi-Fi is so essential (it is, even if you have data coverage), but because of the non-response by the staff over several days, that is really the issue. There could have been any number of problems, and it sounds like their desire to fix things is limited.

A slightly contrarian view here.

Sure, mention it in your review, and be honest about the lack of wifi as well as other factors that impact your review.

That said, I would never rely entirely on wifi, anywhere. Hope for the best but be prepared if realty falls short of your hopes. My expectations for wifi quality would depend a lot on the location. Sure, wifi is great when it's available and fast. But as we all know, that is not something we always experience. I've been in big, international business hotels (the Intercontinental, a highrise in downtown San Francisco, about as central to Big Tech Infrastructure as you can get) where the wifi was nominally there, but was all but unusable (excruciatingly slow, intermittent, repeatedly dropping the connection). That can happen anywhere, even in a fancy big city hotel, to a B&B in-the-middle-of-nowhere. That's wifi. (In fairness, I've stayed in that same hotel many times, and the wifi usually was rock-solid...but technology fails sometimes). Which is why, if I care about connecting, I'll have cellular service along (and yes, cellular service is not 100% reliable and fast everywhere either...it saved my bacon that day in downtown San Francisco).

My expectations for wifi depend on the location and circumstances. For the price of the room I was staying in (paid by my employer, thank goodness), I expected reliable, high-quality wifi, and that hotel usually delivered that. For a small hotel in Bayeux? More of a roll of the dice. The hotel owners are not IT experts; they are going to be dependent on some (in this case, apparently unresponsive) other business....they may feel as frustrated and powerless as their guests. Have you ever called Comcast (insert name of large faceless corporation you use for internet here) for help?

If you expect to need solid, reliable connectivity on your travels, don't rely on a little hotel to always provide it. Things can and do fail, be ready to roll with the punches, and if connectivity is important to you, have a cellular solution that's not going to throttle you when you will be relying on it.

Just my 2 bits.

What Paul said. Staff cant always fix infrastructure problems, or know when it will get fixed. Good staff should be able to communicate. Great staff should be able to offer some possible solutions.

See, I would. Not because Wi-Fi is so essential (it is, even if you have data coverage), but because of the non-response by the staff over several days

I can promise you the staff is unable to get the internet service provider in small-town France (like Bayeux) to fix a problem over the weekend.

I further agree with David's point :

Have you ever called Comcast (insert name of large faceless corporation you use for internet here) for help?

A faceless French corporation ?? On a weekend ?!! Good luck.

Was this in August or September?
If August, many employees could have been on vacation.

Thanks for all your replies, very helpful.

This was just a few days ago in September. The staff never communicated any updates to us unless we asked. Never any apology for the inconvenience either. If it were my business, I would have offered the guest free drinks or breakfast or something just to acknowledge that my service wasn't as it should it have been even if the issue was outside my control. That's good customer service.

Freebies don't happen in France unless you ask. Most people don't dare ask because money is not a subject people discuss. It's not like the States.

A few weeks ago a waiter at one of our regular drinking spots spilled a coffee and ice cream creation on me and a guest of ours. As she and I headed to the restroom, my French husband told them to comp our order. They did and gave us food, too He later laughed that his forty years in the States had taught him to speak up.

You need to be honest. You can love a hotel and say so but if you had wifi problems you need to tell that. It is a service to other potential guests. If it was a one time thing, and no one else writes about it, well, it was a one time thing.

But if there is a pattern of wifi issues then those readings the review who rely on wifi can decide to stay there or not.

If it's a one time issue, then it's probably the provider's fault. If its a continual issue then the hotel needs to do something.

I use and need wifi. When I read reviews wifi problems are something I note. Last October I was in Bayeux and also in an annex building. The wifi was okay--not the fastest I've ever experienced--but fast enough for my needs.

I recently stayed in a hotel in Nafplion. They billed themselves as 5 star. (Not even close.) Reliable wifi was only available in the lobby. But everyone was using it so there was no place to sit if you tried. I didn't choose the hotel and had read about wifi issues.

Reliable wifi was only available in the lobby. But everyone was using it so there was no place to sit if you tried.

I've witnessed that so many times - that "free WiFi" is nothing short of useless to me, which is why I switched to data SIM cards, years ago, for both my phone and tablet - I want to be able to use the internet ON DEMAND in my room or wherever I am when I'm travelling.

Order hippocketwifi from your home before you leave on your trip…..delivered from Lyon to your first hotel……it’s a game changer for us to have reliable wifi 24-7 in Europe now……DO NOT depend on the spotty “free” wifi advertised in the hotels where you stay…..had a family member that was sick in the states and we needed to be able to be in touch with family a few years ago so we went this route……would not go to Europe now without it! PS…..we may be spoiled now as traveling Americans to have access all of the time but when you need it, you need it!

Mention it and take off a “star” or two. If a 5-star system, I’d give no higher than a 3 based on lack of concern and lack of service. WiFi is essential, IMO. We changed to T-Mobile last year and bought the International 5G upgrade for our trip (traveling now) for multiple reasons but one is that we can use it as a tethered service if WiFi should fail us in lodging. It has come in handy and oh-by-the-way, the service and connectivity are excellent!

See, I would. Not because Wi-Fi is so essential (it is, even if you have data coverage), but because of the non-response by the staff over several days

I can promise you the staff is unable to get the internet service provider in small-town France (like Bayeux) to fix a problem over the weekend.

Well, that sort of reinforces my point. If you know that, then the staff at the hotel should know that, and not promise that it will be fixed soon, or tomorrow, or over the weekend, or anytime before late Monday...which it was not, by the account of the OP. Like I said, that speaks directly to the professionalism and quality of the staff, and that is a concern of a rating. They should have just said the issue will not be resolved over the weekend, and make some sort of gesture to help.