Just curious. But the one section of the RS books that I frequently ignore is the section of hotels. And a recent trip to Berlin and London, where I was travelling solo, has made me reconsider, however slightly, the types of hotels I will try to stay in on future trips.
Like nearly everyone else, I have a price range and look for value. But as I get older, I suspect that my price range in Europe has moved a tad higher. And the wrong hotel can ruin a stay.
For starters, I do want a good location, a clean room with at least adequate size, air conditioning (if it may be possibly needed), and a bathroom in the room. Two of my favorite hotels in Europe, in Paris and especially in Venice, were small properties (10 to 20 rooms) with a superb staff and breakfast (especially in Venice).
But though I can physically do it, I would prefer not to climb several flights of stairs with a suitcase to get to my room. And depending on the city, I am no longer interested in shunning a luxury or a modern hotel for the "backdoor" experience. I would not consider a luxury hotel in, say, London because the pricing is outrageous. But I would in Berlin because the pricing can be reasonable.
Again, the finest hotel experience I have ever had was a very small, family-run property in Venice where the staff was extraordinary. But recently, after climbing flights of stairs with a suitcase for a bed-and-breakfast in Berlin, I sat in the bar at the Ritz Carlton nursing an old fashioned and thinking I could give up a bit of local flavor for this if the price were reasonable (and in Berlin, it can be).
No right or wrong answers. And we have different budgets (when I was 24 I spent the entire night walking London streets because I did not have a hotel room on my last night in London). I am just curious as to what types of hotel properties most try to book and whether your hotel preferences have changed over the years.