What are the qualities a hotel or holiday apartment should have?

Do you have a particular country in mind?

For the life of me I don't understand this question. Do you mean what qualities they should have to receive a particular rating (2 star, etc.) in a particular country? Do you mean what qualities individual people would want them to have? Do you mean what qualities they should have for you to want to stay there - in which case, what qualities would you think they should have? What do you mean by explain location? Do you want to know what we like? What do you like? Are you wanting to open a hotel or holiday apartment and want to know what people are looking for?

I'm totally perplexed.

I just mean what qualities a hotel or holiday apartment should have in order to make you choose it for your holiday generally, and more particularly in Italy?
Location, comfort, isolated, within the centre of a small village?,hill town?, city centre?

Nancy, I am interested to know what you like most, what makes you feel good, why you choose a particular place and not another?

The answer is going to vary as people (travellers) value different things differently. For some it is a luxe accommodation in central Paris with all the fittings. For some it is a low price and a hip neighborhood. For some it is a washer-dryer combination, for some it is WIFI. For some it is a larger bed rather than two twins pushed together, or a sofabed. For some, paying for a sofabed for the children would be an advantage over having to pay for an apartment with a second room for the children. For some, the exact opposite - having the living room open and the children able to sleep in a second bedroom and be able to use both rooms at the same time would be more important. For some an elevator. For some an electric kettle. For some a coffee machine. For some a Nespresso. For some a shower. For some a tub. For some definitely NOT a tub with a high wall to step into. For some definitely NOT a shower-only cabin. The permutations are endless.

I know it is different for each of us, but you personally what are your first three points when choosing? Is there something you miss when you are out of home ( maybe something you always have or enjoy at home and that you would be pleased to find in your holiday place?)
Would you enjoy grape picking or truffle hunting or would you rather go to visit museums, restaurant or shopping?
What makes YOU feel comfortable in a place?

I guess I'm still not sure why you want to know unless you're just throwing it out there for discussion. Usually when someone posts for that reason they will start with saying what they want or like and then ask for others' opinions. Personally the first thing I look for is location - and that may vary depending on where I am and what I want to do. If I'm traveling by train/bus I want a central location convenient to transportation, if I'm traveling by car then I might want something in the countryside or in a small village. So many variables.

Again, what most people look for in an accommodation will depend on lots of things based on where and why they are going. If spending a week near the sea, you'll probably want something with a view, maybe want restaurants on site or within walking distance, etc. In an expensive city location and price may be the deciding factors.

Others will always go the first class, total amenities route regardless of where they are. For some other opinions here is a thread from a few years ago where people posted what was important to them:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/the-deal-brakers-what-amenities-your-accommodation-must-have

Actually think it would have been more appropriate to post the question in the Q & A section under General Europe rather in this section that is for Reviews in Italy. And the poster has been around long enough to know the structure of this site. And the question, if it is that, is still not making much sense.

Thank you for that link Nancy helps but a bit too general as I was looking what kind of accommodation you were really looking when going on holiday in Italy.
Frank I posted this under Italy as I wanted response with respect to this particular country. I would not look for the same kind of accommodation in England, France or Italy.
Thank you for your responses.

Still not making any sense. You could have posted under Italy in Q &A. The only qualities I want, need is clean and convenient at a reasonable price. A view would be great IF I was spending a lot of time in my room looking at the view - I am not.

When I am booking rooms, my husband's first question is "do they have WiFi ?" Shared bath down the hall -- OK. No elevator -- OK. No WiFi -- find another place!!

If you are asking how we would choose one hotel or apartment over another for an Italian holiday I'll add our personal check list. For visiting a city, the hotel or apartment must be close to the city center or great public transportation with restaurant options right in our neighborhood. The interior of the hotel or apartment must look clean and uncluttered, have comfortable looking furniture, a clean modern bathroom, wifi, air conditioning (if summer) and be a price within or below our budget :-)

A seaside, mountain or lake hotel/apartment should have all of the above and an outdoor seating area with a view of the lake/sea/mountains, etc.

Location Location Location-close to tube/metro station and walking distance to some of the things you want to see-and if you're traveling with a teenage girl, walking distance to shopping! In Italy, the Alemandi's location across from Vatican Museums is worth the price, and there are convents you can stay in near the coliseum.

Since the post is in the ITALY" forum I am going to guess the obvious about the question. But the answer is pretty universal. I ask myself, at the end of the day will there be a comfortable place close by to sit and have a drink or a place to stroll or something similar that I can drink-in the round out the day. Proximity to train stations means nothing to me. Proximity to what I have come there to see and do is very important. My vacation time is valuable and I don't want to waste it commuting from some "cheaper" location.

I hope this helps. Good luck and G-d Bless.

You don't suppose there are tourism vendors on this forum do you? Naaaaaa?

Might you be seeking replies for a selfish reason? Such as you are establishing a rental in Italy? Or researching for an article? I agree with Nancy and Frank, the question is nebulous.

Claudia, that is what I was thinking .... research for an article. It was my first thought.

My first thought was the other -- setting up a rental.

For Italy small towns, I look for a hotel in the center historical piazza or nearby with an excellent rating on Booking. Com or Expedia. I don't want an Americanized hotel. I balance price point across our itinerary meaning I will pay more for a couple of locations and less for others. I'm looking for clean rooms with breakfast in Italy (not in France) that are away from the train station but have public transportation within walking distance.

1. Location - I don't care if a hotel is FREE, if it's 10 miles out of town, it just doesn't make any sense to stay there.
   
2. Photos - I know you need to be careful with fake reviews in TripAdvisor, but if 10-20 different reviews all show photos of a very run down place, the chances are, that's probably what it really looks like.
3. Security - If it's in a bad part of town or if reviews have indicated poor security, then I'll look some place else.
4. Responsiveness - If the proprietor is not responsive to my inquiries (both in terms of time taken to respond or does not answer all questions I've asked in their response) then I won't rank them very high.
5. Price/Value - I usually check a bunch of different hotels in the area to see what the going rate is. Unless there is something particularly unique about a place, I don't go for anything much higher than the average.
6. Inclusions - Included breakfasts and free wifi are great, but I won't rule out of a place if they don't have these, especially if the price and location is right.

1. Has to be clean
2. Can't have that damp, mildew, feel.
3. Good price
4. A/C
5. Free wifi with strong signal
6. Sleeps 4
7. Max. 25 minute train/tram/subway ride to center of town or a 20 minute walk.

I would love to be in the center of town but that's often hard to achieve with 1-6. However I did find an awesome apartment in Rome that met all of the above plus a ideal location

Safe part of town is a given.

Francoise, you have a rental property in Florence - you've offered it on the forums in the past - so I'm not sure why you're asking?