Contents of Post
So a few weeks ago we released our tattoo rating system. This week we wanted to go over the criteria we use to rate the hotels and hostels we visit. This hotel and hostel rating system consists of 5 categories with an overall rating. Each category will be rated out of five stars.
I will be using the now-closed Smart Stay Hostel and Smart Stay Hotel Schweiz in Munich, Germany for any and all examples.
Without further ado, here are the categories we use for our hotel and hostel rating system.
Cleanliness:
I don’t know about you, but to me, cleanliness is one of the most important factors to staying at a place. Normally a dirty place will foreshadow other negative aspects that can only be seen after staying there for some time.
Smart Stay Hostel: This I would’ve rated maybe a 1 or 1.5 out of 5 at most. The minute you walk in there you see stains on walls that are painted a specific colour that is meant to hide stains. The lobby is fairly tidy, but if you are to walk down to the bathrooms you might be disgusted. Not just by the bathrooms, which are no treasure themselves, but just by the sickening colours all over the walls.
I mentioned foreshadowing, right? Well, the cleaning staff was incredibly subpar. To a point where I witnessed, on more than one occasion, a housekeeper remaking a used bed for the next guest instead of changing the sheets. Not to mention that they had a complete bed bug infestation for the majority of a year.
Location:
When I’m travelling the location of the place I am staying becomes fairly important. If you are too close to certain tourist spots the prices will be ridiculous. Yet, if you are too far from everything then the motivation to go and do or see anything plummets. The last thing you want is to have to travel for an hour or more to get anywhere worth going.
Smart Stay Hostel and Hotel Schweiz: The Location for these places was top-notch. A 5/5 if I’ve ever seen one. Especially during Oktoberfest. Both places were within reasonable walking distance of the main train and subway station in the city as well as both being basically on top of the Oktoberfest grounds.
Atmosphere:
The atmosphere of an establishment can really make or break the place. While atmospheres of hotels tend to be fairly generic there tend to be a few hidden gems. On the other hand, hostels are almost completely about the atmosphere. Each different type of hostel has a certain kind of atmosphere that goes along with it.
Almost no one wants to stay in a place that has a negative or scary atmosphere. It can really ruin your experience where ever it is that you are going.
Amenities:
It’s a pretty bad feeling when you book a place last minute or without any research and show up to find that you need to pay for sheets, a towel, luggage storage, and, god forbid, the internet. On the other hand, if you get to a place and find out that they have a place to do laundry for cheap or even free it feels like you’ve struck gold. Maybe they have a restaurant or bar too. One can only hope!
Overall Friendliness and Professionalism (Staff and Guests):
Professionalism is on the staff, not the guests and its importance differs between hotels and hostels. On the other hand, friendliness is essential for everyone anywhere you go. No one likes going to a place where the staff are complete dicks or they just allow guests to be dicks to others. Sure there is only so much that they can do, but there are some things.
What is considered professionalism also changed depending on if it is a hotel or hostel. For example, I would rather have someone who is chill, laid back, social, and relaxed at a hostel than someone who is super professional, must always be working, buttoned-up, and always calling me sir.
Overall Rating:
Most of the sections correspond with a single star. A 0-1.5 in a section will equate to no star here, a 2-3.5 will be half a star, and a 4-5 will be a full star.
The only exception to this is Cleanliness. Getting a 0-1 in this section will result in a star being removed instead of just not getting one.
This hotel and hostel rating system is tied to another award that we have planned here at Nomadic Inscriptions. Later this year we will be announcing all the award categories. Look forward to seeing some of those awards given out in early 2022.
Are there any categories you believe we are missing? Let us know in the comments below!
