Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
tions are conducted anonymously and without the knowledge of the property's man-
agement. Although it would be unusual, it is certainly possible that the rooms we ran-
domly inspect are not representative of the majority of rooms at a particular hotel.
Another possibility is that the rooms we inspect in a given hotel are representative
but that by bad luck a reader is assigned to an inferior room. When we rechecked the
hotel that our reader disliked so intensely, we discovered that our rating was correctly
representative but that he and his wife had unfortunately been assigned to one of a
small number of threadbare rooms scheduled for renovation.
The key to avoiding disappointment is to do some snooping around in advance.
Werecommendthatyouasktogetaphotoofahotel'sstandardguestroombeforeyou
book, or at least a copy of the hotel's promotional brochure. Be forewarned, however,
that some hotel chains use the same guest room photo in their promotional literature
for all hotels in the chain, and that the guest room in a specific property may not re-
semble the photo in the brochure. When you or your travel agent call, ask how old
the property is and when the guest room you are being assigned was last renovated. If
you arrive and are assigned a room inferior to that which you had been led to expect,
demand to be moved to another room.
THE TOP 30 BEST DEALS
IN ADDITION TO LISTING THE BETTER ROOMS
in town, we also take a look at the best
combinations of quality and value in a room. The rankings are made without consid-
eration of location or the availability of restaurants, recreational facilities, entertain-
ment, or amenities.
The Disneyland Hotel, you may notice, is not one of the best deals. This is be-
causeyoucangetmoreforyourmoneyatotherproperties.TheDisneylandandGrand
Californian Hotels, however, are two of the most popular hotels in the area, and many
guests are willing to pay a higher rate for their convenience, service, and amenities.
We once had a reader complain to us that he had booked one of our top-ranked
rooms for value and had been very disappointed in the room. On checking we noticed
that the room the reader occupied had a quality rating of . We would remind you
that the value ratings are intended to give you some sense of value received for your
lodging dollar spent. A room at $35 may have the same value rating as a
room at $85, but that does not mean that the rooms will be of comparable quality.
Regardless of whether it's a good deal or not, a room is still a room.
Listed the top 30 room buys for the money, regardless of location or star classi-
fication, based on rack rates. Note that sometimes a suite can cost less than a hotel
room.
