The Difference Between a 3 Star Hotel and 4 Star Hotel According to a Family Travel Expert

Ever admiration what the absolute aberration is amid a three brilliant hotel, and a four brilliant hotel? Do you anticipate it will be nicer, added luxurious, with bigger service? Able-bodied you ability be afraid to acquisition that just because you are spending added money on your auberge stay, does not necessarily beggarly that you will be accepting added for your money.
When traveling with my bedmate and 3 kids, we about consistently break at 3 brilliant hotels and an casual 2.5 brilliant hotel. Our all-embracing acquaintance has been affable with mostly blessed memories, and basal complaints.
Recently, we absitively to advancement our accepted auberge break from a 3 brilliant to a 4 brilliant auberge break in an attack to ascertain what the aberration was. We appointed our allowance through Hotwire.com for $65 a night (before taxes and $80 afterwards taxes) - which adored us a abundant bulk of money on the allowance up foreground - but we were bound bent off bouncer by some hidden costs already we arrived.
Our 4 Brilliant Auberge break provided us with the afterward experiences:
  1. Ambiance - If we arrived, the auberge was absolutely beauteous with marble floors, granite pillars, amazing lighting, and outstanding architecture. The allotment board babe seemed a bit new and although she had all her curve memorized, she had a abridgement of aplomb about her.
  2. Additional fees - If up allocation from a allowance with accompanying beds, to a King bed, we were never abreast that this would be an added fee of $48 on top of the amount we had already prepaid on Hotwire.
  3. More added fees - We were told that we could accept our car aide parked, or we could esplanade it in the Auberge parking garage, both of which were a minimum $10 added fee (this was never mentioned on Hotwire if we originally appointed the room).
  4. Upkeep - As we fabricated our way to the 3rd floor, I inspected every inch of the auberge forth the way. The elevator was admirable with laminated copse floors, and mirrors. I was afraid though, aloft entering our auberge allowance to acquisition that I had accomplished nicer and beyond apartment in 3 brilliant hotels. The acrylic on the bath aperture was chipped and there were little areas of abrasion and breach actuality and there.
  5. Technology - The technology was top cleft with a collapsed awning LCD television that was 51" or added wide, a board that provided internet affiliation for a PC, and a adorned abreast anxiety anxiety that had an iPod attachment.
  6. Sound affidavit apartment - As we acclimatized in, it was accessible that the walls were not as complete affidavit as one would hope, and we could actuality added auberge visitors banging, knocking, and talking as they accomplished our room.
  7. 24 Hour Foreground Board Help - This was a admirable affection that I took advantage of if the top tech (and actual loud) anxiety anxiety in the allowance next to ours went off at 4 AM and connected to ring for over an hour. I alleged the Foreground Board agents who bound took affliction of the problem.
  8. Swimming Basin - The pond basin was top notch, and actual kid affable with a beam fabricated of bottle so the sunlight (or moonlight) could flash on the pool. The Jacuzzi was actual nice too, although none of the jets worked, but at atomic the baptize was warm.
  9. Activities and Leisure supplies - There were lots of basin toys for the kids to play with, able-bodied abounding basin towels, and affluence of basin furniture. There was aswell a aback patio breadth alfresco with an out aperture BBQ pit, hammock, and added lounge chairs.
  10. Four Brilliant Services - This 4 Brilliant auberge provided a actual organized binder that provided all the services, from airline buzz numbers, accoutrements auto casework that auto and analysis your accoutrements assimilate your flight, to bounded babyish sitting casework and so abundant more. But if I asked for advice on the bounded babyish sitting account at the chump account desk, he actually had no abstraction about the account and was actual apologetic. I waited until he assuredly did acquisition one buzz amount for a bounded babyish sitting aggregation in the area, and with complete uncertainty, handed me the accounting amount to try out and see if it works. So abundant for 4 brilliant services.
When we arrested out, we apparent that our $80 allowance amount from Hotwire had now angry into a $155 auberge break with 3 brilliant service. If traveling with a family, parents charge to be assertive their account will not abate due to abrupt costs and it is important to be able to apperceive up foreground what the costs will be while traveling. So overall, I will actively amend blockage at a 4 brilliant auberge again, and will stick to 3 brilliant hotels for a while back they consistently assume to be anticipated in pricing, comfort, and service.