Hi Reader,

One thing we’ve learnt over the years is that finding accommodation isn’t just about finding somewhere that looks nice, has good reviews and fits your budget.

It’s about finding somewhere that actually works for your trip.

We’ve stayed in our fair share of accommodation over the years, from hostels when solo travelling in Australia to luxury hotels in Las Vegas for our anniversary.

And before we book anywhere, there are a few things we always look at.

1 - Does it fit your budget?

This is the first thing we look at because it’s very easy to get distracted by somewhere that looks fantastic, only to realise it’s more than you really want to spend.

We look at the overall price, including things like breakfast, taxes, extra fees and what facilities are included.

We don’t necessarily look for the cheapest option. We look at the overall picture and decide whether it’s somewhere we’re prepared to pay for.

2 - Look beyond the photos and check the reviews

The photos will give you a good idea of what to expect, but we always check what facilities are available and then have a good read through the reviews.

We tend to look at the most recent reviews first and see if people are repeatedly mentioning things such as cleanliness, noise, facilities or the location.

On our recent trip to Sri Lanka, we actually booked an apartment in Colombo without checking the reviews.

We knew the area well, liked what we saw in the pictures, the facilities looked good and the price was right, so we took a chance.

It turned out to be lovely, and we later discovered that the property had only just been added to Booking.com, which was why there weren't any reviews.

Would we do that everywhere?

Probably not.

Because if we’re unfamiliar with the area or the property, we’ll be much more thorough with the reviews.

3 - Check the location on a map

This is probably one of the most important things we check.

Don’t just look at the address and assume it’s in a good location.

Open the map and check how easy it is to get there from the airport or main transport hub, what public transport is nearby and how far it is from the places you actually want to visit.

We did exactly this when looking for somewhere to stay in Kandy for one night during the Kandy Perahera.

We found some lovely hotels at affordable prices, but some were a considerable distance outside the city.

That would have meant arranging transport to get into Kandy and back again after the celebrations.

Instead, we chose somewhere within minutes of the city centre, which meant we could walk to our viewing spot and walk back afterwards.

It wasn’t perfect though.

We had to compromise on the room, which had three single beds rather than a double.

For one night, we were more than happy with that compromise.

If we were staying for a week, we may have made a different decision.

And that’s an important part of choosing accommodation.

You don’t need to find somewhere that ticks every box. You need to decide which things matter most for that particular trip.

So, what do we actually look for?

Before booking, we ask ourselves:

Does it fit our budget?

Does it have the facilities we need?

Is the location going to make getting around easy?

Are we happy with the reviews?

And what are we prepared to compromise on?

Because sometimes paying a little more for a better location is worth it.

Sometimes you’ll accept a smaller room because you’re only staying for one night.

And sometimes the cheapest accommodation isn’t actually the cheapest option once you add taxis, tuk-tuks or extra travel time.

We use sites such as Booking.com and Trip.com to find and compare accommodation, but we don’t rely on the booking platform alone to make the decision for us.

The platform helps us find the options.

We then do our own homework to decide whether that particular place is right for us.

And that’s probably the biggest thing we’ve learnt from travelling over the years.

It’s not about finding the “perfect” accommodation.

It’s about finding the accommodation that works best for your budget, your travel style and the trip you’re actually taking.

So, before you book your next stay, spend five minutes checking the map, looking at the facilities and reading the recent reviews.

It could save you a lot of hassle once you arrive.

And we’d love to know...

What’s the one thing you always look for when booking accommodation?

Just hit reply and let us know. We’d love to hear what you look for, and it might even give us another idea to add to our own checklist!

Happy travelling

Bev & Shams

P.S. One more thing before you go…

Don’t forget to stay safe online while travelling. We use NordVPN whenever we’re connecting to Wi-Fi abroad, and it’s become one of our travel essentials.

Stay safe online with NordVPN.​

Email: bev@bevandshams.com

Website: www.bevandshams.com​

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