Hotel Rating: What You Need to Know

Isn't it nice to stay in that really nice hotel during your next vacation? Your tour operator, travel agent or the hotel reservation agents can help you in this. It does not cost much, even you have the facility to take a look at an AAA or Mobil guidebook. Often the ratings of the hotels that are provided to you can land you up in great shock. The so -called diamonds and stars, which are added to the hotel does not reflect the reality.

Let's discuss how to find the best hotels in this country with the assistance of the hotel rating systems. The diamonds of AAA has great significant in the rating of hotels. A single diamond, which is the first category means you'll find decent accommodations with basic ingredients of comfort, cleanliness and hygiene. If you are a sophisticated traveler and looking for more comfort, you must opt for the three diamonds facility. The luxurious facilities along with a high class service are available in five diamonds category. These hotels are considered as world class properties and they are always ready to provide extra amenities.

As per the AAA guidebook, travelers still consider one-diamond hotels as better places to stay than any other unrated accommodations. During 1958 the star rating system was initiated by Mobil. It was initially evaluated by staffs and even references have been taken from earlier guidebooks. If you are just looking for a comfortable night's stay, pick a one start facility. But if your requirement is more and want to enjoy more luxurious services and facilities, then definitely you are game for the three starts facilities. On the other hand, the five start hotels are considered as the best hotels in the USA, providing excellent services throughout the year.

The hotels have been generally divided into various categories like Deluxe, First Class or Tourists by the Official Hotel Guide or OHG.com. This classification has not only been done on the basis of physical infrastructure but also on the basis of quality services provided by them. But this rating system is further divided into categories like Superior Deluxe and Moderate Deluxe. You must know the difference between categories and sub-categories. One class beats the other. Moderate Tourist Class is considered as the most inferior class according to the OHG rating. The hotels in the US are never rated by the local, state or federal officials but many other governments outside the country have the system of rating hotels.

Experienced tourism enthusiasts consider those systems to be faulty as those systems were more dependent on material facts than on the quality of services. You should also know that in many countries in Europe, the hotels pay taxes according to their ratings i.e. higher the rating, higher the taxes. This rating system often acts as hindrances as hotel owners do not want to increase their rating with a fear of paying more taxes. Countries like New Zealand, Mexico, Italy, Austria, Britain, Greece, Indonesia, France etc. have government rating systems, which help them to gain more popularity. The guidebook business has been expanded by Michelin in an alarming rate recently. Now they are considering more on printing green guidebooks containing information about destinations worldwide. The green guide will help you to decide what is more interesting and what is not. You will find different cities and places of tourist attractions marked with different labels as per preferences. But remember that the green books do not mention anything about any restaurants and hotels.

The ratings of European hotels and restaurants can be found in Michelin's red guide. Though this guide is in French, English is used in explaining the significance of the rating symbols. Some hotels are marked with small building logos and others with big building logos. The small logos stand for a comfortable stay while the big one signifies luxury living. You might face some difficulties in finding Michelin red guides in conventional bookstores but they can be easily purchased at different travel shops.