Staying in a hotel can be a treat, or a disaster, if you make the wrong decision. If you’re travelling to a large city, you may face an array of options from five-star luxury accommodation to self-catering and budget hotels. Trawling through lists of amenities, searching for hidden costs and comparing check-out times can be stressful.

Reading other peoples’ reviews via travel forums, review sites and particularly on social media is a good way to gauge a hotel’s value for money. A long list of negative reviews is quite a clear indication that a hotel should be avoided. Watch out for bias, however, and consider enlisting the help of an online travel agent to get seasoned advice on hotels in your destination of choice. Try to look for the following things when you’re selecting a place to stay:

Location: If you’re taking a beach holiday, for example, in the popular Balearic Islands of Majorca or Ibiza, remember to book a hotel that’s accessible to the beach. Luckily, these islands have excellent tourist infrastructures, and nowhere is too far away from popular attractions such as restaurants and cafes. If you’re travelling for business purposes, locating comfortable accommodation in the CBD, where you can access public transport, is a must.

Check the amenities: What’s freely available to guests is one of the factors that differentiates five-star hotels from the rest. If you’re travelling with children, you’ll be looking for a swimming pool, sport club, day care and even children’s menus. Business travellers will be interested in free WiFi, laundry service, car hire and entertainment facilities.

Check your transport: One of the biggest costs when going on holiday is transport, and not merely international flights, but hidden costs as well, such as hotel parking costs and cabs as well. A hotel that offers shuttle service to and from the airport will save you money to rather spend exploring the city. If you choose to take a cab, try to find a hotel near enough to the airport so that the fare doesn’t take your breath away.

There may be other factors that influence the kind of hotel you prefer, for example, holidaymakers in Crete may like to stay in a whitewashed villa that is fresh with local flavour. Whether you prefer international or local-type hotels, the ambience is an important influence on visitors’ enjoyment. You may also have requests regarding the size of the rooms, en suit bathrooms or eco-friendliness.