Climbing to the top of the Snowdon has been an adventure on my UK bucket list for a while before I finally climbed it. I tagged along with some friends initially but dragged more of my own friends in the name of charity, and we managed to raise quite a fair bit of money for the children of Palestine. Albeit a gruelling, exhausting and punishing experience and one of the physically AND mentally hardest thing Iâve ever done, the top was just as expected.
If you spend enough time comparing hotels, flights, and tours, youâll eventually realise that many words have very little meaning in the travel industry. You might think that there would be some sort of common agreement on travel terms across hotels that would define what makes a suite a suite or a deluxe room better than a standard room, but no such agreements exist. I’m often surprised to find that what I booked is not quite what I expected.
Here are some travel hype words you should take lightly, and that might even signal you should do a little more research.
Whether you travel once a year or year-round, youâve probably run into this word over and over again comparing hotels. But do you know what it really means? Across hotel websites, âdeluxeâ is a travel term usually used to up-sell a room that is the same size as a standard room and looks like a standard room, but usually only has one feature that makes it any better.
According to Merriam-Webster, the official definition of âdeluxeâ is ânotably luxurious, elegant, or expensive.â When it comes to travel, though, it could mean anything from bed sheets with a higher thread count to the addition of a coffeemaker. So when it comes to selecting a âdeluxeâ room, the only part of that definition you can really count on is that itâll be slightly more expensive.
Before deciding to upgrade to anything deluxe, make sure you understand exactly how much more youâre paying for. Otherwise, you might find yourself paying a hefty margin for a fancy word.
While itâs not as vague and thrown-around as often as âdeluxeâ is, âsuiteâ is another word that doesnât seem to have a concrete meaning. For some, a suite might mean multiple bedrooms, or at least a separate living room and kitchen area. However, when youâre comparing different hotel suite options, they can range in size and layout dramatically.
Even hotels that market themselves with the word itself in their names, such as Candlewood Suites or Comfort Suites, often have vastly differing opinions on what the word means. At Candlewood Suites, accommodations can be a bit basic, but there are multiple rooms and a full kitchen. Suites at Comfort Suites donât necessarily have multiple rooms and extra amenities, but may be a little bit bigger than your standard hotel room with a few âdeluxeâ touches thrown in.
Let me start by saying that I adore boutique hotels. I love their small-scale attention to detail and that each one has a distinct look and design. That being said, âboutiqueâ is a relatively new and trendy word that gets thrown around far too often, and few people know its true definition. Some people say that a boutique hotel can only be considered such if it has fewer than 100 roomsâbut if that were the case every truck-stop motel across the country could slap the word âboutiqueâ above the vacancy sign.
If you really want to experience a boutique hotel, look for something petite and artsy. A boutique hotel should feel like an independent hotel with its own distinct, locally focused styleâeven if itâs owned by a bigger hotel conglomerate. For example, MGallery is a boutique hotel brand owned by Accor Hotels. In Melbourne, Hotel Lindrum pays tribute to the buildingâs history as a pool hall. In Prague, the Century Old Town Hotel is an homage to Franz Kafka, the cityâs most famous author. True boutique hotels use design to evoke a historical connection to their location.
Whatâs the difference between a five-star hotel and a four-star hotel? It depends who you ask. When youâre looking for hotels across booking sites like Expedia or Travelocity, itâs not uncommon to see different âstarâ ratings on the same hotel. Depending on the source, hotel star ratings are based different things: Expedia, for example, takes into account âhotel amenities, media reviews, customer experience, and professional benchmarksâ to come up with a rating. Meanwhile TripAdvisor simply displays an average of customer reviews.
You could spend hours trying to compare all the different ratings of one hotel to decide how good it is, but should you? Probably not. Ratings are arbitrary and the rules are constantly changing, so itâs better to do your own assessment of what you need in a hotel, and how well it will suit your needs.
Having typed in many hotel Wi-Fi passwords for access to lagging Internet, I feel comfortable saying that the phrase âhigh-speed internetâ is one common travel term that doesnât mean anything. With fluctuating numbers of guests, hotel internet is notoriously finicky and vastly unreliableâespecially when travelling abroad or to rural areas.
If you need a fast connection on your trip, donât ask the hotel about its Internet speed. Instead, check out Hotelwifitest.com which collects Internet speeds of hotels across the globe. Do a quick search before you book if youâll need fast Internet, and if youâre unfamiliar with internet speed measurements, run a quick test from your home connection for comparison. This will give you a good idea if the hotelâs Internet will be better or worse than what youâre used to.
Nobody really expects a whole lot from the hotel fitness centre, do they? Personally, if thereâs a treadmill, some weights, and a yoga matâIâm happy. While itâs not uncommon for fitness rooms to be on the small side, some are seriously claustrophobic excuses for a âfitness centre,â and the equipment can be pretty basic. Also, keep an eye out for fitness rooms that arenât necessarily located in the hotel: Many hotels, especially in large cities, have a deal with nearby full-service gyms that allow hotel guests to use their facilities. While itâs nice to be able to use a real gym, you might not be as motivated to work out if itâs located a block or more away from where youâre staying.
For those who hike the Appalachian Trail, âwalking distanceâ means from Georgia to Maine. For those of us who are running late to dinner downtown, however, walking distance better mean under 15 minutes. Probably one of the most subjective travel terms in the industry, never take âwalking distanceâ at face value, and always consult Google Maps.
Like walking distance, âaccess to public transportationâ can mean just about anything. If youâre relying on public transportation to get around, itâs more helpful if your hotel is located on a major stop than if you have to walk 20 minutes to get there. Similarly, this phrase could mean the hotel is near a bus line that will take you to another bus line that will finally connect you to the main subway, when you really only want to buy a pass for the subway. If deciphering bus schedules and managing transfer tickets isnât your idea of a good time, make sure to map out the routes youâll take before you make the booking.
Iâve spurned too many sad displays of near-stale white bread to ever feel contented by the phrase âcontinental breakfast.â So what is a continental breakfast? The term has British origins, originally referring to the light breakfasts of mainland Europe, and Merriam-Webster officially defines continental breakfast as âa light breakfast (as of rolls or toast and coffee).â But when modern travellers, especially Americans, hungrily approach a hotel breakfast spread, we want options and, at the very least, a waffle maker. If access to a quick yet substantial breakfast is important to you, call ahead to see what the hotel really offers in their continental breakfast. If you donât think that will be enough food for you, scout out some nearby cafes or brunch spots instead.
While this may be a fine word for a historic bed and breakfast or inn, be wary of any hotel describing itself as âquaint.â It might just be old. If scratchy sheets, peeling paint, and musty smells arenât your idea of âquaint,â you might want to shop around for a more modern hotel.
Youâre dragging. Your life feels like an endless, meaningless repeat of the same old routine for the foreseeable future. Itâs become difficult to get yourself out of bed in the morning because you simply donât want to do what you need to do for the day. Donât imagine youâre alone – everyone goes through this, and a lot of people get stuck in it. If you have no interest in becoming one of them, then read on.
It can be tough to do, especially if you feel no motivation to get up in the first place. Start small. If youâre a snooze button fiend, change up your alarm method – or placement. Switch to a different, delicious kind of breakfast if you can. Set ten minutes aside to meditate, stretch, or practice yoga. Choose anything that will help you personally succeed.
What do you like to do to energise and push yourself forward? It matters, because if youâre consistently dragging in the morning, you need a special kind of nudge. Find what makes you want to jump out of bed and get into the thick of things. The list of possibilities is endless – it all comes down to finding the spark that works for you.
Whether you do so in the morning or not, itâs a good idea to engage in some sort of daily meditation practice. If that sounds daunting, approach it incrementally. You donât have to set aside an hour or two – the regularity is what matters, not so much the length of the meditation. Once you make your ten or fifteen minutes into a daily habit, youâll find it easier to expand your practice. Itâll feel so good that you will want to stay longer.
You might be having a tough time finding motivation to try something new. Perhaps the problem is that youâve lost your drive for what you’re already doing. Either way, you have to get down to the root of the issue. Is it fear? Is it a lack of inspiration? Does it relate to some other issue happening in your life? If you want to rediscover the drive that you need for a fulfilling journey, then you have to put in the internal work.
Itâs so easy to get sidetracked in the day-to-day chaos of the hectic world that you live in. Donât beat yourself up over it. It happens to everyone and most are completely unaware of the problem. They donât understand why they feel overworked, stressed, and discontent. Sit down and make two lists – one with the activities you engage in that bring you joy, and one with those that cause you stress. Make the decision to incorporate more of those that are joyful and also to put them first as much as possible. Starting with the positive will make those tougher tasks easier to bear.
It may be well-worn advice, but itâs true – revving up your heart produces endorphins and motivates you to get the rest of your day in order. If you can stand it, try to start your morning off with some exercise, even if that just means getting outside and taking a walk in the fresh air. If you combine a workout with time in nature, you double the potential benefits. Youâre almost guaranteed to be in a better mindset post-exercise.
Is there an actual issue interfering with your motivation, or have you let yourself get lazy? Sometimes the truth is difficult to face. Everyone gets comfortable and complacent, but itâs your job to keep things fresh and rediscover your zest for life. If you donât have that going for you, whatâs even the point, right? Take a good hard look at the underlying problems.
In todayâs world most people donât really take breaks. You may tell yourself something youâre doing counts as ârestâ, but odds are youâre still letting the rest of your life interfere with your relaxation. You have to set aside time to honestly let go, and if youâre lucky, there are people around you who can assist you with that. Theyâll probably be glad to lend a hand if you express the crucial necessity – and it wonât hurt if you offer to do likewise in the future. There is no shame in relying on those who care for you.
Part of your problem could be a lack of new elements in your life that pique your interest. When you fall into a rut, you must pull yourself out of it – and one way to do that quickly and effectively is to attempt something that scares you. Itâll keep your enthusiasm alive and inspire you to go above and beyond where you are now.
Seriously. Dancing is incredibly freeing and it brings the best out in everyone. It awakens your inner child and puts a smile on your face – what can possibly be wrong with that? Let everything go and dance like nobody is watching you. Life is too short to care, and nothing feels better than giving your body license to move in the ways that feel primal and true. Itâll take you out of your head and into your heart.
Thereâs nothing worse than feeling dissatisfied with your existence, but a staggering number of people out there arenât happy. Most likely youâve been plodding along and havenât taken stock of where you are and whatâs keeping you from satisfaction. Has something changed, or is the issue that nothingâs changed at all? Figure it out.
Your unhappiness could stem from the simple fact that you are living in the past or the future instead of the here and now. If youâre dragging, take note of every moment as it happens, and youâll forget to worry about anything else. Your inherent motivation lies in the fact that none of us are guaranteed the next month, day, hour, or even minute. Take charge of your life and enjoy it fully as long as you hold its preciousness in your grasp.
