The holiday season is approaching and it's time to plan your trip. Along with the choice of plane tickets, finding the right accommodation is one of the most important parts of any trip. The comfort and convenience of staying in an unfamiliar place depends on the choice of a place of residence. Consider the designations and abbreviations that will help you understand the categories of rooms in hotels.
Hotel categories by stars
In Europe, hotels are usually classified using the "stars" designation. There are five categories of hotels in terms of service level - from 1 to 5 stars.
From experienced travelers, you may have heard that someone lived in three-star hotels that were not inferior to the "five stars", and some hotels in the "five stars" category were much lower than the stated level of service. Why does this happen? The fact is that the system of "star" standards of the World Tourism Organization is very conditional. For example, in Egypt and some Asian countries, the stars can be greatly overestimated compared to the European level. In Turkey, it is better to pay attention to the "age" of the hotel and prices, and in the well-known "all inclusive" service to find out which services are included. Below we provide the generally accepted information about the classification of hotels by stars.
Hotels without category. Conditions in such hotels can be Spartan. Typically, these hotels provide the opportunity to spend the night in rooms with a large number of beds. Hostels are included in this category.
A 1 star hotel (Category D) is the cheapest hotel. It is characterized by a minimal set of services, with a shared toilet and shower located on the floor. There is no TV or refrigerator.
A 2-star hotel (Category C) is a budget hotel with a minimum set of services, which may sometimes include housekeeping once every 3 days. Rooms are not always comfortable. The area of the room must be at least 10 square meters. Often, the rooms of such hotels have a bathroom and a TV, and food can be offered.
A 3-star hotel (Category B) is the most popular type of hotel with a standard range of services. In such hotels, rooms are larger, with a bathroom, TV, air conditioning, hairdryer and refrigerator. Cleaning is done daily with change of bed linen and towels. Usually on site there is a restaurant, parking, sometimes a pool.
A 4 star hotel (Category A) is a hotel that offers not only all the services mentioned above, but also spa treatments, massages, as well as conference rooms and restaurants. In the bathroom, in addition to a set of towels, there must be toiletries. Sometimes there are slippers and bathrobes. On the territory of a hotel of this category, there can be a whole complex with a parking lot, a swimming pool, a terrace, and playgrounds. Room service can be arranged.
A 5 star hotel (Category De Luxe) is a superior class hotel. He has to provide clients with whatever they need and have a huge number of services. This is often an apartment with a large number of rooms, a personal servant, a golf course, helicopter parking, etc. Rooms in such hotels have a large area and expensive interiors. The bathroom contains all toiletries, cosmetics, perfumes. There should be at least 4 restaurants with different cuisines on the territory of five-star hotels.
Now in some countries of the world there are also 6-7-star hotels. This is a class of hotels where the price per room can exceed several thousand dollars. The price will include not only the highest class apartments, but also the services of a personal chef, chauffeur, butler.
Hotel room categories by size
Below are the main room names in English with explanations.
Apartment - this room looks like an apartment with several rooms and a kitchen.
Balcony - the room has a balcony.
Connected rooms - there are interconnecting rooms in the room.
Business - numbers for working with office equipment.
BDR, BDRM (bedroom) - room with a bedroom.
De luxe - a room with a more beautiful interior than ordinary rooms. As a rule, it consists of several rooms.
Duplex - these rooms are suitable for a large number of guests or families with children and mean two-story apartments.
Family room - often such a room has a larger area than a standard one, and is intended for couples with children.
Family studio is a family room with two rooms.
Honeymoon room - hotel rooms for newlyweds.
President - presidential suites are the most luxurious in the hotel. They have several rooms, an office, a living room, at least two bathrooms.
STD (standard) - a standard one-room suite, often with a balcony, bathroom and hallway.
Studio is a studio room in which a living room and a kitchen form a single space.
Superior (superior) - this room has an increased footage, better finishes, expensive furniture and appliances. Usually has a good view of the sea, garden, mountains, or landmarks.
Classification of rooms in hotels by view from the window
If you want to admire the sea, mountains, or the beach from the window of your room, pay attention to the classification of the rooms according to the view that opens from the window. It is quite simple to understand the abbreviations given: the first letter indicates where the windows are facing, and the letter "V" (view) means "view".
SV / OV (sea / ocean view) - from the room you can see the sea or ocean.
SSV (side sea view) - the sea view from the room will be from the side.
BV (beach view) - room overlooking the beach.
CV (city view) - the city is visible from the window of the room.
GV (garden view) - the view from the room will open onto the garden, usually from the opposite side of the sea.
PV (pool view or park view) - this may mean that the windows will overlook the sea, but only the pool will be visible; sometimes this means that the room will have a view of the park.
RV (river view) - the room has a view of the river.
LV (land view) - a view of the surroundings opens from the room window.
MV (mountain view) - there is a beautiful view of the mountains.
IV (inside view) - the windows of the room overlook the courtyard of the hotel.
VV (valey view) - from the window you can look at the surrounding valley.
ROH (run of the house) - the view from the window is not indicated.
Room types by number of guests
This classification of hotel rooms shows how many people can be accommodated in a room.
SGL (single, single) - single room.
DBL (double, dbl, double twin) - a double room with one double or two separate beds.
TRPL (triple, triple) - usually a double room, but with an extra bed.
QDPL (quadruple) - Accommodation for four, ideal for families with two children.
APT (apartment) - usually rooms with from two to five rooms, they can accommodate from 4 to 10 people.
Classification of rooms by type of food
The type of food is an important factor when booking a hotel. The following categories exist here:
RO (Room Only) / AO (Accomodation Only) / BO (Bed Only) - This accommodation does not include meals.
BB (Bed and Breakfast) - accommodation with breakfast.
HB (Half Board) - two meals a day included. That is, you get breakfast with lunch, or lunch and dinner.
FB (Full Board) - the service includes three meals a day in the form of a buffet. Drinks are charged separately.
Mini ALL / AI (Mini All Inclusive) - full board, which includes low alcohol drinks throughout the day.
ALL / AI (All Inclusive) - meals of different types, without restrictions during the day, including drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) in any quantity.
ULTRA ALL / AI (Ultra All Inclusive) - means the same as ALL, as well as some services not available in other packages.
