How we check rates

We say who paid

Every stay on this site so far was paid from our own account, in cash or points, and the confirmation is kept on file. Where a property hosts a stay, or gives a media rate in exchange for coverage, the page says so at the top, in the same size type as the rest of the page. The rate shown is never what we paid: it is the current public rate for the room reviewed, on the date stamped beside it.

We re-check the rate on a stated date

Every rate is the hotel's own, booked direct. We do not headline a cheaper third-party rate, because a booking made through one usually earns no points, no elite night credit and no elite benefits, which makes it a different product rather than a better price. Same room category, cash and points pulled in the same session, priced for the party that stayed. The date printed beside the figure is the date it was pulled. Rates move; the stamp tells you how old the number is so you can judge it yourself.

WHERE THE RATE COMES FROM	The hotel's own site, every time. Third-party rates are often a different room, a different cancellation policy, or a rate that earns no points and no elite benefits, so they are not the same product
ROOM CATEGORY	Named beside every rate. It is the cheapest room in the category we stayed in where we know it, and where the cheapest night is a different room, the page says which
WHICH NIGHT	The cheapest single night in the next six months. Where the hotel shows a rate calendar we read every night; where it does not, at least one night a week plus the nights either side of the low, and the page says which
OCCUPANCY	The party that stayed: one adult, two adults, or two adults and a child. Each stay page says which
CURRENCY	Where a hotel charges in its own currency, the page shows that figure and converts it beside the number, naming the rate and the date it was taken. The catalog converts to dollars so every stay stays comparable
TAXES	The headline figure includes taxes and fees wherever the hotel shows them, because that is what you pay. The conditions under the rate say exactly what is in it and what is extra
RATE PLAN	Named on the page. Some hotels sell only half board or all-inclusive, and that price is not comparable to a room-only rate anywhere else
AWARD PRICE	The cheapest standard award night we can find anywhere in the booking window, with the dates it is available printed beside it. Hotels price roughly six to twelve months ahead
POINTS VALUE	Cash rate ÷ points required, shown in cents per point, and rated against what that program's points are normally worth rather than one flat number
RE-CHECK CADENCE	At least every 90 days, and the stamp changes when it happens
STALE FIGURES	Past 90 days the figure greys out and is marked re-check due

How we score: the consensus, then our take

One reviewer's opinion is one data point, so the score on every stay is not ours. It is computed from the two review sites that cover every property we list and that anyone can check: Google and Tripadvisor.

GUEST CONSENSUS	The Google and Tripadvisor ratings, averaged and weighted by how many reviews each has, out of 5 like the sources. Both figures and both review counts are shown beside it, each linked, so you can check the maths in one click
CATEGORY RATINGS	Room, bed and sleep, value, service, cleanliness and location are Tripadvisor's own category ratings, labeled as theirs. Google publishes none
WHAT GUESTS LIKE AND FLAG	The points that come up most in recent Google and Tripadvisor reviews, summarized in our words, never quoted
AWARDS	MICHELIN Keys, Forbes stars and The World's 50 Best Hotels sit beside the score, never inside it. They are tiers awarded to some hotels, not scores every hotel gets, so averaging them in would punish a hotel the inspectors never visited
TODDLER FIT	The one score that is ours, out of 10, and only on stays we made with our toddler: cribs, space, pool safety, food and how the staff handled a small child. Stays we made without the child carry no toddler score at all, rather than a guess
THE STAY	How many nights we stayed, who traveled (family, couple, solo or business) and how it was paid for (cash, points or hosted). A hosted stay is also labeled at the top of its page
READ BY HAND	Figures are read on the date shown and re-read with the rates, at least every 90 days. Nothing is scraped

A commission never changes a score: the consensus is not ours to change, and our take is set before any booking link is added. Where a stay is not worth its rate, the page says so.

No hotel sees a review first

No property, chain or PR contact is shown a review, a score or a verdict before it publishes, and none has ever been changed at a hotel's request.