Choosing the right hotel can make the difference between an excellent holiday and a terrible holiday! So it is very important to do your homework before you book!

Different people or groups have different requirements, what may be ideal or desirable for one may not be suitable for another. It is therefore important to prioritise. Here are a few ideas and some advice or recommendations.

2. Room and hotel facilities: These are probably more important than views especially when you have children! Many Torquay and Torbay hotels are rated. These ratings are based on the English Tourism Council standards (ETC). There is a list of these hotels on this site.

A word of warning however. Purely because a hotel may not have such a high rating as another, it does not mean it is more substandard. It may be based on a small difference, such as no lift. The hotel may be of a generally higher standard, but as many buildings are listed locally, consent for incorporating a lift may not have been given. Lifts however are often compulsory for the elderly.

The other frequently mentioned elements of taking a break in Torquay are i) Is there a swimming pool, is it indoor or outdoor and is it suitable for children? ii) Is there a restaurant and what times does it open, does it have any awards? iii) What are the smoking regulations (some people want it, many don't) iv) What facilities does the room have (the british love baths as well as showers). Is there SKY, Digital/Free View, a modern flat screen TV, DVD or Games Facilities (early nights or rainy days with kids!). v) Is there plenty of wardrobe space and a full length mirror for the lady the house? vi) Is there a licensed bar and how late does it stay open. vii) Can we walk into town easily? viii) Is there secure parking? viiii) Is there a direct dial phone line for internet access.

Don't be fooled by the front page of a web site, especially if it doesn't show the rooms or facilities.

3. Prices and booking: You generally get what you pay for! This is generally true, but not always! Most hotels will publish prices and if you are booking well in advance, expect to pay the tariff. Even at peak season with a late booking, you may expect to pay close to the quoted tariff. In recent years the weather has been good and problems overseas have seen more people holidaying at home. This has meant good occupancy rates during the summer months. Out of season however, prices can be negotiated.

Bookings are more often performed over the internet these days. We see this as both a positve and negative thing. For one night stays, short business trips etc, booking a hotel unseen may be acceptable, but not for prolonged stays, especially where more time may be spent in the hotel, is not.

PLEASE READ THIS: If you type "hotels in Torquay" into Google you will get "Tripadvisor, Kasbah.com, UKhotel.net, all-rooms.com" and many more web sites who offer on-line booking, many of these are affiliate sites to major independent hotel booking companies, such as Activehotels. These companies need to make a margin and the rooms hence carry a premium. They are middlemen only and carry little or no daily knowledge of the hotel themselves, they are an agency only. They do however provide free information and links to hotels. Many people use these sites to see availability, check the price and then phone the hotel to get a discount directly and often to get a better room.

Independent hotels often do much worse on generic searches on the internet. You need to know the name to locate the hotel, which is a problem of course. You can try typing the name into our hotel locator here: , we have over 150 accommodation facilities registered free of charge. Special seasonal offers may be found here: