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.

CHECK YOUR PRIORITIES

1. Views: Perhaps you want sea views or country views. Views may be distant or close. Torquay is built on 7 hills and sea or country views are possible from many establishments. Views will either be across Torbay, Lyme Bay or in the opposite direction toward Dartmoor. Most visitors to Torquay come for the sea views. There are hotels all around the seafront area of Torquay. Examples are the Livermead Cliff and Livermead House, The Palace, The Grand, The Imperial, the Belgrave, The Osborne. A list of hotels can be searched for on torquay.com

Many of the "close up" sea view hotels are large establishments and command premium prices at peak season. Out of season however they can provide excellent value.

The smaller hotels are often converted Victorian Villas which will have good but slightly more distant views and are very numerous. It does mean however that walking to the beach or coastline is slightly more onerous and walking back even more so! A sea view is often a sea peeps or part of a view. If in doubt ask!

Ask if there are sea views from the room(s) you are booking. How far away is the sea if you walked to the coastline or town? Are they sea peeps or views from an angle, or full on splendor.

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).

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.

4. Recommendations: Many people wisely go on recommendations, but these are not guaranteed, as everybody has different tastes and expectations. Check the web site, call and ask questions. Speak to the people who run the business!