Hotel and "star" category

I%26#39;m working in the tourism industry near Nice and I would like to inform people that the number of star about a hotel is not specially a proof of quality

according a survey, 80% choose a hotel according the number of star but 90% do not know, how do hotel get %26quot;stars%26quot;

= you get stars, according the size of the lobby, rooms and basic equiments (phone in room, disabled equipment...)

and never about if the hotel is cleaned or not, modern, if there is a spa, or service (valet parking, staff for your lugage, internet wifi...) or front office open 24h....

it%26#39;s true, it%26#39;s the same classification since may be 20 or 30 years and start to be out of fashion and equipment as internet is request now for guests but not necessary to get stars

this classification is changing with now hotel 5 stars in France and with another listing of equipments requested

until now, 4 stars category was huge about the quality

from palace at 5 000 euros per night to a bad (or good) building at 70 euros per night

sometimes you can read many tourists complaint about an hotel and were not happy after their holiday because they chose a hotel according stars or the rate :ex: I was in a 4 star hotel and it was dirty for instance, or the building was older....

People said this hotel is not a 3 star hotels about quality....there is no sense = you can say it%26#39;s not a good value but do not mention number of star because it%26#39;s not depending the quality

I advise always to check on internet many comments about few hotels before to book one

check on : trip advisor, booking, venere, expedia.... comments and you will find a good idea at what you will except

you could find a lovely 2 or 3 stars hotel at a cheaper rater instead of a bad 4 star hotels

or you will see if it%26#39;s a good idea to pay 200 or 400 euros for a 4 star hotels

do not trust specially the number of star or the rate BUT check comments

of course, if there are only 2 or 3 comments about one hotel, it%26#39;s not a guarantee of quality (because a friend of the owner can wrote a review to help business) (50 or 100 comments, it is very good to have an idea)

also, if you are looking for a hotel in French Riviera, do not forget to check B%26amp;B because we have many here around Nice (saint paul, antibes, eze..) at about 100-150 euros per night with a very good quality and all hotels services, sometimes pool....

have a good choice

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Very helpfull. Many thanks

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%26lt; this classification is changing with now hotel 5 stars in France and with another listing of equipments requested %26gt;

Yes, I%26#39;m sure the requirements that hotels must meet in order to get stars will have to be updated since a 5* category was created...

And checking the reviews is always a good idea, especially since more and more hotels tend to call themselves %26#39;boutique hotels%26#39; when they don%26#39;t fall into a specific category :)

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Nice-French_Riviera

Thanks for highlighting how misleading hotel stars can be.

Anywhere in the world the hotel star grading system usually indicates little more than the extent of a hotel%26#39;s facilities and features.

Even so, most of us can describe what we perceive to be the %26quot;quality%26quot; of an average 3 star hotel, however flawed the concept :)

France has developed its own star rating system which is unashamedly different from the rest of the world . The french hotel classification system is based purely on the measurable i.e quantity and unrelated to any aspect of quality, strictly not transferable and peculiar to France.

This link gives the points used to classify 2 and 3 star french hotels:

paris-eiffel-tower-news.com/editorials/hotel…

Look forward to the updated version now that that elusive fifth star is available

It%26#39;s so true that genuine reviews by real guests (if you can find them) are the best way to select any establishment whatever its official classification may be.

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%26quot;France has developed its own star rating system which is unashamedly different from the rest of the world %26quot;

Oh ! what about the rest of the world having developed their own star rating system which unashamedly different from the French one? :-).

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Very useful post, NIce_F_R. Thanks!

I wonder if you might repost it in the Paris forum. It needs a wider audience and there are a lot of first-timers there who don%26#39;t %26quot;get%26quot; the French hotel rating system.

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We take it that the other famous French star rating system, the Michelin one, is based on quality, not quantity. Very confusing!

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Michelin guide is more in quality correct, you are right

but be careful sometimes with the classification and some politics choice ::)) with Michelin or other good guide (Gault %26amp; Millaut...)

Also, be careful with standard touristic guide as Le petit futé, guide du routard, lonely planet...(it%26#39;s for instance, may be not all are on this case) :

If there are many advertising, for me, it%26#39;s not a good guide because sometimes hotels/restaurants pay a advertising and of course will be in the guide ::))

Michelin... have no adversting

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Not so. They are both measures of quantity. The difference is that the Michelin system is an inverse one. The more stars the smaller the quantity...

(Actually they are rosettes, not stars, but that%26#39;s another issue...)

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There are problems inherent in all rating and reviewing systems because most of them are subjective. I like the French system because once you know that it%26#39;s merely a guide to the features and services offered, you can make a very clear decision based on that. We used to have regular weekends away in Boulogne and stayed at a hotel that had no stars (or one). It was absolutely superb, comfortable, clean, the owners served breakfast whenever we got up (they just went round the corner to the local bread shop for a baguette for us), central. But I imagine it wouldn%26#39;t suit everyone - small rooms, ill matching decor and furniture, patches of threadbare carpet, shower only, no lift. We found it in the Michelin guide.

What you have to remember is that everyone has their own opinion about what constitutes a good holiday, and even that can change for the individual in different contexts. Personally I find some of the %26quot;luxury%26quot;, %26quot;boutique%26quot;, %26quot;chain%26quot; hotels impersonal, in spite of excellent service. And that goes for restaurants too. I see highly recommended places on TripAdvisor that leave me disappointed. But I can see how they%26#39;d appeal to others.

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Sorry, Irishrovr, Michelin calls them %26#39;stars%26#39;. See their web-site: www.michelin.co.uk/travel/star-history.htm.