How we rate hotels
Hotels can buy fake 5-star reviews, but nobody pays for fake bad ones. So we start with the worst reviews and work up. Every hotel on HonestHotels goes through the same ten steps, pulling together guest reviews, ratings from other booking sites, map data, prices and booking listings. Most hotels do not make it.
The ten steps
- Find every hotel worth a look
For each destination we pull up to 100 hotels from Google, with their ratings, review counts, prices, photos and exact position on the map.
- Remove what isn't a real hotel
Apartments, holiday rentals, hostels, campsites and rooms in someone's home are taken out. So is any hotel with a guest rating under 4.2.
- Set a fair review bar for each place
A hotel in Rome needs far more reviews to count than one in a small hill town. We set the bar from the busiest hotels in each destination, so small places are not punished for being small. Then we rank in a way that stops a hotel with 12 perfect reviews from beating one with 2,000 near-perfect ones.
- Confirm it is real and bookable
We find each hotel on Booking.com and match it by name and by map position, to within 250 metres. Then we prove the booking page belongs to the same property: same country, same town, same name, and no mix-ups with a namesake somewhere else. A hotel we cannot prove is left out.
- Check it is still open
A hotel needs at least 3 written guest reviews in the past 12 months. Places that have gone quiet may have closed or changed hands, so they are left out.
- Read the reviews
For every hotel we read the 30 newest reviews and the 15 lowest-rated reviews in full. We note the month of each stay, who the guest travelled with, how many reviews that guest has written, and how the hotel rates on other booking sites. Reviews from people who only came for the restaurant or bar are set aside.
- Weigh every complaint
Complaints are sorted into minor, real and serious. A slow breakfast and a dirty room are not the same, and a problem from last month counts more than one from five years ago. This is where the score starts.
- Check which way it is heading
We compare recent reviews with the all-time rating. A hotel coasting on an old reputation loses up to half a point. One that keeps getting better gains up to half a point.
- Count the guests who come back
We look for guests who say they have stayed before or plan to return. A high share of repeat guests adds a small bonus, because people rarely go back to a hotel that let them down.
- Write it up
Each hotel gets a write-up built only from what guests said: what people love, the worst thing anyone reports, who it suits and who should skip it, the best seasons to go, and practical tips like which rooms to ask for.
What you get
Hours of reading reviews across several sites, done for you. You can see in a minute what guests love about a hotel, what goes wrong, whether it is getting better or worse, and whether people come back. Then you can filter by what matters to you: hidden gems, value, quiet, pools, beaches, families, couples, the season you plan to travel, and more.
The scale
- 9.0 and up: Exceptional
- 8.0 to 8.9: Excellent
- 7.0 to 7.9: Very good
- 6.0 to 6.9: Mixed
- 5.0 to 5.9: Below par
Hotels scoring under 5 are not listed.
Badges
- Hidden gem: scores 8.5 or higher with fewer reviews than most hotels in its area.
- Rising: scores 8.0 or higher and recent reviews are better than its all-time rating, or guests describe it as recently renovated.
- Value pick: scores 8.0 or higher and costs less than the area's typical price.
How we make money
When you book through a "Check prices" button we may earn a commission from the booking site, at no cost to you. No hotel can pay to be listed, ranked or badged, and commissions never affect a score.