When you travel, do you want it all in a hotel room? Nice room, internet, refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, maybe even a kitchen? Before you book your room, check out the room amenities.

Many expensive hotels have very little in the way of room amenities and what amenities there are may be expensive. Some expensive hotels will provide a refrigerator- stocked with their drinks and snacks with no room for you to store your drinks and snacks. And don’t take anything out of that refrigerator or you will pay an exorbitant price for it. Cheaper places will usually provide at least a refrigerator, microwave and free internet. Don’t be too cheap, though, or you might as well have stayed in an expensive hotel.

I have a list of expensive hotels where I will not stay. Sheraton is one and Crowne Plaza is another. Neither place provides a refrigerator or microwave in the room and the Sheraton charges for internet. If you must have a refrigerator, one may be available on request, but you will pay extra for it. These hotels will, however, provide an iron and an ironing board, and usually a coffee maker. The Mirage in Las Vegas is also on my bad list. This hotel does not even provide so much as a coffee maker, forcing one to buy an expensive cup of Morning Joe from one of the casino restaurants.

One the other hand, mid-range hotels such as Best Western and Baymont Inn and Suites, provide refrigerators, microwaves and coffee makers; although you may have to ask for an iron and an ironing board should you need them. Free wi-fi is provided in all areas and wired internet is provided in the business centers. Days Inn is another mid-range hotel that provides a full suite of amenities, but the quality of the hotels tends to vary from place to place.

A good alternative to the traditional hotel room may be an extended stay facility or any of the “suite” hotels. Extended stay hotels such as Towne Place Suites or Extended Stay America provide mini kitchens as well as laundry services. Marriott hotels (Towne Place, Residence Inn) provide breakfast every morning and dinner four nights a week as part of the room charge. My favorite “suite” hotel is embassy suites, mostly because of the open arrangement of the rooms and the gourmet breakfast served every morning (included in room charge). All Embassy Suite hotels have an enclosed central court yard that usually contains a lounge, restaurant and some sort of pretty fountain or landscaping. The rooms are arranged around the court yard. Each room faces the court yard and the “hallway” is a balcony structure open to the court yard, giving the whole place an open, airy feel.

Next time you travel, think about what you want in a hotel room and don’t forget to check the amenities. Happy trails!

Bio: Jean has managed to engage herself as a dispatcher and a police officer before graduating from college with an MS in Geology and an English minor with an emphasis in technical writing. Jean now engages herself as a program manager for the US Army and hopes to make a smooth transition after retirement to the cozy world of speculative fiction writing.

If you have some observations or suggestions about hotels you’ve visiting either nationally or internationally or even cultural observations, please feel free to share them.

By the way, do you have an area of experience that you think would be nice to share as a guest blogger? If so, please contact me.