{"id":7919,"date":"2024-03-08T12:21:25","date_gmt":"2024-03-08T12:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/how-to-find-the-best-hotels-around-the-world\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T08:54:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T08:54:33","slug":"how-to-find-the-best-hotels-around-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/justpaste.in\/blogs\/how-to-find-the-best-hotels-around-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Find The Best Hotels Around The World"},"content":{"rendered":"

As it turns out, this \u2018tool\u2019 I\u2019m about to tell you about is actually something we\u2019d been doing for a while and didn\u2019t even realise it till just recently. \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n

It\u2019s saved us so much time and can actually make or break a trip (case in point: Rio where it just made for such a brilliant experience in the city \u2013 they took care of everything).<\/p>\n

In the past, a lot of this work of finding the best hotels would have been in your hands but now, with this \u2018tool\u2019, you\u2019ve got someone else to do the heavy lifting for you.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/a><\/p>\n

This \u2018tool\u2019 to help you select the best hotels is Expedia\u2019s VIP Access hotel list<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The VIP Access hotels<\/a> are a group of about 4,000 hotels in 121 countries that have consistently recognised by us hotel guests and by Expedia as being their best in class.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not about prices or even just about companies just deciding this for us \u2013 it\u2019s about what us as customers have thoroughly enjoyed in the past. It\u2019s all about high quality over everything else and it\u2019s just the best thing ever.<\/p>\n

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We got to partner with Expedia on this to check out one of the VIP Access hotels in London – The Corinthia Hotel; which I\u2019ll tell you more about below (*it\u2019s seriously so good!) but as I mentioned earlier, it turns out we\u2019d actually been using the VIP Access hotels a fair bit on our travels lately.<\/p>\n

Even just thinking back the past few months\/year, the figure is in double-digits (I\u2019ll provide more detailed examples below) so it\u2019s pretty safe to say, we\u2019re quite well-versed in Expedia\u2019s VIP Access hotels and know from first-hand experience how amazing these hotels actually are, even when Expedia\u2019s VIP Access hotels weren\u2019t really at the forefront of our minds.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/a><\/p>\n

Thinking back now – one thing I\u2019ve never been able to compromise on when we travel is hotels. There\u2019s just something so important about being able to finish off a busy day of exploring and heading to a hotel room that just feels so warm, welcoming and inviting.<\/p>\n

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Dreading going back to your hotel (or even being ambivalent about it) is one sure-fire way to ruin what would otherwise have been a great trip.<\/p>\n

We did this once on one of our very first trips years and years ago (*it was in Paris). The hotel was so \u201cMeh!<\/em>\u201d and involved one awful uphill climb (how did they manage to find a hill in Paris???) and since then I just knew this was something I was unwilling to compromise on.<\/p>\n

Turns out, I\u2019m not alone too! I saw a survey somewhere that said something like the biggest concerns for about 2\/3rds<\/sup> of Brits travelling was the quality of their hotel. Let\u2019s face it, you spend enough on it (it\u2019s perhaps the biggest part of your holiday budget) so it makes so much sense why it\u2019s easily one of the most important parts of your holiday.<\/p>\n

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Did you also know that you can also sign up to Expedia\u2019s Rewards programme? You get points for each night you stay and the more you book, the higher up their rewards programme you move. You actually get twice as many points for VIP Access hotels bookings compared to other bookings.<\/p>\n

At Gold level (the highest), you could get things like free room upgrades, free dinner and drinks and other perks like that. Oh, and on top of double points, you then get 250 bonus points when you book the VIP Access hotels<\/a>. Booking a few weeks\u2019 worth of holiday can very easily turn into a free weekend away.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/a><\/p>\n

Even before you get to this stage, points you earn can be used to book free hotel rooms whenever you want for yourself or whoever else you want to book for. You also get points for other guests you make bookings for so it\u2019s now in your interest to be the \u2018organised friend\u2019 when you book those group trips away :-D.<\/p>\n

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Okay, I really need to stop rambling and show you first-hand what a night at the Corinthia Hotel in London was like!<\/p>\n

The Corinthia Hotel, London<\/h3>\n

Being currently in the middle of a home move, the stay at the Corinthia Hotel couldn\u2019t have come at a better time.<\/p>\n

I have no idea why I thought it was smart to move homes in between trips but now, the apartment in London is just a heap of boxes and random knick-knacks I really need to throw away but just haven\u2019t worked up the courage to.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/a><\/p>\n

I know I don\u2019t need 5 beach towels or that cycling machine I promised myself I\u2019d use every day but have only managed to use once\u2026. maybe 1\u00bd  times but I\u2019m just struggling to bin them and so my \u2018maybe\u2019 pile has just grown more and more. The 40 plus USB sticks I somehow managed to accumulate however (don\u2019t ask how), made their way sharply and swiftly to the bin. So I\u2019m not all that bad, really. I think. I hope. \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n

Anyway, so off we went on a sunny London day to escape the boxes in my apartment and rest up in between trips and it was just the best idea ever!<\/p>\n

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On check-in, as we reached the Gold Status on Expedia\u2019s rewards programme (I\u2019ll show you below some of the hotels we stayed in to get to this point), we got a free room upgrade, switching up our Executive Room to an amazing sun-dappled Suite.<\/p>\n

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Let me show you around properly!<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s gorgeous, isn\u2019t it? And all that space! It\u2019s the kind of hotel that makes you want to spend more time indoors than outdoors \u2013 which, to be honest, is something I\u2019d quite happily do. When we have staycations like this, especially in a city so familiar, and even especially so after coming back from a huge trip, staying indoors is something I have no problem with.<\/p>\n

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But see, here\u2019s the thing, London in Summer time is absolutely amazing. London is already a great city but when the sun\u2019s out, there\u2019s no place quite like it.<\/p>\n

Seeing as we\u2019d been travelling for a fair bit this summer and hadn\u2019t really gotten make the most of summer in London, we picked up some Brompton Bikes from the hotel concierge and headed off to go play tourist.<\/p>\n

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I sometimes take this area of London for granted, it feels so familiar, so London, that I don\u2019t end up exploring it as much as I should. For instance, I realised on this evening that I\u2019d never really been to Horse Guards parade.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019ve walked past it so many times and there\u2019s no barrier to entry but somehow, I\u2019ve managed to miss out this pretty part of London right up until now.<\/p>\n

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We carried our bikes down to the river side, stopping to take in the beautiful hues as the sun dipped below the horizon…<\/p>\n

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…before making our way back to The Corinthia for some much-appreciated spa (and champagne) time.<\/p>\n

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The spa here, by the way, is incredible! I\u2019d always heard great things about it but typically when someone is a tad too effusive about thing like this, I tend to just take it with a pinch of salt (I don\u2019t know why \u2013 I think I just like to manage my expectations) but boy, were they right. Also, having a pool in London is something I\u2019ve grown to really appreciate. \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n

Alas, I have no pictures from the spa because, well, it would be intrusive to snap away when people are trying to relax but there are a lot more details and photos on The Corinthia\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

We barely made it out of the spa on time for dinner at Kerridge\u2019s Bar and Grill (in fact, we were like 10 minutes late), which we\u2019d booked just after we came back from cycling around town.<\/p>\n

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The plan originally was to have Afternoon Tea (we literally just walked into the beautiful area where Afternoon Tea was served and decided there and then to have it) but we\u2019d left that too late and decided to go for dinner here instead.<\/p>\n

Tom Kerridge is a Michelin-starred chef so expectations were high here and easily met and surpassed. The food here is so good and the lazy person in me just appreciated not having to travel too far to get great food. (The restaurant is quite literally in the hotel).<\/p>\n

We started with the Salt Cod Scotch Egg with Chorizo and Red Pepper Sauce for myself and the Chicken Liver Parfait with Fig and Cherry Chutney, Almond Jelly and Toasted Brioche for Lloyd, both of which went down quite a treat.<\/p>\n

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For mains, I had the Pig\u2019s Cheek Pie with Clotted Cream Mash, Crispy Black Pudding and Devilled Sauce while Lloyd went for the Deep Fried Jumbo Plaice and Chips with Pease Pudding, Tartare and Matson Spiced Sauce (he\u2019d been craving fish and chips for a while so had his eye on this the second we looked at the menu).<\/p>\n

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Surprisingly stuffed, (only so because I ALWAYS save room for dessert), we decided to share the Brown Butter Tart with Buttermilk Ice Cream, all of which was paired with a delicious bottle of Chianti!<\/p>\n

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And with that, I decided to call it a night, waking up the next day with an extra spring in my step on the way to breakfast from a brilliant night\u2019s sleep!<\/p>\n

I still have my packing to do and those boxes to deal with but, now feel so great about dealing with that, even with another couple of trips planned between now and the moving date. It\u2019s funny how some downtime and a brilliant night\u2019s sleep can just make you feel like you can take on the world.<\/p>\n

Turns out, an evening in London like this was just what I needed and I\u2019m already making notes to repeat this after a long stint of travel\u2026 or maybe after moving in when I get fed up of unpacking, whichever comes first. \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n

The Other Expedia VIP Access Hotels<\/a> We\u2019ve Stayed In Recently<\/h3>\n

Almost forgot about this bit! Was about to hit publish before I realised I hadn\u2019t gotten round to listing some of the other Expedia VIP Access hotels<\/a> we stayed in that I\u2019d mentioned earlier on.<\/p>\n

This is not a complete list \u2013 far from actually; it\u2019s just the ones that we\u2019ve stayed in over the past few months, with a couple extra that just sprang to mind.<\/p>\n