Tablet Hotels is My Secret for Finding Unique Hotels Around the World
I’ve found a great website, tablethotels.com, that offers a highly selective group of fine hotels around the world. The site is unique in that they only book hotels the staff personally inspects and recommends. The hotels are chosen by the staff and a selection committee of serious travelers and they seem to be right on with all their choices. In addition to the travel pros and site editors, each hotel is rated by the Tablet customers, ensuring great hotels continue to be listed, while problem properties are quickly removed.
The site was founded by Laurent Verhes, a French style and travel guru who sure knows his stuff. The process to be listed on the site is extensive, and all hotels are visited secretly by a staff member who prepares a detailed report. The report is reviewed by a selection committee as well as the CEO of the company. Hotels cannot pay to be featured on the site, in fact there is no charge either, it’s quality and providing a great experience for guests that get a property listed. I think its a great system and ensures they only offer top properties that really provide a superior experience for guests on all levels.
The site has become a go-to site for me to find a unique, more individual hotel in cities I visit, as opposed to a chain or corporate hotel. Tablethotels.com offers a great selection of hotels around the world, both in major cities as well as small, out-of-the-way destinations. Hotels are also available in major U.S. cities as well.
Top hotels
The best reason I use the site is the top selection of hotels. I first used the site to book a local hotel, but noticed the great choices they offered in some of my favorite international destinations. I recognized all their selections as really great, unique places, and I knew their judgement was right on.
Discounted prices
The everyday pricing is lower than what I’ve seen on hotel websites and other major travel portals. The site provides direct booking for all the properties they list with helpful, live customer service via phone or email. The site also offers a “Last Minute Deals” section with rock bottom pricing good for 14-days. A recent search turned up the Hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris’ 8th Arr. for only $99. Or how about the super-trendy Blakes hotel in London’s Kensington neighborhood for $266.
Private sale
One of the best features is the private sale the site has each week. The sale is only open to invited travelers or to people who have previously booked through the website. The sale runs Tuesday through Thursday and offers the site’s best hotels and lowest prices.
Customer service
The staff are all knowledgeable travel professionals and they have good information about each destination. I find them very helpful and they offer more personal service, caring about your experience not just trying to get you to make a booking.
Conclusion
Smart travelers need resources but there’s a point when you can experience information overload. A site like tablethotels.com removes the clutter and I can trust their judgement, so it makes the hotel booking process much easier, narrowing down my choices, then providing a good system to make the booking, all in one place.
Freddy Sherman is a world traveler and editor of the travel blog travel4people.com. You can follow him on twitter, @thefredsherman (The author is not an employee, shareholder or otherwise connected in any way to Tablet Hotels.)
