How we score
One question, 100 points
Would we happily live here for a month: work, sleep, eat and feel at home? We stay long enough to find out, and we publish what we paid.
Five categories, four items in each, every item scored 0 to 5. So each category is out of 20 and the total is out of 100. Totals are always added up from the items, never typed in by hand.
Our score
The one scorecard we use for every hotel we review.
Work & Connectivity
20Desk & chair0–5
A real desk at a working height, and a chair you can sit in for a full workday.
Wi-Fi speed & stability0–5
Speed-tested in the room and the common areas on more than one day, not once on arrival.
Quiet for calls0–5
Somewhere to take a video call without hallway, housekeeping or construction noise.
Tech & streaming0–5
Enough outlets where you need them, a TV you can cast to, and a network that doesn't block your devices.
Food & Dining
20Breakfast0–5
Quality and choice at breakfast, and whether it's included or worth paying for.
Lounge or equivalent0–5
Hotels without a club lounge aren't penalised if there's an equivalent.
Menu variety0–5
Whether the restaurants and room service give you enough choice to eat in several nights running.
Coffee & snacks0–5
Good coffee and something to eat between meals without leaving the hotel.
Room & Sleep
20Bed0–5
Mattress, pillows and linens, judged on how we actually slept.
Bathroom0–5
Water pressure, hot water, space, and a shower that works.
Noise0–5
Street, neighbours, lifts and air conditioning, day and night.
Laundry & storage for long stays0–5
Wardrobe and drawer space to unpack properly, and laundry at a fair price.
Crowd, Wellness & Area
20Crowd & quiet0–5
Who else stays there, and how busy the pool, lobby and restaurants get.
Gym & pool0–5
Equipment, opening hours, cleanliness, and how crowded they are.
Walkability0–5
What you can reach on foot: food, shops, a park or the water.
Health access0–5
Hospital, pharmacy and accessibility.
Long-Stay Value
20All-in nightly cost (receipts)0–5
What a night really costs once taxes, service, breakfast, laundry and transport are added.
Hidden fees0–5
Resort fees, service charges and extras that weren't clear when we booked.
Recognition, with or without status0–5
Whether the team knows who you are and looks after you, with or without elite status.
Service consistency0–5
The same standard from check-in to check-out, across every team we dealt with.
The 0–5 scale
- 5Best we've had
- 4Very good
- 3Fine
- 2Below what the price promised
- 1Poor
- 0Missing or failed
Bands
- 90–100Exceptional
- 80–89Excellent
- 70–79Good
- 60–69Fair
- under 60Poor