How it ranks the areas
Each of our stay guides opens with a short answer: who each area suits, and why. The finder reads those lines and the hotels each guide lists, then adds points you can see:
- +3 when a priority you picked is in the guide’s line on who the area suits, and +1 when it appears only in the reason or the area’s heading.
- +2 when at least one of the hotels we checked in that area is in your budget tier.
- +1 for the area the guide puts first for a first trip, when that is what you are after.
Ties keep the guide’s own order. The finder knows nothing that the guide does not say: no live prices, availability or reviews. Hotel tiers are the guide’s (splurge, comfortable, good value, budget), not a price on your dates, so check the rates for your own nights before you book.
The hotels are the guides’ researched picks, each checked as operating when the guide was last updated; no hotel pays to appear. Read how we research and what we have corrected.
Related
- All our where-to-stay guides
- Hotel booking sites compared: where the same room costs less
- Hotel taxes around the world (2026)
- eSIM Finder and Insurance Finder
Keep reading on Gently Yonder
- Hotel Booking Sites Compared Hotels.com, Booking.com, Trip.com, Agoda — what each is genuinely good for.
- Hotel Taxes Around the World (2026) What Paris, New York, Tokyo, Kyoto, Hong Kong and more add to a hotel room, checked at official sources.
- Where to Stay in Paris Seven areas from the Marais to Montmartre, 15 hotels, the 2026 hotel tax and the CDG Express from March 2027.
- Where to Stay in Tokyo Six neighbourhoods and 17 named hotels, from Park Hyatt to a 70-year-old family ryokan.
- Where to Stay in New York Six areas from Midtown to Brooklyn, 12 hotels, the 14.75% hotel tax and the free bus from LaGuardia.