How to Write a Hotel Review After a Stay - B1 English Writing — Explanation

How to Write a Hotel Review After a Stay

A useful hotel review tells future guests what the stay was really like. At B1 level, you should describe the room, location, facilities, service and value, support your opinions with specific details, and finish with a clear recommendation. A balanced review is usually more convincing than a list of strong adjectives.

Example writing task

You recently stayed at a hotel during a weekend trip. Write a review for a travel website. Describe the room and service, mention one problem, and say whether you would recommend the hotel.

Model B1 hotel review

Harbour View Guesthouse — Friendly, Comfortable and Great Value

I spent two nights at Harbour View Guesthouse during a short trip to Brighton, and my stay was better than I had expected. The hotel is in a quiet street about ten minutes from the beach, so it is convenient without being noisy.

My room was bright, spotless and surprisingly spacious. The bed was comfortable, the towels were soft, and the large window overlooked a small garden. One thing I especially appreciated was the tea and coffee area, which was refilled every morning. Breakfast included fresh fruit, warm bread and several cooked options.

The staff were attentive and made me feel welcome from the moment I arrived. When I asked for directions, the receptionist went out of her way to mark an interesting walking route on a map. The only disappointing thing was that the Wi-Fi was unreliable in my room. I would have preferred a stronger connection because I needed to send some work emails.

Other than that, I cannot fault the guesthouse. It was excellent value for money, and I would happily stay there again. I strongly recommend it to travellers who want a peaceful base near the centre.

Plan the content of your review

Before writing, decide which details will help another traveller make a decision. You do not need to mention everything. Choose the most relevant points:

• Location: distance from sights, transport and surrounding noise
• Room: size, cleanliness, bed, bathroom, view and equipment
• Facilities: Wi-Fi, breakfast, pool, parking, restaurant or gym
• Service: speed, friendliness, helpfulness and problem solving
• Value: whether the quality matched the price
• Recommendation: who would enjoy staying there

A clear structure

1. Title and overall impression

Use the hotel name and a short summary of your opinion. In the opening paragraph, say when or why you stayed and give your general impression. This helps readers understand your viewpoint immediately.

• City Rooms Hotel — Convenient but Too Noisy
• Maple House — A Relaxing Weekend Stay
• I stayed for three nights while attending a conference.

2. Describe the room, facilities and location

Give concrete evidence for your opinion. Instead of saying “The room was nice,” explain that it was spacious, well equipped and overlooked the park. Mention both facts and your reaction.

3. Evaluate the service and any problems

Explain how staff behaved and whether problems were handled well. A small negative detail makes a positive review sound honest. If the experience was poor, mention any genuine advantage too.

4. Give a final verdict

End by stating whether the hotel offered good value, whether you would return, and which travellers might like it.

Descriptive vocabulary for hotel reviews

Positive adjectives

• spotless: perfectly clean
• spacious: having plenty of room
• peaceful: quiet and relaxing
• well equipped: containing the necessary items
• attentive: noticing and responding to guests’ needs
• convenient: easy to reach or useful
• affordable: reasonably priced

Negative adjectives

• cramped: uncomfortably small
• dated: old-fashioned and needing improvement
• dusty: covered with dust
• noisy: having too much unwanted sound
• understaffed: not having enough workers
• overpriced: costing more than it is worth
• unreliable: not working well consistently

Use intensifiers naturally: absolutely spotless, extremely helpful, rather cramped and slightly dated. Avoid combining an ordinary intensifier with an extreme adjective incorrectly; absolutely spotless is more natural than very spotless.

Useful expressions

Introducing good and bad points

• One thing I particularly liked was ...
• What impressed me most was ...
• The main problem was ...
• Another issue was that ...
• The only disappointing thing was ...

These phrases can be followed by a noun or a that clause: The main problem was the noise / The main problem was that the walls were thin.

Service, price and overall quality

• The staff went out of their way to help us.
• Nothing was too much trouble.
• The hotel exceeded my expectations.
• It was good value for money.
• It was not worth the price.
• I could not fault the service.

Link positive and negative points

Use also, as well as that and on top of that to add similar points. Use however, although and having said that to introduce contrast.

• The room was small. However, it was clean and quiet.
• The service was slow. Having said that, every member of staff was polite.
• The lift was unreliable. Other than that, the facilities were excellent.

Compare reality with your preference

Use would have + past participle to explain how you wanted a past situation to be different:

• I would have preferred a room away from the road.
• I would have liked more vegetarian choices at breakfast.
• A later checkout time would have been more convenient.

This structure describes something you did not receive or experience.

Keep your review fair and specific

A review should report your own experience accurately. Explain the effect of a problem instead of making an exaggerated claim. “The walls were thin, so traffic woke me twice” is more useful than “The hotel was terrible.” Mention when you stayed if season, construction or temporary conditions may have affected the visit.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Listing adjectives without examples.
• Discussing only the room and forgetting service, location or value.
• Using present tense for all events from a completed stay.
• Making the review completely positive or negative without balance.
• Using would have preferred for something you actually received.
• Ending without a clear recommendation.

Final checklist

• Have I explained when or why I stayed?
• Have I described the room, service and location with specific details?
• Have I included both an overall opinion and supporting evidence?
• Are my adjectives accurate and varied?
• Have I linked contrasting points clearly?
• Have I commented on value for money?
• Is my recommendation useful to a future guest?

A strong B1 hotel review is clear, balanced and practical. Help readers imagine the stay, understand its advantages and disadvantages, and decide whether the hotel suits their needs.