The independent hotel guide · Est. 2026

About The Better Trip

The Better Trip is an independent, highly curated guide to the best hotels in Monaco, Lisbon, Tenerife, Porto, London, Rome, New York, Mallorca, Las Vegas, Paris, LA, Gran Canaria, Orlando, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Madeira, Amalfi Coast and Marrakech. We do the research so you do not have to, keep only the places truly worth the trip, and tell you the room to book and the catch nobody mentions.

180 hotels in 18 destinations
Hotels cannot pay to be here
Last checked October 2026

The Better Trip seal is on every hotel we chose. Selection is never for sale.

Original research

The research behind every page

Counted from the pages on this site, and updated as the edit grows.

2,025
room categories compared, so you book the right one
534
catches found and stated plainly
1,186
places to eat checked near the hotels
833
walks timed on real routes

Highly curated

How a hotel earns the seal

Booking sites maximise choice. We do the opposite.

Every serious hotel, at every price.
We start with every hotel worth considering in the destination, from the famous names to the small places most lists miss.
The research you would not have time for.
Official room categories and rates across the year, guest feedback on booking platforms, Google and Tripadvisor, forum threads, recent guest photos, professional reviews, and the real walk to everything that matters.
The catch, found and faced.
Every hotel has one. If the honest caveat takes more than a sentence, the hotel does not make the edit.
Ten, and only ten.
Each is the best at something different: the all-rounder, the icon, the smart money, the hideaway. A famous name that does not earn its place is left out.
Checked, and checked again.
Every hotel page shows when we last checked it, and when something changes, we correct it.

What every hotel page tells you

Why it is here. The reason it made the edit, who it suits, and who should look elsewhere.
The room to book. The category worth paying for, what to ask for, and the one to avoid.
The catch. The complaint that keeps coming back, stated plainly.
The facts that decide it. Pool, spa, beach, and the distance to the centre and the airport, on one page with a map.

Better Fit finds your hotel among the ten in three questions, and things to do are chosen the same way, starting with Lisbon, Tenerife, Porto, London, Rome, New York, Las Vegas, Paris, LA, Orlando, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Madeira, Amalfi Coast and Marrakech.

Who chooses

The Better Trip Editorial Team

Travel industry experts

A small team of travel industry experts who have built travel products for a living and booked more hotels than they would like to admit. We started The Better Trip because the answer to "where should I stay" should take ten seconds, not a weekend of tabs. Every hotel here is chosen by us, and hotels cannot pay to be included.

Our standards

The rules we work by

Independent

Hotels and operators cannot pay to be included, and we do not accept free stays in exchange for coverage.

Original

We write every word ourselves. We never copy marketing language or review text, and we never reduce a hotel to a score.

Honest about experience

Our recommendations are built on research and first-hand visits. We never claim a personal stay that did not happen.

Corrections

Rooms, prices and opening hours change. Every hotel page shows when we last checked it, and if you spot something out of date, tell us and we will put it right.

What you will not find here

No paid placements
No public scores
No star-rating clutter
No fake urgency
No hundred-hotel grids
No display ads

Questions people ask

Good questions about The Better Trip

What is The Better Trip?

The Better Trip is an independent, highly curated hotel guide. For each destination, the Editorial Team researches every serious hotel and publishes only the ten worth booking, each with the room to book and the catch nobody mentions. It covers Monaco, Lisbon, Tenerife, Porto, London, Rome, New York, Mallorca, Las Vegas, Paris, LA, Gran Canaria, Orlando, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Madeira, Amalfi Coast and Marrakech.

How does The Better Trip choose its hotels?

Every hotel has to pass one test: if a friend were going, would we tell them to book it? We check official room categories and rates, guest feedback across booking platforms, Google and Tripadvisor, recent guest photos, professional reviews and real walking routes. If the honest caveat needs more than a sentence, the hotel is out.

Can a hotel pay to be on The Better Trip?

No. Hotels cannot pay to be included, we do not accept free stays in exchange for coverage, and selection is never for sale.

Why only ten hotels per destination?

Because more choice makes the decision harder, not better. Ten is enough to cover every kind of trip, from the all-rounder to the smart money, and few enough that every one of them has to be exceptional.

Is The Better Trip a booking site?

No. We handle the decision. You book with Expedia, GetYourGuide or the hotel itself.

How up to date is The Better Trip?

Every hotel page shows when it was last checked. The current edit was checked in October 2026, and anything that changes is corrected.

Destinations

About The Better Trip

The research behind every page

How a hotel earns the seal

Every serious hotel, at every price.

The research you would not have time for.

The catch, found and faced.

Ten, and only ten.

Checked, and checked again.