24-07-2025
I paid £136 to stay at a one-star hotel with awful reviews - this is what it's like inside
A British tourist has shared how he checked into a one-star hotel with less than favourable reviews and scant facilities, including zero tea or coffee - and paid £136 for the pleasure.
Simon Wilson, who regularly documents his travels on social media, shared a reel from his stay at the 80-room one-star hotel that's in a plum spot in one of America's most popular tourist destinations.
Holidaymakers in South Beach in Miami, Florida can usually expect to pay from around $400 (around £295) during high season for a room in the cool coastal district, so bagging a stay for less than £150 a night might be considered a relative bargain.
Sharing on his Instagram and Facebook accounts, Wilson checked in without an advance booking at the unnamed hotel but found just 9 out of the 80 hotel rooms occupied.
Chatting to the receptionist, a Brazilian named Celso, he asks about what's on offer for his £136 - and why the hotel has had such bad reviews. The hotel worker responds with a simple shrug.
'Is there a swimming pool, or a sauna?' Wilson enquires in the video, only to be told there isn't even a breakfast service or anywhere to grab a coffee.
Given a room on the first floor, Wilson takes viewers around his place for the night, and finds while the hotel is facility free, it's not nearly as bad as he feared.
Pushing through the door, he says: 'There's a lovely dining table, cabinet, a remote for the telly.'
He then inspects the bathroom, which he describes as looking 'fairly clean', highlighting clean towels and plenty of soap.
Is a decent night's sleep on the horizon? Wilson inspects the pillows and sheets on the bed and deems them immaculate.
The pleasantly surprised tourist says of his stay: 'It seems like we might just have got a bargain in South Beach, Miami'.
Others watching his video though were shocked at the cost of the room, with one responding: '$200 for a night? That's what people pay per months in some parts of the world. Hotel or not, that's insane.'
Another adds: 'So, they charge you almost $200 and you can't get anything at the hotel other than a bed and bathroom. Can see why it's 1 star.'
One local resident reacted differently though, saying: 'Y'all complaining about the price, but it's expensive in Miami. If you're in South Beach, that's about what it's going to cost.'
Hotel star rating systems are widely recognised as the definitive way to ascertain a hotel's overall quality, but the rankings can differ wildly from one country to another.
Each country usually has its own way to rank hotels from one to five stars, established by a range of authorities, from tourism bodies to government agencies.
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What does £136 buy you in a Miami obvious facilities but a decent room, says the Brit abroad
In the US, there are a number of competing systems, from the American Automobile Association to local councils.
A one-star hotel generally means there are only basic room options available.
In the UK, for example, five letting bedrooms must be available to qualify.
The hotel must also be open seven days per week during its operating season and staff must be available during the day to receive and check-in guests.
Occasionally, bathroom facilities will be shared and there will likely not be any sort of restaurant or bar on-site. However, there will usually be vending machines.
But are there any expectations that hold universally across three, four or five star hotels? Generally, several criteria can be agreed upon across borders.
In the UK, star ratings place a heavy emphasis on customer service, whereas in France, the ratings focus more on rooms, lobbies and amenities and are enforced by the French Government.
Four groups combined in 2007 to create a unified ranking system for Great Britain: the Automobile Association, VisitBritain, VisitScotland and VisitWales.
Hotels in Spain, on the other hand, are ranked regionally instead of nationally, while Italian accommodations emphasize cleanliness in their system, which was established in 2009.
In Turkey and Portugal, properties are inspected by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, respectively.
