Before you book that next hotel stay in Lagos or any other city for that matter, please read our top ten tips to consider to ensure you pick the right hotel for your stay.

1. Read the Hotel Reviews and Travel Blogs– Look beyond just the branded hotels or personal recommendations from acquaintances who may not be quite as discerning as yourself. If you want to know how to choose a hotel on recommendation, there are a variety of independent websites such as Tripadvisor, TravelMyth, Google Review etc which allow users to submit reviews on various aspects of their stay in various hotels.  Also consider any Industry Awards and Plaudits the hotels may have received recently as further testimony to the suitability of the hotel.
2. Location, Location, Location – Travelling is all about location and you need to know where your hotel is in relation to where you want to be in Lagos. Some guests prefer to stay in a hotel near the airport whilst others prefer to lodge closer to offices for their business meetings. A good tip is to pick hotels located on the motorways as you are assured quick travel access to major parts of the city as opposed to small streets in Lagos which sometimes are a hindrance to getting around. If you don’t trust the hotel’s own description of their location, use a map app like google map to verify the exact location of your hotel and its suitability to your travel plans in Lagos.
3. Price– To get the best prices at any hotel, use hotel booking engines like Expedia, Jumia, Hotels.ng, Hotels.com and Orbitz etc. You can also pay a visit to travel prices aggregator sites like Kayak and Sidestep to see what’s available. Having done that ,then go straight to the hotel’s web site to book directly. Most hotels guarantee you the lowest rate when you book on their site, and will actually match lower price you find elsewhere.
4. Loyalty programs – If you travel a lot or if you’re a member of a frequent flier program, it may be worth your while to join a hotel loyalty program. These scheme are usually a preserve of the branded international chains but you still get fantastic deals and preferential rate plans when you patronise independent hotel
5. Amenities – there are four amenities you should be sure a hotel offers before you arrive (the Holy Grail), as these are the most often cited complaints on review sites. These are air-conditioning, parking, Wi-Fi, and breakfast. Check sites such as hotelplanner, HRS, Good Holiday plan for ideas for the list of amenities available.
6. Things to do – Unless you plans to spend the entirely of your stay in bed (which may not be bad thing especially if you have company) consider what other leisure activities can you pursue at any hotel such a swimming, gaming, gym, spar, sports etc
7. Star Rating – Go for a star rating that suits your needs and meets your budget: View sites like noxiae, adultsonly and africa-accommodation if you are going away for a business trip for a few days and dont
   
   want to spend a lot of money, you might look at more budget hotels which do not have a rating, whereas for a long vacation you will want the amenities which come with a high star rating. Best 3 Star Hotel in Lagos. Best 4 Star Hotel in Lagos.
8. Privacy – Lets face it. Whether in the room with our partners or chilling by the room in our swimwear, one needs a coded quiet comfortable hotel to relax it. A good tip for choosing a hotel is to make sure that you look into whether the hotel has sufficient off road parking for its guests with access to rooms, views from public places nicely designed with privacy in mind.
9. Chain or Independent Hotel – There are many pros and cons to chain hotels, but you can’t deny that they offer a reliable and consistent service. However, if you want a more personal and unique experience, opting for an independent or family run hotel may be a better option for you. For list of independent hotels view myGuide and Touristlink
10. Non Smoking Policy – These days it’s not enough for a hotel to designate smoking and non smoking rooms as the majority of guest requests favor a completely non-smoking hotel environment. When hotel allows some smoking in their hotels, the stuff smoking corridors will still ensure smoke gets into all the rooms plus in times of overbooking many non smokers are stuck in smoking rooms. The only way to provide this experience is to not allow smoking within the building. Our hotels do provide designated smoking areas outside the building to accommodate the needs of guests who smoke – https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/13/smoke-free-hotel-rooms/2156013/ –