Honeymoon Hot Words

It is said that travel is a language of its own.
But it also HAS a language of its own.

There is a lot of jargon that gets thrown around when trip planning. Knowing what you are looking at is crucial for budgeting, comparing options, and getting exactly what you want. Here are 25 hotel hot words you may want to know for picking your perfect place.

Adjacent rooms are located next to each other, usually sharing a wall, but with no way to pass through one room to another without going through the front doors.

An all-inclusive resort includes meals and drinks in the cost of your stay. It gives you one set price versus paying for a hotel and food separately. However, not all all-inclusive resorts include the same stuff. They can vary on whether room service, snacks, certain restaurants, wine, premium liquors or juices, dining locations (like the beach), and activities (like kayaks), among other things, are included in “all” inclusive.

A La Carte restaurants are generally served plated food versus a buffet. They are often themed. Sometimes they are included in an all-inclusive resort rate and sometimes they are not. Reservations may or may not be required and may or may not be available depending on your length of stay.

Beachfront rooms will be located close to the beach, often including an ocean view but not always. It may or may not have a great view. Sometimes the views are blocked by vegetation or paths between the building and the beach.

Buffet restaurants are where a variety of food is served in large quantities, and guests serve themselves. Most all-inclusive resort buffets are responsible for breakfast and lunch. While they serve dinner, there are often other dedicated restaurants for dinner.

A Bungalow is a room that often has more privacy and may be a free-standing structure separate from other rooms. May or may not have a thatched roof appearance. May be located on ground, pools, or over-the-water. Over-the-water bungalows in Fiji, Tahiti, and the Maldives made this term famous. The term has no standard definition and can vary widely.

The concierge is a hotel staff member dedicated to helping the patrons of the hotel with directions, recommendations, reservations, and general advice or problem-solving. They are a huge asset to any trip.

Connecting rooms are two rooms that share a doorway in some way, usually through a shared wall. Sometimes the connection happens through a hallway.

A double bed is a full bed, smaller than a queen. Sometimes this can reference two twins stuck together, but not usually.

Double Occupancy is a room rate based on two people. The rate shown may be based on two people paying and sharing the room. A different rate may apply to other numbers of people.

European Plan is a hotel that does not include food in the cost of the hotel stay. You are strictly paying for the room in the price quoted. You will need to pay to eat at the hotel restaurants or arrange meals on your own.

Garden or Tropical View room is a room that overlooks vegetation…or the parking lot and air compressor.

A king bed is a bed the same size as two twins stuck together.

When calculating rates, hotels, cruises, or other travel operators often use how many nights you are staying versus how many days you are on-property. For example, a stay Oct 1-7 is a 6-night stay but a 7-day trip. Your room rate may be calculated by night by your tip rate or drink package might be calculated by the day.

An oceanfront room will have a view of the ocean and is usually located parallel to the ocean, even if from a distance. This is what most people picture when they think of a room with a view. But it does not necessarily mean close to the ocean.

An ocean view room will have a view of the ocean, but it may be from the side or at an angle. While usually not wholly blocked in view, these rooms are often on the sides of hotels where you can see the ocean from an angled distance by looking around the building rather than facing it straight on.

A partial ocean view room will have the possibility of glimpsing a crack of the ocean, but it will most likely be blocked by something…a tree, building, mountains, structure, etc. The blocking can be severe enough to rend the view completely meaningless. However, some resorts are very generous with the view in this category and it can be a good value.

Some resorts charge a fee on top of their nightly rate that is not optional. It may or may not be quoted when you book the room or included in the room cost. Many resorts choose to charge this fee upon arrival. It often included services like the fitness center, spa open areas, parking, bottled water, or wifi. These are very common in cities.

Room occupancy is the number of people allowed to share any given room. Most resorts have a strict occupancy limit to each room that does not always correspond to the number of beds or what people are willing to do on sharing beds. One infant or crib is often not counted toward this number, but sometimes they are.

Single occupancy is a room for a solo person or a rate calculated for one person occupying a room. This rate is often higher than half a double occupancy rate.

The use of the word Suite and it’s meaning varies widely. Each resort defines the meaning for themselves. It can mean a separate sleeping and living area, more space, upgraded bath and bedding amenities, access to exclusive lounges or areas, butler service, or practically nothing at all. But it almost always means more expensive.

A swim-out room will have pool access from the balcony. It may be a shared pool between several rooms with or without dividers between the rooms. Or, it may be private. It may or may not connect from that pool to the main pool. It may or may not come with dedicated loungers, steps, or sunning areas. It may or may not be ground level, though often they are ground level.

A twin bed is a single bed, though in some countries (especially Asia) it can be expected to sleep 2 people.

A villa is usually a free-standing room structure separate from other rooms, but not always. It usually denotes a room with more privacy or space in some way, possibly with multiple rooms. The term varies widely and has no standard definition between resorts.

A walkout room will open-up to ground level. It may or may not have a view.

About The Traveling Compass:

The Traveling Compass is a full-service luxury travel agency. Our success is built on a foundation of unmatched expertise and outstanding customer service. Our travel agents specialize in international travel, corporate incentive trips, destination weddings & honeymoons, multigenerational travel, luxury leisure, and family travel. We are also Authorized Disney Vacation Planners with experience assisting families that have children with special needs or large families or groups with complicated dining reservations for over 20 guests.  Our personalized travel itineraries are designed to help discerning, time-pressed travelers plan the most elaborate vacations, down to the smallest detail. As luxury travel agents, we are dedicated to creating and facilitating travel experiences that expand awareness and give each person a real sense of the country and culture they are visiting. It is our mission to make sure you have the travel experience of a lifetime, every time.