Our Methodology
Where Stay Guide is built to help travellers choose the right area first, then the right accommodation. Our recommendations combine verified factual research with clearly separated editorial judgement.
How our decision process works
We begin with the traveller's location decision: which area best fits the trip. Hotel selection comes after that decision rather than replacing it.
- Destination and search-intent research
- Area comparison and trade-offs
- Hotel factual verification
- Hotel editorial review
- Surface-specific hotel selection
- Commercial offers only after editorial placement
Area Fit Score
Area Fit Score is an editorial decision framework using separate 0–10 dimensions such as sightseeing, walkability, transport, nightlife, quietness, families and value.
We currently do not calculate a composite Area Fit Score. Individual dimensions are more useful than hiding trade-offs inside one average.
Hotel research
Hotel identity, address and verified classification are stored separately from editorial judgement. Factual evidence is tracked through HotelProvenance records.
HotelEditorial then describes who a property may suit, its main trade-off and why it stands out. Research-based editorial content does not imply a personal stay.
How hotel rankings work
Hotel placement is specific to the page where it appears. A hotel may rank differently on an Area Guide, the main city hotel guide, a family-hotel guide or a luxury-hotel guide.
Adding a hotel to our database does not automatically make it a recommendation.
Sources and verification
We prefer official hotel sources, official tourism authorities and other authoritative location or transport sources for factual claims. Merchant and OTA data are kept separate when they describe offers, prices or marketplace-specific information.
First-hand versus research-based reviews
We never describe a stay as first-hand unless genuine first-hand evidence exists. Research-based analysis is labelled and written without fabricated personal experiences.
Commercial independence
Affiliate commission and merchant relationships do not determine which areas or hotels we recommend or how they are ranked.
Updates and corrections
Important factual records carry verification dates and editorial records carry review dates. When reliable sources conflict, we prefer to mark the value unresolved rather than guess.