The Type Of Hotel You Should Expect To Stay In If You're Booking A Rick Steves Tour

Rick Steves' tours are a popular choice among travelers looking to sightsee around Europe with a group. The packages include the cost of admission to attractions, transportation, meals, and — perhaps most importantly — accommodations. Unlike your usual independent vacation, all hotels are chosen and arranged by the Rick Steves' Europe team. And given Steves' preference for 'characteristic' European hotels, you can expect to sleep at one-of-a-kind properties during the tour.

In case you're accustomed to luxury hotels, be aware that Steves' choice of lodging can be a little more quirky and lived-in than what you might be used to. On his website, tour accommodations are described as "often quaint, sometimes creaky, full of two- and three-star personality, and run by friendly Europeans." Think beautiful boutique hotels in Europe, though not exactly fancy. Given that many buildings across the continent are old and traditional in style, there may be no elevators, no central air conditioning, and limited Wi-Fi. Rather, Steves prioritizes accommodations with a good location.

Solo travelers can generally expect to be placed in a shared room with other tourists of the same gender. Couples and pairs of friends or siblings, on the other hand, are given their own rooms with two twin beds or, occasionally, one large bed. Most hotels hosting Rick Steves' groups provide private bathrooms, though in some cases bathrooms may be shared among guests.

A bad hotel can ruin a trip, but according to some travelers, there's no need to worry about the accommodations provided on Rick Steves' tours. The travel expert In a thread on the Rick Steves' Europe forum, commenter Mr É gave a review of their hotel: "Stunning, beautiful. With only 30 rooms, RS must have booked the entire hotel. Perfect." On Reddit, u/Who_what_wear wrote that while the hotels they were assigned weren't fancy, they were "still very nice and often historical."

Keep in mind that Rick Steves tour participants have no say in where they sleep, and you can't suss out hotel red flags when booking the way you could if you were organizing your own trip. In some cases, this can mean getting stuck with an accommodation you'd never choose for yourself. Redditor u/Swimming-Anything845 revealed that their Rick Steves tour was a downer, partially because the hotels were subpar. Others have taken to Trustpilot to air their grievances, including Catherine Best who wrote that the hotels were the main shortcoming of her Rick Steves tour — one even had a bed bug infestation, according to her account. David Lee echoed this sentiment in their review: "[A]ll except one of the hotels are all substandard. They might have been good choice at one time when RS started this tour itinerary years ago. But they are old now and not very functional. We never felt like they were clean." Aside from the accommodation you can expect, here are some other important things you should know before booking a Rick Steves tour.