Hotel vs. Resort: What’s the difference?

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Hotels and resorts differ in their location, services, and activities. Resorts offer more land, activities, and on-site and off-site freebies. They have more restaurants, sports facilities, and health clubs. Hotels usually offer only basic amenities and are often located on major highways. Resorts are vacation destinations, while hotels are for sleeping or business meetings.

The difference between what a hotel and a resort offers has to do with the services they provide, their location, and the activities and services available on-site. A resort is usually spread over more land than a hotel. Considering the extra land, there are more activities for guests to participate in. Resorts usually also offer more on-site and off-site freebies and discounts to guests. Although a hotel and a resort look similar, the reasons guests often choose to stay at one over the other often differ.

A hotel and a resort are very different in terms of the amount of land they are on. A resort is typically on a significant amount of property, so it’s able to have more rooms available for guests and lots of extra space for features like a golf course. The extra land is also on or near a more natural environment. A hotel is often on just enough land for parking and the building itself. It’s also usually on a major highway, so it’s easy for guests to have access to area activities.

The services and activities available on-site can vary greatly between a hotel and a resort. A hotel may have a small fitness room and business center, but not much else. There may be a restaurant, if any, but usually only room service or vending machines are available. A resort often has two or more restaurants or lounges in addition to room service. Other activities or services may also be available, including on-site music and dancing, sports such as golf or tennis, a large gym, computer area, and even a health club.

Another big difference between a hotel and a resort is sometimes the number of freebies and discounts offered by one versus the other. While a hotel usually offers a free newspaper, Wi-Fi access, and breakfast, the resort offers all of that and more. It can also offer guests free shuttle service to and from an airport, provide free or discounted tickets to nearby tourist attractions, or have discounts for restaurants on and off the property.

While both a hotel and a resort provide guests with a place to sleep, the latter is typically more of a vacation destination in itself because of all that it offers. Those staying in hotels are usually only there to sleep or for business meetings or conferences. The area around the hotel is usually what guests are most interested in.




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