Show HN: Find the best area to stay. My weekend project.

http://www.staybl.com/

by FajitaNachos • 12 years ago

13 16 12 years ago

This is one of my weekend projects. I was going to wait until things were a little more polished, but decided just to throw it out there anyway. Any comments and feedback are welcome.

saryant2• 12 years ago

Small bug: if I type Tokyo, it autocorrects to "Shinjuku, Tokyo" which is itself a neighborhood in Tokyo. I would've expected Shinjuku to be one of the suggestions if I search "tokyo".

Also, I created a suggestion for Houston and under "Top Accommodations", the listings are all restaurants and massage parlors.

FajitaNachos6• 12 years ago

Thanks for adding an area for Houston. I'm not sure what was up with the restaurants and parlors. I'm hitting the Yelp API with a generic search term and returning the highest rated. I switched it to 'hotels' and it seems to have resolved it.

porter• 12 years ago

I like the clean design and map view. I don't understand how you are determining the "best" places to stay. Is this just a list of hotels, or is some super secret algorithm coming up with this list based on a few important real-time factors? Either way, I'd make this clear in your copywriting, so I'm clear on the value I'm getting as I use your app.

jlukecarlson• 12 years ago

The look and feel is cool and so is the map view but I think you should add more information about why those areas are so great besides just restaurants and hotels. Like a main attractions section since people don't just choose areas based on where they can eat and sleep

Flemlord• 12 years ago

The best place to stay in Denver, CO is Downtown/17th Street Mall. It's actually the "16th Street Mall", although I do agree it is the best area.

I suggest adding (a) a brief explanation of why it is the best place to stay, and (b) more than one place. Denver (for example) is varied; depending on what you're looking for, you may also want to stay in LoDo, or Cherry Creek.

FajitaNachos6• 12 years ago

You are correct and that was a poor mistake on my part. I'll correct it when I get home. Thanks.

echmos2• 12 years ago

Chicago native here, born and raised. Living in the lower part of the loop / printers row.

None of the below is intended as negative, but is meant to spark a conversation about the "best area to stay". Or how this is classified as such.

What was the rationale behind picking River North as the "best area to stay" in the city of Chicago? While River North may cater to the needs of many travelers, in many cases it may not. For those not interested in the scene of overpriced Red Bull + Vodkas, crowds of WASPS and pretentious clubs River North is quite uncomfortable. You can easily get the experience of Chicago by staying in the Congress Plaza (example) in the south loop of Chicago by paying much less.

All of that being said, you can get anywhere in the city with the L, so where you stay can matter or not.

Is the best area to stay based on metrics, or personal experiences from staying in these cities?

This is a neat project, I'm curious to see what people think.

FajitaNachos6• 12 years ago

Thanks for the input. I lived in Chicago briefly and thoroughly enjoyed the South Loop. The idea here is to find the area that would be the 'best' for the largest number of travelers. It's certainly subjective, and my next feature is allowing users to suggest their own favorite areas to stay.

echmos2• 12 years ago

Sounds good. Comment wasn't intended to be harsh (nor bash on River North because I've spent my fair share of time there).

ericclemmons• 12 years ago

It'd be cool to know a general idea of how the best area is determined.

Interestingly enough, as a Houston native, it's spot on with picking the Montrose area. My family is actually moving out of the suburbs and back into this section specifically!

So, again, it would be a tad more useful if it showed why it was a ranked the best, contributing factors (e.g. "Nightlife", "walkability", etc.), and runner-up locations.

FajitaNachos6• 12 years ago

Thanks for the feedback. Most of the areas are user submitted, and I totally agree that it would be more useful if there was a description of the area. I do plan to add that in the future.

saryant2• 12 years ago

I added the Montrose area and the form included a description field but the data doesn't appear to be shown ATM.

FajitaNachos6• 12 years ago

Correct. I haven't decided how I'm going manage the descriptions yet.

jpwright• 12 years ago

Apparently the best place to stay in London is in the River Thames (http://www.staybl.com/areas/17). Who knew? :-)

iamwithnail• 12 years ago

Yeah, it's moved a fraction north now into the city, but that area would be a horrible place to stay, despite the many plush hotels - there are few good restaurants, only expensive (and soulless, and dead on the weekend) bars, and it's a ways away from anything interesting either on a touristy/culture (except St. Paul's) or tech basis. Hmm. From the above it seems to be user generated though, but interesting. There's a juxtaposition here that I wonder if the OP could exploit between good reviews (hotels, restaurants) and the sort of livability/walk ability ideas that some of the other posters have mentioned.

Love the design, look and simplicity of the app though very nice.

Show HN: Find the best area to stay. My weekend project.

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