Continuing our theme of Staycation tips, the option to stay in a hotel near your home may seem an obvious idea (and of course it’s what created the phrase Staycation), but doing it properly can still bring the feeling of a proper holiday.

The team at Metrotels.net focused their minds to come up with the second Tip in our series:

Credit Crunch Staycation Tips Part 2:  Stay in a local hotel to you.

Key to this is picking the right type of hotel.  If your budget does not stretch to a beach holiday, don’t give up on the idea of relaxing on the water’s edge…hotels have pools too.  Still want to experience new cuisine?  Then choose a hotel with a restaurant specialising in the type of food you have always wanted to try.

So here are our top 5 tips for a good staycation:

1) Don’t just book any destination, search out an area of the country you have always wanted to check out.
2) Research a good hotel.  TabletHotels have a great tool that they originally created for discovering new cities, but in effect it is the perfect Staycation search tool.  Their Local Getaways feature shows great hotels within 3 hours drive of most of the world’s major cities.
3) Tell your colleagues you are off on hoilday.  There is no better way to get yourself in the holiday mood than talking about your holiday plans - even if it is just a Staycation.
4) Pack as you would for a normal holiday trip, don’t just throw a few things in a sports bag just because you are only a short ride away.
5) Half the fun on travelling on holiday is the getting there.  Even if you are only a shortdrive away, try to take public transport, relax, read a book and enjoy the journey.

Part one of our Staycation Tips an be found here