

Show HN: Find the best area to stay. My weekend project. - FajitaNachos
http://www.staybl.com/

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FajitaNachos
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.

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ericclemmons
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.

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

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

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echmos
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.

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FajitaNachos
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.

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

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saryant
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.

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FajitaNachos
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.

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Flemlord
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.

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

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porter
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.

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jlukecarlson
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

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

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iamwithnail
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.

