AIR Hotel Methodology

How AIR Reviews Hotels

AIR is designed to answer a practical question: which Amelia Island stay best fits this particular trip? We compare properties using consistent decision criteria rather than pretending one hotel is universally “best.”

What we compare

Location & stay zoneSouth End resort campus, Main Beach, central/Seaside, downtown or another meaningful traveler location.
Beach relationshipOceanfront, direct access, near beach, across from beach or drive-to-beach.
Total-cost factorsResort/service charges, parking, pet fees, included breakfast and other material costs when reliably available.
Room & stay styleTraditional rooms, suites, kitchens, longer-stay functionality and how much time the property is designed to keep guests on-site.
Pool & recreationPools, kids facilities, golf, tennis, trails, bikes, water activities and other meaningful resort recreation.
Trip fitFamily, couples, luxury, golf, value, pet travel, walkability, special occasions and other traveler needs.

How facts are verified

AIR prioritizes current official hotel pages, policy pages, press releases and other first-party materials for hotel facts. When a fact is volatile—such as parking, pet fees or resort charges—we maintain a verification date where practical and tell travelers to confirm the final booking total.

What AIR Verified means

An AIR Verified label means the displayed factual details were checked against current primary or official sources on the stated date. It is not an endorsement from the hotel and does not mean every possible property detail was audited.

Firsthand experience

AIR does not use “I stayed here,” “we visited,” “personally tested,” or similar language unless that actually happened. When firsthand work occurs, it should be labeled AIR Inspected or AIR Stayed, with a date and enough context for the reader to understand what was experienced.

How recommendations work

Recommendations are decision-oriented. For example, one resort can be AIR's stronger fit for luxury dining and couples while another is the stronger fit for families, golf and recreation. That is analysis, not a claim that one property is objectively superior.

Affiliate links

AIR may earn a commission from qualifying bookings. Commission availability does not change the factual comparison criteria. Sponsored placements should be labeled separately from editorial recommendations. See our Affiliate Disclosure.

Corrections and changed policies

Hotels change policies, renovations and fees. If something has changed, AIR updates the structured hotel data and affected pages. If AIR had the fact wrong when published, we treat it as a correction under the Corrections Policy.

Read AIR Editorial Standards →