Wikipedia actually has some decent information in
an article on this issue, including:
The more common classification systems include "star" rating, letter grading, from "A" to "F", diamond or simply a "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory" footnote to accommodation such as hostels and motels. Systems using terms such as Deluxe/Luxury, First Class/Superior, Tourist Class/Standard, and Budget Class/Economy are more widely accepted as hotel types, rather than hotel standards.
Many countries have legally defined ratings systems, most do not.
the German classifications are Tourist (*), Standard (**), Comfort (***), First Class (****) and Luxury (*****), with the mark "Superior" to flag extras beyond the minimum defined in the standard.
My personal scale runs from "Oberoi Amarvilas" in Agra or "Lake Pichola Palace" at the higher end, to "Aha Una Ula" (Flores, Petén, Guatemala) at the lowest end - $2.00 a night when we were forced to stay one night, "pre-used" bedding, never turn the single light bulb out because the bugs march into the room single-file, etc. (For our return we found a
much better place for $2.50 a night.
) Our ratings spread runs from five star to five eeks.
Memorable hotels that are no longer with us include the DoubleTree Club in Miami, and the "Aha Una Ula", and I can laugh at the place my contact at Sony recommended when I went to do some work for them in Boca Raton, FL - the Ramada; those were not huge roaches, they were "palmetto bugs".
