These standards explain how I evaluate hotels and wellness experiences, how this website handles commercial relationships, and what happens when information needs correcting.
I’m Tim Kroeger, founder of tim-kroeger.com and creator of the Restorative Index. I make the final decisions on my hotel assessments and their scores. Contributor articles are attributed to their authors, with their experience and perspective made clear.
The question behind my hotel reviews is personal: Did you leave feeling better than when you arrived? My job is to explain the observations behind that answer, including the weaknesses, the trade-offs, and the limits of what I tested.
Policy revision: September 2026. The detailed scoring revision described below applies to assessments identified as using it. Earlier hotel scores have not automatically been recalculated.
What the different types of content mean
| Content type | What it represents | Scoring |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel review by Tim Kroeger | A first-hand assessment of a specific overnight stay, with testing scope and commercial context disclosed. | Eligible for a Restorative Index score when the assessment is complete and the review is not sponsored. |
| Standalone spa review | An assessment of a particular treatment or spa experience. The author and treatment tested are identified. | May use the separate Restorative Spa Score where expressly stated and its methodology is followed. It is not a Restorative Index hotel score. |
| Contributor experience | A named author’s own experience and conclusions, with relevant disclosures. | Does not receive a Restorative Index score. Any other assessment method must be identified. |
| Behind the Stay and other first-person accounts | The perspective of a founder, hotelier, practitioner, or other named contributor. Their role and connection to the subject are stated. | Publication does not mean I have tested the property or independently verified every personal recollection. It does not confer a hotel score. |
| Sponsored feature | Content commissioned as part of a paid arrangement and clearly labelled as sponsored. | Does not receive a Restorative Index score or present payment as an independent editorial endorsement. |
Contributor and first-person pieces may be edited for clarity, length, and factual accuracy without changing the author’s intended meaning. Statements about a property’s performance are attributed to their source unless independently checked.
How I assess a hotel
The Restorative Index is a 100-point editorial framework for assessing hotel conditions that support rest, recovery, and healthy routines. It uses six weighted pillars:
- Sleep Architecture — 30 points: darkness, bedroom noise, temperature, bedding, and usable night lighting.
- Environmental Calm — 20 points: shared-space sound, privacy, crowding, lighting, and places to pause.
- Nutritional Impact — 15 points: practical meal options, protein and plant variety, dietary information, and availability.
- Bioregulation & Spa — 15 points: functional facilities, consultation, treatment delivery, rest, and practical access.
- Movement — 10 points: useful equipment, training conditions, activity options, and access.
- Frictionless Operations — 10 points: arrival, communication, coordination, problem resolution, and responsive service.
The weights express my editorial priorities. They are not scientifically established percentages of recovery. The Index is not a clinical test, medical certification, or guarantee of a health outcome.
Price does not earn points. A city location does not automatically lose points. Hosted and self-funded stays use the same criteria. The score describes the conditions assessed; the written review explains who the hotel may suit.
What I disclose about the assessment
A scored review should identify the stay dates, number of nights, room category and relevant room location, meals and outlets tried, treatments received, and facilities used. It should also identify meaningful limitations, including closures, construction, special access, or offers that I did not test.
An overnight stay is necessary for a full hotel assessment. A tour, meal, or spa appointment alone cannot establish how a hotel performs across all six pillars. No review should imply that I tested every room category or restaurant when I did not.
Recognition, upgrades, and additional attention during a hosted stay can affect the experience. Disclosure makes that context visible; it cannot remove every possible source of bias. A short stay cannot establish consistency across all seasons or occupancy levels.
How points are awarded
The September 2026 revision specifies 25 criteria within the six pillars. Each receives a performance rating from 0 to 4; its points equal its maximum allocation multiplied by the rating and divided by four. Only the final total is rounded to a whole point, with halves rounded up. A result of 91/100 is displayed as 9.1/10.
Confirmed absent or inaccessible offerings receive zero for the affected criterion, with the circumstances explained. Insufficiently tested criteria remain “Not assessed.” Their points are not redistributed, and an incomplete assessment does not receive an extrapolated /100 score.
Earlier reviews retain their original scores unless explicitly reassessed. Reviews using the revised rubric identify it. Comparisons between different methodology versions require care.
Read the full criteria, scoring anchors, limitations, and worked example →
Evidence, personal experience, and health claims
I distinguish between what I observed, what I personally felt, and what a hotel or practitioner told me. A comfortable night or a relaxing treatment is useful experience to report. It does not establish that a hotel changed my biomarkers or caused a physiological improvement.
- Observations: describe specific conditions, such as light around curtains, audible corridor noise, or equipment available in the gym.
- Personal experience: identify subjective judgments, such as mattress comfort or how relaxed I felt after a treatment.
- Measurements: state the method or device where relevant. A thermostat setting is not an independently measured room temperature.
- Supplied information: attribute hotel claims and distinguish advertised services from those personally tested.
Factual details used in a review should be checked against first-hand records, staff confirmation, or relevant primary sources. Source and date matter for information that can change, such as opening hours, prices, and inclusions.
Where an article discusses scientific findings or treatment claims, it should distinguish the evidence from personal experimentation and marketing language, cite relevant primary research or authoritative guidance, and acknowledge material limitations. Personal biomarker or wearable results do not isolate the effect of one hotel or treatment.
The site’s wellness coverage is editorial information and personal experience. It does not replace an individual assessment by a qualified healthcare professional.
Hosting, payment, and editorial independence
Hosted and discounted stays
A hotel may provide accommodation, meals, treatments, activities, or a discount to enable an editorial visit. These arrangements are disclosed near the beginning of the review or alongside the score summary, including relevant upgrades and special arrangements.
Hosting does not guarantee coverage, a positive verdict, or a minimum score. A hosted review can receive a Restorative Index score if it meets the assessment requirements and the hotel accepts editorial independence.
Paid content and partnership packages
Sponsored articles do not receive a Restorative Index score. An article commissioned through a paid package is sponsored content even if I retain control over the wording and conclusions. Calling it a review does not change the commercial arrangement.
Paid features, campaigns, and other agreed commercial deliverables must be identified clearly. A paid package must not promise a scored Restorative Index article as a deliverable. Separate advertising or social-media work does not buy preferential treatment in an editorial review; a relevant relationship with the same hotel or brand should be disclosed.
Commercial proposals and media-kit descriptions should follow the same distinction. Any future change to this policy must be stated openly and reflected consistently in the methodology and commercial materials.
What hotels can and cannot influence
Hotels and partners do not see or approve Restorative Index scores before publication. They cannot negotiate a score, require a positive conclusion, or suppress a supported criticism in exchange for access or payment.
Staff may confirm practical facts such as facility hours or inclusions. Fact-checking does not give them approval rights over the verdict. If access conditions prevent an independent assessment, the visit is not presented as an independently scored review.
Affiliate links and advertising
Articles containing affiliate links carry a clear notice near the beginning. If a reader books or buys through such a link, the site may earn a commission. Affiliate relationships do not determine scores or conclusions.
Affiliate links are marked with appropriate sponsored link attributes. Sponsored placements and advertising are labelled so readers can distinguish them from editorial recommendations.
Disclosure should state the actual arrangement. “Opinions are my own” alone does not explain whether a stay was provided or content was paid for.
Relevant relationships
I am the Founding Ambassador of Healthi Life Longevity House in Bangkok, where I document my personal longevity program. That relationship should be disclosed in coverage where it is relevant, alongside any applicable payment or provided services.
My participation in a physician-led program does not medically validate the Restorative Index or imply clinical endorsement of a hotel score. The scoring weights and judgments remain my editorial responsibility.
Contributors are expected to disclose relevant employment, ownership, consultancy, sponsorship, or other connections to the subjects they cover.
Photography, video, and attribution
First-hand photographs and video help document what was tested. Hotel-supplied or other third-party imagery is identified and credited where used. Captions should not imply that supplied images document the reviewer’s own visit.
Images and descriptions should accurately represent the room category and experience discussed. A photograph of a different suite or an untested facility must not silently stand in for the one assessed.
Updates and repeat visits
A review’s stay date remains visible when practical information is updated. Checking a new menu, price, or opening time is an information update, not a repeat hotel test.
Where a return visit or documented reassessment changes a score, the review should state the date, the reason, the methodology used, and whether new first-hand testing took place. A change to the scoring framework does not automatically change earlier results.
I prioritise updates when there is a known material change or credible evidence that information is inaccurate. Readers should confirm any essential facility or inclusion directly with the hotel before booking.
Corrections and reader feedback
If something is wrong, I want to correct it. This includes factual errors, inaccurate attribution, misleading links, arithmetic mistakes, and unsupported statements.
Email tim@tim-kroeger.com with:
- The article URL.
- The exact passage or score you are questioning.
- The correction you propose.
- Supporting evidence, such as an official page, dated menu, receipt, or correspondence.
I review submissions and check the available evidence. Straightforward factual errors can be resolved more quickly than disputed accounts or claims requiring additional verification. I do not promise a fixed response or resolution deadline.
Material changes are explained in a dated note:
- Correction: fixes an error in the original article.
- Update: records information that has changed since publication.
- Editor’s note: explains a substantial change in interpretation, testing scope, methodology, or score.
Minor spelling or formatting edits do not require a correction note. A difference of opinion does not by itself establish an error, but relevant new evidence may justify a reassessment.
Reviews are not removed simply because a hotel disagrees with the verdict. Serious concerns involving accuracy, privacy, or legal obligations may require temporary withdrawal while the matter is assessed.
Contact
Editorial questions, corrections, and partnership enquiries: tim@tim-kroeger.com.
Explore the Restorative Index methodology →
