A hotel or restaurant can change the day its best person leaves. If you read reviews, read for hygiene and staff first. Everything else is someone else's taste.
Start at the bus stop
Bus stops and stations show you the real condition of a place. Nobody dresses them up for visitors. They are also a good guide to what plants will grow in similar spots.
Find the coffee shop owner
A good coffee shop owner in the right area learns more about people than almost any course. Sit there twice, say hello, and you will learn more about a neighbourhood than a guidebook will tell you.
Booking should be the least memorable part of any stay.
If you remember the booking, something went wrong. The stay is the point. Most of what makes a place work for a man is visible on foot in the first hour, if he is looking. What the bus teaches is the same habit, closer to home.