How do you pick a hotel? We've had some bad experiences!

[Peggy in Ks]

Last weekend we stayed in a Travel Lodge in Freeport IL my brother in law reserved rooms at for his wedding. This place was awful! It looked liked it had been closed for several years and had just reopened. It was filthy! Breakfast was cereal, little powdered doughnuts and toast. We paid $80 a night for this! The owner seemed to be pocketing the money and putting nothing back into the hotel. We've been through this before, but at a different hotel.

For this price I would have expected much more. After getting home I searched on tripadvisor.com and there were all sorts of bad reviews on this hotel.

I'm looking for hotels for the vacation we are taking next week. We need to stay at a Super 8, Days Inn, or Baymont Inn, because we will be using reward points.

We will be staying around Nashville. I searched tripadvisor.com and it seems this hotels have very few good reviews. How much should I trust these reviews?

Getting stressed,

Peggy

[elegantlion]

We haven't traveled regularly for years, but Baymont Inn would be my choice of the 3. I've had some lousy experiences at Days Inn and Super 8.

 

We also looked at hotels in more corporate areas and those tended to be better maintained.

[cornopean]

USE PRICELINE!!!! the only way to go.:auto::auto:

[Baseballmom]

I think hotel prices are on the rise. You used to be able to get a great hotel for $80, but now good hotels are running around $100, at least in my area. Anyway, I always call and ask when the hotel was built and when their latest renovation was. If you get a new hotel, you will be fine. As for the food, for that price, that is about what you will get these days!

Dorothy

[praisefor3]

I hate bad hotels. I, too, call the hotel and ask when it was renovated - even asking how old the carpet is. I hate it if I feel like I have to put on my shoes to walk from the bed to the bathroom! Of the hotels you listed the only one I would consider is Baymont. And, frankly, if you weren't using rewards points I would encourage you to choose something else. You can actually get some better places for that price around Nashville. Not cheaper probably, but better for the money. Also, if you weren't using rewards points, you could stop at the Tennessee visitors center on the state line. They are good about finding last minute deals with hotels that have leftover rooms. If you are limited to your list, call ahead and make sure you feel comfortable with their answers. Days Inn and Super 8 have been off my "acceptable" list for many years.

[Mom2legomaniacs]

We've had great luck at Drury Inn. They have a really nice hot breakfast in the morning and nice clean rooms. It might be worth checking out.

[JFSinIL]

Look them up via Travel Advisor and Expedia etc - look for the stars/reviews from folks who have stayed there.

[klmama]

We've had very good experiences at the hotels we were able to book using the HSLDA discount. Of the chain options, I think Sleep Inn was the cheapest we've used, but the rooms there were very nice, too. Definitely a few steps up from Super 8, and with the discount, about the same price. If you have HSLDA membership, go to the members perks section, and request your discount # so you can compare prices. You may be able to go cheaper and better.

[Kari C in SC]

Look them up via Travel Advisor and Expedia etc - look for the stars/reviews from folks who have stayed there.

:iagree: This is what I do. Read all the reviews from actual people who have stayed there.

[pbjmeyer]

:auto: read reviews of hotels in the area where you are going. This is a great resource.

[Deidre in GA]

I'm looking for hotels for the vacation we are taking next week. We need to stay at a Super 8, Days Inn, or Baymont Inn, because we will be using reward points.

We will be staying around Nashville. I searched tripadvisor.com and it seems this hotels have very few good reviews. How much should I trust these reviews?

Getting stressed,

Peggy

 

i stay in about 40+ hotels a year. of those three, i'd lean toward the Baymont as, chain wide, they tend to be the better bet. second choice would be Super 8 as there are some decent ones. though some Days Inns are surprisingly nice, as a chain the quality is not high so that would be my last choice.

 

reviews at TripAdvisor are helpful. you can search all these brands at TripRewards.com. i rarely book any hotel i can't see pictures of online and i tend to favor locations with inside corridors. Wyndam has taken over the TripRewards programs that those hotels belong to so you might look into other hotel lodgings in that program like Ramada Limited or Wingates.

 

btw, my favorite chains are Hampton Inns, Holiday Inn EXPRESS (NOT the regular Holiday Inns!), and Country Inns and Suites. chains that i use when money is uber tight are Red Roof Inns, Microtels, Comfort Inns, Sleep Inns, Super 8s, and Ramada Limited (NOT regular Ramadas).

 

if you're Priceline savvy, you could really score a deal on a Nashville hotel. that would mean money instead of reward points, though.

 

:auto:

[Part-Time Homeschooler]

We've had good luck with Hampton Inn. Some of the newer ones are really pretty nice.

[wagnfun]

.How much should I trust these reviews?

Getting stressed,

Peggy

 

 

With the exception of the Disney vaca, we always stay at a holiday inn. Holiday Inns are EVERYWHERE and are clean. Hubby travels with work and stays in a hotel about 3-4 nights a month. Holiday Inn has their regular inn, the Holiday Inn Express & the Holiday Inn Select. They average about $100 a night and always include some sort of breakfast (more or less depending on which holiday inn you are in). They always have a pool and a washer/dryer set up. Rooms come with internet connection as well. In 3 years of ALOT of travel, we've never had a bad experience.

[Vida Winter]

If you belong to AAA you can get a free guidebook that rates the places to stay by stars. Or maybe a friend who belongs to AAA can pick one up for you.

 

We have had great luck bidding on hotel rooms with priceline. We regularly stay at a Doubletree hotel or Red Lion hotel in Boise, ID when we bid $75. They are wonderful hotels, way above the budget variety.

 

If you are not comfortable bidding, I think you can just choose to pay a discount price on certain hotels in Priceline.

 

A safe bet for us has always been Fairfield Inn. It is the budget hotel run by Marriott and has always been very clean and nice. They will also let us bring our dogs for an extra fee.

 

I'm with you, I hate staying in yukky places - it ruins my whole vacation.

[Lolly]

My favorite are Hampton Inns. You can count on a clean room, comfy bed, and good breakfast. Holiday Inn Express are usually consistant as well. Holiday Inns are a hit and miss ordeal. The plus with Holiday Inn is that they actually do care about your stay. I have emailed negative reports on them before and received $$$ in gift cards because my bad stays. Their cinnamon rolls rock!

 

I have stayed at the Baymont in in Brentwood outside of Nashville many times. It is nice, but the hide-a-beds are not in good shape at all.

 

I have found that it is wise to stay away from Days Inn, Red Roof, and Best Westerns. A few Best Westerns are really nice; the majority are horrid. All BW breakfasts are bad. I can't recall having a decent stay at a Days Inn in over 15 years.

 

I have found the reviews of hotels to be fairly accurate. Just make sure they are not old reviews! Management changes will often change the hotel for the worse.

[QuirkyKapers]

We have used priceline for our hotels for the past 7 years and have always been very happy with everywhere we have stayed!