Favorite hotel chain?

[Dianne-TX]

We've stayed at different ones over the years and had mixed reviews with the same chain and I'm always frustrated when we arrive at one and it's the pits in one way or another even though it was great at another location.  For example, we've had awesome rooms at Hampton Inns in some places, but awful in other locations and also had awful rooms at the Hilton (broken down beds and bad a/c).  I know it depends on ownership/management, but I would love to find a chain that is fairly consistent and is the Chik-fil-a of hotels.  :)  In other words, you know what you are going to get no matter what city or state you are in (i.e.. they will always say "my pleasure" and have great customer service, play nice music, clean restaurant, etc.).  :)  Have you found a favorite hotel chain?  Oh, I prefer "no pets allowed", but I know that is hard to come by these days.  Our next location to find a hotel is Arlington, TX.  Any suggestions there?  Thanks!

[gardenmom5]

I have had fairly uniform experiences with marriot residence inn.  they are my hotel of choice, as we could get a two-bedroom full-kitchen suite for the same/less than two separate non-kitchen rooms elsewhere.  (don't usually have the budget to go higher.)

 

last year I stayed at a best western in one city as the RI wasn't available.  I even got one with a 'living room'.   (which was in the interior - the bedroom had the window).  the breakfast - while comparable offerings, was, . . not very appetizing in how it was prepared or presented.

 

we've always been happy with RI for the pool, office, after hours service, and breakfast.  and early/mid-week - they do a themed light dinner.  save a lot on food when you don't have to find a restaurant.  saves time too.

 

eta: not all offer two-bedrooms.  occasionally, I've had to book directly vs a travel service to get a two-bedroom suite.

the breakfast buffet is good.  pastries, muffins, toast (toaster is there), cereal, yogurt, fresh fruit, juice, waffles-made-to-order, eggs-made-to-order, bacon/sausage, etc. etc. etc.

Edited June 14, 2016 by gardenmom5

[Annie G]

Our go-to is Country Inn and Suites, mostly because they are pretty easy to find. We try to stick with one chain and sign up for their rewards program so we can have a free night occasionally. We usually switch chains every few years but have been using Country inn and Suites for about 3 with no plans to change.  

[Rachel]

My husband spent around 60 nights in a hotel last year and is on track to double it this year. He has found a lot of consistency in Hampton Inn & Suites (not a regular Hampton Inn). There have been a couple rare exceptions, both times older locations that hadn't been recently remodeled. He sticks to Hilton brands because of their rewards and there is usually one within an hour of whatever tiny town he is headed to for work.

 

We were very impressed with Double Tree and Home 3 (a newer Holiday Inn chain) when we have stayed as a family. We have not been as impressed with Embassy Suites. There is one that he stays in regularly that is very nice and has been great when the whole family has stayed. The one we spent a week in near DC was just OK. There is definitely a difference in hotels that cater to business people vs families. We tend to like the ones that cater to business people better.

[Ali in OR]

I've always liked Holiday Inn Express on road trips to CA. Very good breakfast spread included in room cost. But I have noted that HIE in vacation destinations are considerably more expensive than ones in the middle of nowhere on I-5. Still, it's one I always check out when I need to book a room online.

[Dmmetler]

Drury Inn and Suites if it's a place where they are. Nice rooms, great pool, breakfast and dinner, and they're very consistent. However, they also seem to mostly be in the middle of the USA.

 

If not, Residence Inn or Homewood Suites are our go-to. In general, business suite hotels usually are a good fit for our family.

Edited June 13, 2016 by dmmetler

[three4me]

Lol, I saw the title and thought, "No clue about hotel chains, but for restaurants I love Chick Fil A!"

[mmasc]

We travel quite a bit and have found Holiday Inn Express hotels to be the most consistent. I think a lot of them are newer, so that helps them overall (not old, run-down, etc). I have not had the same luck with Holiday Inn...only the Express.

Regarding Arlington, we've stayed at the La Quinta Inn & Suites 6 Flags North and it was good...nice location, better than normal pool area, shuttle bus.

HTH!

[Guest]

We stay at the Hilton hotels...mostly Hampton Inn and Suites--and have found them very reliable from one place to the next.  Hilton Garden Suites is a little nicer but sometimes the room selection isn't as good.  

 

ETA:  Free breakfasts at the Hamptons are always good.  Maybe they have turkey sausage, maybe they have bacon, but there is always a meat,  and eggs, cereal, hotcakes, fruit, juices, coffees and baked goods.  

 

The rewards program is really good.  We don't travel alll the time, maybe 3 trips a year, so 20 days max, and we got 4 of those days free last year.   It really is a *loyalty* program.  

 

 

[Ottakee]

We have liked Drury inns and Home wood suites. They offer a free supper M-Th and free hot breakfast. With a family that is a huge savings.

[Cinder]

We tend to stay at Comfort Inn but have also had good experiences at Holiday Inn Express. Agreeing w/Kinsa--not regular Holiday Inn. We also avoid Quality Inns.

[Annie G]

We have liked Drury inns and Home wood suites. They offer a free supper M-Th and free hot breakfast. With a family that is a huge savings.

 

We ended up at a Drury a few months ago when our usual chain had no location where we were. The dinner was awesome! And free soda all night, along with popcorn and cookies.  When our kids were little that would have saved us so much money. And their breakfast the next morning was way better than a typical hotel breakfast.  Are they all like that? Cool!

[OnTheBrink]

I usually use La Quinta or Drury. I've had consistent experiences with both. 

[AmandaVT]

I like Holiday Inn Express. I've always had good luck with them and I like their pillows. :-) 

 

We stayed at a hilton garden inn recently and that was pretty nice too. 

[Dmmetler]

Yes, every Drury has been like that that we've stayed at. DD's cheer team tends to do a block at Drury for competitions because the kickbacks and snacks make it so much easier with a group of kids/teens. And most have the Indoor/outdoor pool which is very cool, too.

[bettyandbob]

I go as cheap as can go without being scary. I usually look at yelp, etc before reserving to get an idea. Lately LaQuinta has been consistent in the low price range.

 

We have done lower end chains than LQ , but those tend to be very dumpy.

 

Going slightly higher we like Best Western.

 

Note I am looking for rooms that take 3. If we still traveled with the whole family we would be doing suites.

 

I've had good success using online reviews to select hotels/motels.

[kroe1]

Most certainly, my RV. The only problem is no maid service, but guaranteed no bed bugs.

[solascriptura]

We love all of the Marriott hotels.  

[East Coast Sue]

Marriott, especially Residence Inn.

[QueenCat]

Residence Inn is usually my first choice. Almost anything Marriott. Marriott resorts with two bedrooms are great for longer stays (more than 3-4 days) when we aren't near family.

[Lady Marmalade]

If the Hampton Inn has gone through a renovation, they are our top choice for a stay. I think the whole chain has slowly been undergoing a facelift, and the ones that have gone through the change are wonderful!  Hyatt Place ranks right up there as well.  Great amenities and very comfortable nights of sleep at both places.  We've had nice stays at Holiday Inn Express too, but they don't often have two queen beds, which we need.  Hard to fit a family of four on two doubles. 

 

We've stayed at some scary Country Inn & Suites and Best Westerns recently.  I usually avoid Country Inn anyway because they allow pets and I'm highly allergic.   If I can't find something better, Best Western is kind of the default "I guess we'll stay there" kind of place.  

 

We have an upcoming stay at a recently renovated and uber-modern Motel 6, so that should be interesting!

[Anne in CA]

I am no longer in this industry, but know that Marriot is the toilet of hotel chains from the pay standard. No one works there unless they really, really have to. They simply don't pay industry standard, so I have to throw that knowledge into the ring. I had a manager in a different hotel chain who was good, but who was caught blackmailing maids for sex. Really caught. Marriot didn't care. (Sorry LDS ladies, they don't) He works for Marriot now. He's a great manager in many ways, but a true scum bucket. I had to unfriend him from Facebook because of the constant porn links. But he manages a whole Marriot property. And my guess, is that he's typical of Marriot management based on things that happened over the years.

[Dianne-TX]

I am no longer in this industry, but know that Marriot is the toilet of hotel chains from the pay standard. No one works there unless they really, really have to. They simply don't pay industry standard, so I have to throw that knowledge into the ring. I had a manager in a different hotel chain who was good, but who was caught blackmailing maids for sex. Really caught. Marriot didn't care. (Sorry LDS ladies, they don't) He works for Marriot now. He's a great manager in many ways, but a true scum bucket. I had to unfriend him from Facebook because of the constant porn links. But he manages a whole Marriot property. And my guess, is that he's typical of Marriot management based on things that happened over the years.

 

Oh, my!  Wow!  What would you recommend since you're in the industry?

 

[purplejackmama]

We love all of the Marriott hotels.

I think they have the most generous point system.

[mom2samlibby]

I like Drury and Fairfield.  Fairfield has nice complimentary breakfasts and the ones we stayed in this spring were all very clean.

Edited June 14, 2016 by mom2samlibby

[rebcoola]

We do Choice hotels which is comfort inn, quality inn, rodeway, econo lodge we still look at reviews and quality is not uniform.   But they truly have a hotel in almost every town so we can get points.  

Edited June 14, 2016 by rebcoola

[StaceyinLA]

I've traveled a LOT the last 4 years. Hilton Garden Inn is the one I've found to be the most consistently nice/clean, with Hampton Inn & Holiday Inn Express being tied for second.

[TechWife]

We usually go to Hilton brand hotels. My husband travels a lot so he has "status" there. Our favorites would be Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton, then Hampton Inn. We stay at the first two unless we are out of points then we go to a Hampton. Of course, the Hampton Inn line is larger, so sometimes we are there because of availability. We have had consistent amenities and service throughout the Hilton properties. 

[lynn]

Our top three are holiday inn express, Hilton garden inn and Homewood suites

[lovinmyboys]

We usually stay at residence inn or Drury if we are choosing, but we actually use Priceline the most and "name our own price." You can't choose the hotel that way, but we have always had a good experience in the hotels.

[LuvToRead]

We stay in a Drury when we can, but they aren't all over the country.  Otherwise, I try to a find a hotel that has been recently rennovated.  I have never stayed in a Holiday Inn Express, but will have to remember this thread next time I am looking for a hotel.

[Sarah CB]

I love the Hyatt.  We've stayed in a number of Hyatts in a number of cities and they're always really, really nice. 

[J-rap]

We love Marriotts, but they can be a little pricy.  Sometimes they have specials though!  We've never been disappointed in a Marriott, and each Marriott seems to have its own style (within certain parameters).  Marriott Residence Inns are very nice as well and usually run a bit less and also serve a light supper Sunday - Thursday evenings (included in price).   

 

Holiday Inn Expresses have been a favorite for our family over the years.  We've probably stayed there more than any other chain.  They're very dependable and all very much the same and always let us crowd into one big room.  :)

 

 

 

[Anne in CA]

Oh, my!  Wow!  What would you recommend since you're in the industry?

 

I'm not in the industry now. Dh and I work for ourselves now. But my thought is that any chain that is big enough to have something almost anywhere you want is going to have some properties that are not as nice as others. I doubt there is a perfect chain, which is one reason why I don't work in the industry any more. Hilton has the best management school in the industry, but some are independently owned and if owners won't keep up a property without a fight there can be problems with properties themselves.

 

I worked for some independent people at very high end properties and had good and bad experiences. The properties reflect the owners, to a large degree, even if the owners never come.

[Erica in OR]

I've loved the Kimpton chain, although it's spendy. I've only been able to stay in their locations through occasional work conferences, but have been impressed every time.

 

Erica in OR

[QueenCat]

 

We've stayed at some scary Country Inn & Suites and Best Westerns recently.  I usually avoid Country Inn anyway because they allow pets and I'm highly allergic.  

 

I've only stayed in one......... and we didn't really stay. Checked out two hours after checking in because it was so disgusting. Socks black after a few minutes of walking across the carpet.

[Lady Florida.]

When we used to travel with our dog and had to find pet-friendly hotels, we usually had luck with Red Roof Inn. It's not our first choice without a dog though.

 

We've had pretty good luck with Hampton Inn & Suites, though it can be hit or miss. Add my vote for Holiday Inn Express. Also DoubleTree, as well as Staybridge Suites.