I agree with mad4themouse - you just don't know even with large chains!
The Hilton "family" of hotels remains my favorite chain, but I've seen the good, the bad and the downright ugly!
I've stayed at the Hilton Boston Logan Airport - it was on the "Executive Level" - it was absolutely wonderful - a dream!!
The next time I stayed at one was the Hampton Inn Boston Logan Airport (couldn't afford the Hilton that time) and it was very good - Hampton Inn's have a deluxe continental breakfast buffet (no hot items, but great nonetheless).
The worst was the Hilton at Fort Lauderdale Airport - it was absolutely TRASH!! I had pre-paid it, otherwise I never would have stayed. The room smelled bad and there was mildew on the bathroom floor (not on the edge either - it was in the middle of the floor) - I talked to the manager and was "upgraded" to a room with a view (I HAD a nice view of palm trees - a thrill for someone from Maine! BUT...my new "view" was of the airport...yuck!). That room was almost as bad. The ONLY thing that made me not move to the Marriott across the street (other than I had prepaid, and the manager wouldn't refund) was the pool area was REALLY nice - so we spent our time there instead of in our room (and there was a neat animal there - can't remember what it was, but a cool animal that was getting into the trash - usually that would be a turn off, but it was really cute).
So, check your
AAA ratings (Hilton Boston has a 4, Hampton a 3 and Hilton FLL has a 3 - I think it was a 3 only because of the pool area).
That one experience with the Hilton didn't make me hate the company, but it sure made me tell my
travel agent (who sent all her cruise people to that property) who said she would be using the Marriott from now on in Fort Lauderdale....
Oh! And Hilton has a great frequent stayer program called Hilton Hhonors - they "double dip" meaning you get airline miles AND hotel miles. It takes a LONG time to get a free room at a NICE location, but I've been using mypoints.com and erewards.com and converting them into Hhonors points - I am about 1100 points shy of a free night at the Hilton Boston Logan Airport (or 2 nights at Hampton...lol). Be sure to check it out - like all frequent flyer/stayer programs, it's free to join!
