What hotel chain do you think is consistently the best?

[PudgetteD]

just last week got DW Marriott in Clarksville TN for $71. HTH

Everyone PLEASE be careful when selecting a hotel/motel in Clarksville, TN. I live in Clarksville and for the past few years there have been lots of problems with hotel/motel rooms being used as meth labs. It used to be only on the North side of town close to Ft. Campbell but has now spread to the exit 4 area. You should be fine at a chain just stay away from names you don't recognize, no matter how pretty it may look on the outside because those are the places that are being used.

 

[cassandrap83]

When in doubt -- Holiday Inn Express (for business)

or

La Quinta Inn & Suites (for budget trips)

 

[LindyN]

Corporate owned hotels, such as Marriott properties, are the most consistent.

Some "chain" hotels are franchises, which is why there is such a variance between properties.

I abhor Radissons--never been to one that had everything in good working order.

 

[marie1203]

I used to work in the hotel industry and I think that has made me extra picky. We love hyatt, we never had a problem. A few years back they open hyatt place the rooms are big the usually have a full size couch and they are not very old hotels. We found that for budget hotels they are the best. Of course we love hyatt before they open hyatt place and were happy to see that they kept their consistency even in their cheaper hotels.

 

[OhMari]

MY VOTE IS Marriotts. Take a GPS along and plug in Marriotts and it will find the closest one. Or it will also give you a phone number to call.

 

[mlschwartz]

DH and I have always had good luck with Comfort Suites. Free breakfast and they take pets, which we like because we travel a lot with our two dogs.

 

[DisneyBill]

Everyone PLEASE be careful when selecting a hotel/motel in Clarksville, TN. I live in Clarksville and for the past few years there have been lots of problems with hotel/motel rooms being used as meth labs. It used to be only on the North side of town close to Ft. Campbell but has now spread to the exit 4 area. You should be fine at a chain just stay away from names you don't recognize, no matter how pretty it may look on the outside because those are the places that are being used.

I'm sorry I erred. It was Franklin TN. DSIL lives in Clarksville, which was part of DW's trip.

 

[pklein09]

There are 6 of us and we prefer Marriott's Springhill Suites. They have queen sized bedd (Fairfield Suites by Marriott have full sized beds). They also have a hot breakfast (eggs, bacon, waffles) as opposed to Fairfield Suites which has a cold breakfast buffet and things like sausage sandwiches you can microwave. The breakfasts are included in the room rate.

We stayed at an Embassy Suites in Atlanta which was quite nice. It also had queen beds and a hot buffet breakfast included in the room rate.

 

[Darcy03231]

I travel a lot and have never had a bad experience at a Sheraton, Hilton, Marriot or Hyatt hotel. I've found Radisson, Wyndahm or Doubletree to be hit or miss.

 

[abbyndrewmom]

I second or third the Hyatt place recommendation. I always look for those when we are traveling. Big rooms, usually good price and a decent breakfast. Otherwise we tend to look Hampton Inn or Country Inn & Suites.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Great to hear these recommendations. We usually look for Holiday Inn Express and haven't had a bad experience. Many of them seem to be new or at least renovated, and we like the breakfast options (it's always trickier for me, because I'm vegan, but the HIX always have various instant oatmeals, peanut butter, and fruit so I can make myself a reasonable breakfast from that.

I will start looking for Hyatt and Marriott now when I'm traveling, though.

Teresa

 

[shamrock30]

I rely heavily on Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden Inn properties.

 

[disneyfans95]

I have been a hotel General Manager for 15+ years and in the industry (working my way up throught ranks for 22+ years)

I started with Marriott and worked for them for 15 years. From entry level to GM before I moved to a private operator and leading a smaller hospitality division.

Marriott was amazing for their training and levels of service. I am a much better manager due to the training and the time I spent working with them.

There was also a huge focus by Marriott to always work on being outside your comfort zone. So if you were a F&B person, you would rotate time and work the Front Office. (this is for managers). You learned all aspects of the hotel.

As a result, I always feel they have the most consistent stay for the guests.

 

[swilshire]

If it's just DH and I and we're paying cash, we use Hampton Inns. If the boys are along, my first choice is Homewood Suites, but we usually stay in Residence Inns because I have lots of Marriott points to use.

A couple of people have mentioned Spring Hill Suites, but I find them frequently very noisy and avoid them.

I haven't stayed in a La Quinta in years, but DD uses them because they take dogs and says they have all been updated in the past few years. She likes them.

Sheila

 

[dis-happy]

I'm planning to drive to Hilton Head this summer with my 3 kids ages 4, 7, & 8. I'll be alone as DH can't take that much time off from work and he is going to fly down & meet us. We plan to take our time going down, probably 5- 6 days from MA. We're going to stop at a couple theme parks or other tourist sights along the way. The problem is, I don't plan to have a detailed itinerary before we leave so I plan to just make our hotel reservations on the go. Normally I would do my research on my Iphone as my Dh drives but I won't really have that option this time.

So, I was just wondering which chain of budget friendly hotels do you think is typically the nicest? We definitely want free breakfast & a pool on-site at least at a few of them would be great. I would like to just be able to look up where the next Marriott, Hampton Inn, or whatever is and head there without having to spend too much time looking at reviews & such. I know the quality can definitely vary from hotel to hotel even within the same chain but just wanted to know what chains people generally have good luck with.

If you're doing all the driving you'll want to get a lot of rest at night, so consider the bed options. Do you sleep better alone (than with a child?)? If so I'd try to book at Springhill Suites. You'll get two beds plus the pull-out sofa so everyone can spread out a bit. Plus there's a fridge to keep snacks or drinks cold in (helpful if you're bringing a cooler in the car during your trip). Decent free breakfast included. GL!

 

[katie111]

Just wanted to say thank you for all the responses! I have a lot of hotels to look at now! Thanks for the tips too, good to think about the sleeping arrangements and whether or not I'll want to sleep alone. Actually my DS4 is very small & will still go in a pack n play so even in a regular hotel room I can still probably have my own bed if they have a pack n play available.

 

[LoriABil]

We tend to stay at Hampton Inn. We used to always stay at LaQuinta, but our last 2 stays were awful. We also did a Farfield Inn and Suites recently, and it was really nice. I would stay there again.

 

[jgates]

I love:

Fairfield Inn - Springhill Suites - Residence Inn
Hampton Inn
Comfort Inn (not always as nice, but still good)
Holiday Inn Express
AmericInn

All of these should provide a continental breakfast of decent caliber & good consistent room quality. Only had one bad Hampton over the years & after a complaint to Hampton we received a certificate for a free night (dirty room, pills spilled on carpet below bed, HARD bed). Fairfield is very good on forced remodels & HIEx has been too - even if the hotel doesn't need it - so you should be in a good quality facility.

Hate:
Holiday Inn (regular)
Sheraton (50/50 - stuck in a few 'old' ones with small rooms for conferences)

??:

Super 8 - Make sure it's a 'Pride of Super 8' - some of them can be 'hmm.....'
Days Inn - Look for a 5 sunburst rating also
At these hotels, the continental breakfast can be as simple as heavily sugared donuts, or maybe just coffee - so make sure you look.

 

[honeydiane1953]

Hampton Inn for us also. Great breakfasts complimentary of course.

 

[NotUrsula]

They are not fully national, but Drury properties tend to be consistently excellent where they are. Most of the newer ones now have suites as well as regular-size rooms.

My second choice in that category is usually Hampton now that they have complimentary hot breakfasts, but the lower-end Marriott chains are very good as well.

Note that beach areas tend to have more independently-owned properties than chains; IME chains are not normally going to the superior choice at a beach, unless you have the budget for a full-service resort property. (BTW, for beach destinations in Florida I tend to look to a statewide industry organization called Superior Small Lodging. They have high standards for membership, and I find that I get good results when I use independent properties that are members.)