Hotels you like to stay at while on the road

[US71]

this Motel 6 was weird, it had all wood floors instead of carpet, which isn't bad, cause who actually like dirty carpet, I know they vacuum it, but that doesn't get ALL the dirt out of it.

Wood or wood-colored vinyl? I've stayed at several Motel 6's that had wood colored vinyl flooring 

[BigMattFromTexas]

this Motel 6 was weird, it had all wood floors instead of carpet, which isn't bad, cause who actually like dirty carpet, I know they vacuum it, but that doesn't get ALL the dirt out of it.

Wood or wood-colored vinyl? I've stayed at several Motel 6's that had wood colored vinyl flooring 

Well wood colored vinyl, it looked newly installed, or as new a vinyl flooring can look

[US71]

Well wood colored vinyl, it looked newly installed, or as new a vinyl flooring can look

A lot of M6's are going to that. I don't like it, myself.

[Scott5114]

I don't really stay in hotels/motels all that often, or have nearly as bad of a horror story as most of you guys do, but the one Best Western I stayed at, in Tennessee, was kinda weird. The lighting was extremely yellow and while it wasn't obviously unclean, it just felt off somehow. When we went to pay and leave in the morning, the desk clerk was asleep on the couch and we had to wake him up to get him to take the keys back and such.

[US71]

I stayed at an independent in Mississippi back in March. The smoke alarm was broken, the lamp was broken and half the light bulbs were missing. I complained to the desk clerk who suddenly forgot how to speak English, until I showed her my camera and told her I had taken photos.

5 minutes later, the owner came down to investigate. Again, no one spoke English until I whipped out my camera and took another picture.  Shortly thereafter, the light bulbs were replaced, the lamp was replaced & a new smoke alarm was installed.

Kind of makes me wonder what they would have done if I hadn't brought a camera with me. 

[huskeroadgeek]

I've discovered too that you can still find some old 40s/50s era "mom and pop"-type independent motels that are still relatively clean and well-kept. A few years ago, I stayed in one in Tucumcari, NM because of reservations made through Hotwire.com. It was the typical old mom and pop type motel-1 floor with about 20 rooms arranged around a pool. You park your car literally right in front of your door. What I liked the most about it was the size of the room. I've been so used to chain motels(especially Motel 6) where the room is fairly cramped that this room seemed huge in comparison. The furniture and the decor was a little old, but it was clean. The TV was good quality and had a full slate of cable channels available, something that isn't true at all budget motels. One of the more interesting things was the free continental breakfast they offered(something which I wouldn't have expected at a small motel like that). It consisted of small, individually-wrapped cereal boxes and milk and orange juice which were kept in a refrigerator behind the office desk. The whole experience had a "retro" feel to it and was quite enjoyable.

[BigMattFromTexas]

Most of the independent motels here pretty much get turned into apartments, the one across the street from my school has druggies, drunks, pedophiles, and other weird people, then the other ones used as motels are full of yet again, druggies, drunks, pedophiles, and "dancers". So if anyone comes to San Angelo, I'd stay at the new Marriott, or one of the "nicer" hotels here. The 14 or 15 story Cactus Hotel was one of the first Hilton hotels to open, but it closed a while ago.
BigMatt

[US71]

Speaking of old motels:
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/06/25/2044124/overland-park-landmark-the-white.html

[huskeroadgeek]

Speaking of old motels:
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/06/25/2044124/overland-park-landmark-the-white.html

I stayed at that motel one time about 20 years ago on a family vacation.

[SSOWorld]

I've been doing the Wyndham route lately myself. I've joined choice, marriott and Priority club as well.  For rural areas I'll trust the Super 8's.  For bigger cities - I tend to the Choices, HIE's and Marriott Fairfield/Courtyards.   (I definitely won't stay at the Marriott Marquis on Time Square that's for sure) I stayed at a Travelodge in Davenport IA on memorial day weekend after a flight arrival at 10:00 pm.  I was lucky I reserved because they had busloads book at the last minute w/o reservations (there and the 6 acc the street).  The room looked awful, I had to reprogram the TV (yes I was able to), the AC worked like shit, and there was a dirty washcloth on the Shower rod.  I drove home (1 hr north) the next morning and showered there instead.  You do get what you pay for.

[golden eagle]

Most of the independent motels here pretty much get turned into apartments, the one across the street from my school has druggies, drunks, pedophiles, and other weird people, then the other ones used as motels are full of yet again, druggies, drunks, pedophiles, and "dancers". So if anyone comes to San Angelo, I'd stay at the new Marriott, or one of the "nicer" hotels here. The 14 or 15 story Cactus Hotel was one of the first Hilton hotels to open, but it closed a while ago.
BigMatt

There's a place here in Jackson called the Catalina Apartments that used to be a hotel back in the day. I don't know of the kind of people that stay there, but it wouldn't be a place where I'd wanna live.

[US71]

I've been doing the Wyndham route lately myself. I've joined choice, marriott and Priority club as well.  For rural areas I'll trust the Super 8's.  For bigger cities - I tend to the Choices, HIE's and Marriott Fairfield/Courtyards.   (I definitely won't stay at the Marriott Marquis on Time Square that's for sure) I stayed at a Travelodge in Davenport IA on memorial day weekend after a flight arrival at 10:00 pm.  I was lucky I reserved because they had busloads book at the last minute w/o reservations (there and the 6 acc the street).  The room looked awful, I had to reprogram the TV (yes I was able to), the AC worked like shit, and there was a dirty washcloth on the Shower rod.  I drove home (1 hr north) the next morning and showered there instead.  You do get what you pay for.

TraveLodge has fallen from what they used to be 20-30 years ago... now that they are Wyndham, they are almost as close to scraping bottom as Knight's Inn is.

[corco]

TraveLodge has fallen from what they used to be 20-30 years ago... now that they are Wyndham, they are almost as close to scraping bottom as Knight's Inn is.

I've stayed at a few Travelodges over the last few years. What I've noticed:

Ephrata, WA: Not bad
Walla Walla WA: Really really bad
Laramie WY: Good, actually
Colorado Springs CO: Really bad
Missoula MT: Not bad

The one in Walla Walla was really run down and not very clean- it didn't help that I was on a family vacation with the dogs, which meant we got the worst room of the bunch, probably. Colorado Springs just smelled really funny and the walls were paper thin. Laramie was very comfortable, and Ephrata was comfortable but had an overly active managing family that had friends over who were making noise and drinking in the parking lot.  The one in Missoula wasn't horrible, but wasn't particularly clean and was really really old.

That said, I try to avoid them whenever humanly possible.

[mightyace]

I tend toward the Super 8 and Days Inn chains of the Wyndham group myself.

My brother and I stayed exclusively in Days Inn in VA, NC and TN last month on the Charlotte trip.  And, we're staying at a Day's Inn in Florida next weekend.

To me, they are a good compromise between price and quality.  (Though, even the quality of the three we staying in varied significantly.)

There's also an America's Best Value Inn in Florence, KY that we frequent on the way to PA.

[US71]

Something I've noticed (can't help it, worked in too many hotels): if a hotel keeps re-branding itself every few years, their standards are probably slipping.

Overall, Hilton brands (Hilton, DoubleTree, Homewood, etc) have the highest standards, but also the highest franchise & commission fees.

Wyndham (Super 8, Ramada, Knight's Inn) is widely variable, even amongst individual brands.

America's Best Value is widely variable, but generally tends to scrape bottom.

[njroadhorse]

Something I've noticed (can't help it, worked in too many hotels): if a hotel keeps re-branding itself every few years, their standards are probably slipping.

Overall, Hilton brands (Hilton, DoubleTree, Homewood, etc) have the highest standards, but also the highest franchise & commission fees.

Wyndham (Super 8, Ramada, Knight's Inn) is widely variable, even amongst individual brands.

America's Best Value is widely variable, but generally tends to scrape bottom.

I've seen a bunch of hotels that were previously bad re-brand themselves and stay equally subpar, so you're definitely right.  I think Wyndham group does change it up with some of their individual hotels like Super 8s and Ramadas, and kind of play switcheroo with them.

[Truvelo]

Why do there need to be so many different brands within the same group?

[rawmustard]

Why do there need to be so many different brands within the same group?

Different market segments, although there has been a little consolidation in branding (e.g., all remaining AmeriHost properties rebranded as Baymont).

[US71]

Why do there need to be so many different brands within the same group?

Short answer: different levels of service/different consumer markets

Longer answer: corporate conglomerates bought up a lot of independent hotel chains in the 80's & 90's.

[exit322]

We used to stay almost exclusively at Microtel, but now that they're a Wyndham brand, I'm afraid that's probably not going to happen as much anymore.

We'll see what happens, but I can see us staying at more Quality Inns (always have had luck for whatever reason) and the sort.

[SSOWorld]

I can see you all have issues with the Wyndham brand.  What's up with that?  Of course - that's right - some sucky hotels.

[exit322]

Yeah, every one of those midservice chains from Wyndham just seems to be built by the Department of "well, let's slap a logo a lot of travelers remember from the Good Ole' Days on a building Motel 6 wouldn't want"

[corco]

Yeah, every one of those midservice chains from Wyndham just seems to be built by the Department of "well, let's slap a logo a lot of travelers remember from the Good Ole' Days on a building Motel 6 wouldn't want"

Wyndham hotels are remarkably inconsistent, but a lot of them are pretty nice buildings. Some are absolutely atrocious, but others are quite nice. The trick with Wyndham hotels is to check the reviews online before blindly booking. If you don't do your research ahead of time on the specific hotel, you very well could be disappointed. If you put the time in to make sure the hotel you're staying at is decent, you can get a pretty nice deal.

I've stayed at Super 8s that are nicer and cheaper than Ramadas I've stayed at (compare the Super 8 in Evanston, Wyoming to the Ramada on Shawnee Mission in Overland Park for example), which is really weird but I guess that's the way it is. If Wyndham would take all their hotels and start fresh, rebranding them according to quality, I think people's perception of them would be a lot better. As it is now, the quality varies so much within one hotel brand that it's hard to know what you're getting without doing a decent amount of legwork ahead of time.

[exit322]

Yeah, every one of those midservice chains from Wyndham just seems to be built by the Department of "well, let's slap a logo a lot of travelers remember from the Good Ole' Days on a building Motel 6 wouldn't want"

Wyndham hotels are remarkably inconsistent, but a lot of them are pretty nice buildings. Some are absolutely atrocious, but others are quite nice. The trick with Wyndham hotels is to check the reviews online before blindly booking. If you don't do your research ahead of time on the specific hotel, you very well could be disappointed. If you put the time in to make sure the hotel you're staying at is decent, you can get a pretty nice deal.

I've stayed at Super 8s that are nicer and cheaper than Ramadas I've stayed at (compare the Super 8 in Evanston, Wyoming to the Ramada on Shawnee Mission in Overland Park for example), which is really weird but I guess that's the way it is. If Wyndham would take all their hotels and start fresh, rebranding them according to quality, I think people's perception of them would be a lot better. As it is now, the quality varies so much within one hotel brand that it's hard to know what you're getting without doing a decent amount of legwork ahead of time.

No doubt.  Wyndham needs some quality control with its related chains and badly.

Has anyone stayed at the Magnuson Hotels since they started popping up everywhere (mostly from Best Westerns, it seems)

[US71]

No doubt.  Wyndham needs some quality control with its related chains and badly.

Probably need some inspectors who aren't wusses and will choose for themselves which rooms to inspect rather than which ones the owner or manager wants inspected. Or else Wyndham needs to enforce their standards a lot stricter.

I'd love to be an inspector, but they only hire people with at least 10 years of management experience.