Clearly you're a quantity over quality sort of traveler.

You've done all that traveling and extensive research and you didn't know that:

Star ratings are completely different in the USA and Europe?

Best Westerns in the USA cannot be compared in any way with Best Westerns in Europe?

And since you stay at Marriotts if at all possible, what's your basis for comparison?

Judging from this and your previous posting, you clearly cannot cope with the realities of other cultures, which for most people on this board is precisely why they're traveling. Hardly anyone I know, or whose posts I read on this board, for example, would ever choose to stay in an American chain hotel in La Défense, given the absolutely marvelous selection of hotels all over Paris that aren't in totally stale surroundings.

And in what way do you "get more bang for your buck" in the USA than in Europe with respect for food? No all-you-can-eat-buffets in Europe?

It must be very taxing for you to have to put so much effort into avoiding the very things most people travel for. A real shame.

Sorry if my post was unclear. I didn;t mean to be critical of european hotels - we've been more than happy with most places we've stayed.

I was just trying to point out 2 things:

Hotels in europe are not as someone said "cookie cutter" but tend to be somewhat more eccentric, since they're usually older (which I find charming)

Due to the poor value of the dollar - and the fact that in europe you're often staying in world capitols - you often get more for your money in the US (but then you're in Orlando rather than Florence).

So - there may be a perceived better value in the US (but - Orlando versus Florence - no comparison)!

Maybe the comparison should be between NYC, Chicago, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco.. And even then, I don't think (except maybe NYC) that terrain is sooo expensive and it's easier there to build a pool and to have space for big rooms
A friend of mine when she came from the States said that her room at the hotel in NYC was like "a ballroom".

I'm surprised that the confusion over Best Westerns still persists. BW is not a brand. It is a consortium used for purposes of booking and advertising, and in some cases, purchasing. In the US, as well as in any other country.

It is a mistake to avoid BWs anywhere. I've had the best time in a lovely one in Phoenix/Scottsdale that came highly recommended on the US board.

The best thing to do when one sees the BW prefix, in my opinion, is to ignore it. It will get you neither uniformly horrible or uniformly great hotels. All BW branded hotels should be judged on individual merits. Using the BW booking engine is ok, but all the hotels that have Internet presence of their own can be dealt with individually.

I have a relationship with one in Venice, and I never book there through BW.

We try out best to avoid the major US-type chain hotels (Mariott, Hilton, Sheraton), preferring smaller boutique hotels, B&Bs, or well-known local favorites (Cape Grace, Bristol, Kismet).

We don't care if the hotel has a pool, or a workout room, or internet connections in the room. Some sort of restaurant or bar is good, and a mini-fridge in the room is a big plus, but by no means a deal-breaker.

Location is our top consideration, and since we prefer to stay in the city-center (or close to our area of interest), these hotels are often in older buildings that requires a unique and often interesting use of space!

There are a few "chains" that we have used that we actually like (Movenpick, Penninsula), but I've never found these to be "cookie cutter" type chain hotels. All of them had a very unique atmosphere.

So - are European hotels inferior to the hotels in the US? Not in my opinion....they're just different and when travelling abroad - different is what I expect to have.

Thanks to Travelnut. He/she understood what I was talking about.