qwovadis

HHonors member stay in them all over europe

always worth for me to save and I save thousands

be sure to request free view club floor/suite upgrades

as they are reuired to give you to best availble for the evening

Beds are my fav many beds in expensive hotels sometime they

are not fluffy soft and supportive.

I have never met a Hilton I did not like though some can

be a bit dated... always worth it to save for me.

qwovadis

www.betterbidding.com for great deals on your other hotels

bidding priceline hotwire stick with downtown 4 stars and

save 70% sometimes more.

Join Marriott spg.com do their CC for more upgrades

The cool thing is as long as you are a preferred guest

with them they must upgrade you to best available

Managers know this so ask nicely...

Recently Zurich Marriott Club Floor Suite River view $80

Reg 1000 euro

travelgourmet

<i>be sure to request free view club floor/suite upgrades

as they are reuired to give you to best availble for the evening</i>

Upgrades to the club floor are only for Diamonds and Golds. No Hhonors members qualify for suite upgrades.

travelgourmet

qwovadis - why have you doubled-down with inaccurate information about requirements for elite upgrades? Certainly, none of the programs you mention guarantee any sort of upgrade when booking via Priceline.

Dukey1

What "local flavor" do you miss? Aren't the staff members of a hotel local?

KeppieAngel

Yes the hotel staff is local, but the ambience is sometimes lacking. And it seems the Hilton locations are a bit far from the preferred neighborhoods. Still at a loss and need to finalize in the next day or so. Sometimes free comes with a price.

uhoh_busted

I agree...back when I had lots of business travel and thus points, I preferred to save them to use for trips when I decided to stay over because of a connecting flight (e.g. London when flying to Africa. Two 12 hour "overnight" flights were easier to take with an optional layover in London at a first class hotel paid for with points. ). I worked with a guy who loved using points, but after a trip to Paris where they stayed free w/points, said they really wished they had just stayed in the 2star with the funky/cool basement breakfast room in the Latin quarter where they had stayed as newlyweds on a budget 5 years before! If you can't stay for free in a cool neighborhood, save the points for when they make more sense, and find a fun well-located spot for less than 100 euro.

janisj

Since you are now asking specifically about Lyon and/or Strasbourg, I might start a new thread w/ those towns in the title -- or at least tagged for France.

This thread started out in a very generic direction . . . "<i>Do you think it is best to stay at local non chain hotels in europe?</i>"

But you seem to be actually asking about specific properties/cities. That can get lost in the general discussion . . .

J62

I agree with bardo. To me location is far more important than whether or not the hotel is part of a chain or not. For me, a hotel room is a bed & bathroom. Besides a comfortable bed I like good internet access, but beyond that I don't give a hoot about hotel amenities.

KeppieAngel

My father always said: Location, Location, Location. Au revoir to my points! Now I am opening a new chapter. Talk soon and thanks so very much

PatrickLondon

My answer to the question as put is, for me, not at all. I'm not choosing a hotel to <i>stay</i> in, rather a clean, comfortable and convenient base. The owners' idea of charm - or, come to that, of convenience - may well not be mine: and chain hotels can be just as off-putting (I tend to assume they'll be more expensive because they'll have all sorts of additional services and "comforts" that I'm not going to use or even find a nuisance).

Mimar

I agree that basic cleanliness and then location trumps all. However, when I travel, I don't just want to tick off famous sights, I want to some degree immerse myself in the local culture. You can't do that in a chain hotel. Usually you could be in a hotel anyplace in the world.

One "chain" I like are the Best Western hotels in Europe. They're really a loose coalition of nice medium-sized hotels with lots of personality. (These are quite different from the Best Western motels in the US.)

Mimar

I find a lot of my favorite memories from travel are from when we stayed in a nice place with a good view. Like the Hotel Schuler in Taormina: fab view day and night. Or the Hotel Ambasciatori in Palermo with a wonderful roof top terrace.

But people differ....