we will be traveling throughout Europe and I would like to know what people's experience is with Best Western, what do they stand for?

Best Western in Europe seems like an entirely different outfit than in the US. In Europe, they are an affiliation of smaller upscale properties.

This exact question was asked a couple of weeks ago so if you search on Best Western you should be able to get a whole string of responses. Basically it's an association of independent hotels who meet some standards to gain admittance to the group. It's the largest hotel "chain" in the world. My experience and that of many people who responded to the earlier inquiry is that the properties are pretty reasonably priced and generally of good quality.

In the U.S. they are a well known chain, in fact I think they are big in Europe to?

Are they any better in one country or another?

Best Western is NOT a "chain". They are all independently owned and simply have to meet a minimum level of facilities/services. It is actually a marketing group so they can all advertise together and use the BW logo.<BR><BR>Search for the tread Julie mentions and you will learn just about everything you need to know about BW in Europe.

As Janis has said, BW isn't a chain as we might think of it, with uniform properties and facilities, but a marketing consortium.<BR><BR>Individually owned hotels sign up (if they pass the entrance exams, as it were) and presumably then pay BW to include them in the books and to take bookings for them at their central reservation numbers.<BR><BR>I've attended weddings and stayed at some BW properties, very pretty, historical buildings with beautiful gardens and pleasant enough rooms.<BR><BR>But that doesn't mean any others are like that.<BR><BR>If you can you need to get your hands on one of the books BW produces which lists the properties in the country you are interested in visiting.<BR><BR>Even then, these are marketing books not honest reviews so you need to look for independent feedback on any hotels which catch your eye.<BR><BR>I have been happy with the few I have stayed in in the UK.<BR><BR>Kavey

Thanks for the replies, I looked at teh other thread. But it does not address BW in the States, how is it there?

Maybe that question belongs on the US board, not the Europe board.

They are independantly owned so they are all different.