Hotel preference? "Just a place to sleep" or "like to stay in a nice place"?
 

Or other variations in between?

What's most important to you? Does location matter? Does budget reign? Whether "traveling" or on "vacation", what's the most important to you and does it vary?

1. Location
2. Price
3. See 1&2 above.

I want to be walking distance to what I want to see/do in the area. If it's too expensive to be that close, I go somewhere else.

Couldn't care less how big or small or luxurious the property or room are. As long as it meets a minimum standard of safety and cleanliness, I'm fine with it. Never spend much time in the room anyway.

Neither one.

It is definitely not just a place to sleep. I like to feel at home and comfortable. But I don't need a "nice place" by most people's standards.

Location and budget both matter to me. I don't differentiate between "vacation" and "traveling".

A place to sleep. As long as it is clean and not ridiculously expensive then it will do.

If it's a beach trip, I definitely want it to be four stars or higher. Has to be right on the ocean and should be walking distance or a reasonable cab ride to restaurants, etc. If it's a city trip, still want it to be nice but more concerned about location. And location for me means I can walk out of my hotel and have restaurants and shops within walking distance.

Location
Price
Walk-In Shower ... I'm not getting any younger, so I try to stay away from the Fall of Death Showers.

((H))

Location and price are my main criteria. I rarely spend much time in a hotel room but I do want to feel safe and it has to be clean. Depending on where I am going, I may splurge for a unique hotel. Walking distance to attractions may be a concern if there is not easy transportation.

Hmmm... reading others I guess budget is my number one. If I needed a 4/5-star beach-front hotel I would not be able to afford to go anywhere.

It really depends on the trip. Location is important.

What I mostly don't like is feeling like I'm not getting good value for the money I'm spending. Hotels get expensive around here in the summer, and I hate spending $200 or more a night for a not very nice Days Inn kind of place. If I'm staying at a Days Inn then I want to pay Days Inn prices and not the price that I would pay for a nicer hotel.

There's a place in Montana that is always booked, and the restaurant is great, and they have a range of accommodations. You can stay in the newer section of the motel for $200 a night, but the sheets suck and the rooms are always a little dirty. Or you can stay in the old section of the motel for $50 with a shared bathroom. I'd rather spend the $50 for crappy accommodations than spend the $200 for accommodations that are still pretty crappy.

If we're going to a city for two or three days, we usually stay in a Kimpton or something similar. If we're staying longer than three nights, I prefer an apartment.

Beach vacations: always a condo.

Yes. This is exactly how I feel. I do spend a considerable amount of time in my hotel room - beyond sleeping in it, I relax in the morning with a cup of coffee, take a shower and in the afternoon, I will use it to take a nap and to have a drink before dinner. I want it to feel very comfortable.

Value is important though too. I won't go to a mediocre hotel that is very pricey because it's high season. If that's all that is available, I won't go to that place at that time.

I feel the same.

On the way to somewhere, I'll settle for nice basic but clean, along the lines of Hampton Inns, but I hate Fairfield Inns. When I'm there, I want something nice.

It's been a very long time since I've stayed at a Days Inn. Even the Days don't stay there (sold it long ago). I've never stayed in a Motel 6 or Red Roof Inn. I stay at LaQuintas when traveling with pets.

If I was going to take a snooze after dinner, it would be called good night. We tend to eat around 8:00 on vacation.

I feel the same. I get the best hotel I can afford. But that does not cover a 4 or 5 star one.

This for me too. I like a good bargain at a great hotel. I don't need a gym or pool but in the good weather a rooftop bar is nice. For me, the hotel is part of the enjoyment of the trip. Of course, it has to be in a good location.
It's like this:
For a few days' trip in another city (e.g. recent trip to NY) I want a good hotel in a good location.
For an overnight on the way to somewhere, I want a nice, clean, well-priced hotel on the highway. For example, on driving trips we often stay in Drury Inns.
For a long-term vacation in one place, either a rental or a VERY well-priced hotel with some kitchen amenities.
But yes, for me a hotel isn't just a place to sleep.

Location
LaQuinta if we have pets with us
I will go with Ibis many times or Premier Inn since I know they are less expensive but fine for sleeping.
Munich is the next hotel stay and that was all about location and good reviews.

I love unique apartments and houses. I have found some great places over the years and makes staying in a hotel second best now.

I procrastinated booking a hotel for a friend's wedding and we ended up staying at Motel 6. It was not very nice!

Off-topic: an acquaintance got caught soliciting a prostitute at the local Motel 6 a couple weeks ago. Apparently, a hotel employee was tipped off to the suspicious activity due to a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the room door. Motel 6 doesn't allow Do Not Disturb signs due to concerns for human trafficking. I didn't know that until this story broke.

If they don't allow Do Not Disturb signs where did he get it from? Btw - was this the wedding from last weekend? If so, you looked great! : )

Me too.

The pimp and prostitute had the Do Not Disturb sign. I just thought that was interesting that Motel 6 doesn't allow them. Who knew?

Nope, we stayed in a camper at my grandmother's house (fancy, huh?). Closest hotel is 25 miles away. And thanks! Big family wedding, and we got to catch up with most of my first cousins. It was fun.

that's hysterical.

Depends whether it's a longer vacation or just a quick trip to see family or some such. Always clean and safe, though.

For the vacation, I do like to find interesting places as well as something more upscale than just those trips, business or personal. For our upcoming vacation, we are staying in a caboose, in a lighthouse, in a cabin, on a riverboat, in two historic upscale hotels, and in an Embassy Suites.

Those sound great! I'd love to stay in the lighthouse!

The kind of lodging I really don't like, though, and will only do as a last resort, is the bed & breakfast. Too much like staying in somebody's home.
I like the anonymity of a hotel.

Folks often spend fully one third of their day inside lodgings. We usually stay in what seems like a convenient location and in the best hotel we feel we want to afford.

I mix it up. I love to add a wonderful splurge accommodation for about 2 nights of a trip. The splurge will not be solely for luxury, though--there has to be some other amenity like special location or activity. I won't just book a Ritz to have a luxurious room because I don't care about the actual room or the toiletries or whatever. But a Ritz-level price that offers access to beautiful hiking trails or has monkeys hanging around my window?--sure.

A fancy place we stayed in Belize had a butterfly chrysalis in our room on arrival and the butterfly emerged during our stay. That was cool. But I have also stayed in a $9/night place in Vietnam. And we camp, too.

I like finding cool/silly memorable places, too, in a variety of price ranges. So far we have stayed in a tipi (authentic and Native American owned), a covered wagon, a restored fire tower, a riad, a tent in the Sahara, a retro Airstream, and a "tree house". I have a "cave" saved in AirBNB for possible future stay as well as some other cool little cabins and such. I'd love to stay in an ice hotel, a yurt, a boat, a castle, and any other interesting dwelling anyone wants to allow me to rent.

Schlegal we stay here once a winter. Right in front of a frozen lake. You don't have to be a great skier to get there.

Camping and accommodations in Gatineau Park - National Capital Commission

I booked one recently in Florida. My usual hotels were booked and I was surprised that a B&B was an option on our corporate booking system. I arrived after a long work day and a drive of a couple of hours, and the owner was impatiently waiting for me and said something about my arriving "late". I looked at her blankly. It honestly didn't occur to me I had to be there at a particular time. My fault. She was lucky I got there 20 minutes before the end of the registration window (2 hours). My work appointment changed for the next day so I had to miss breakfast. She promised to leave out some yogurt for me. She forgot. It was a nice room but no more, unless I am traveling for leisure. But probably not then either. I was a little put off by her irritation at my "late" although not late arrival.

Alas I am getting the same way...

xcountry, but are there monkeys outside the yurt? Do they do ok on the skis?

I don't have brand favorites and look around. I generally like La Quinta Inn and Suites which I recently used instead of a conference hotel in midtown Albuquerque. I often leave the room too early to take advantage of hotel breakfasts so really coffee, a refrigerator and microwave are more important than the usual awful ones in the typical American hotels and motels (if even included).

I try not to generalize and dismiss hotels just because they are a certain brand. For example, rather than sleeping in my car at a campground in Portal, I stayed at the Motel 6 in Lordsburg that is converted from a Best Western, apparently. They even had all-day espresso shots in the lobby. One of the two Motel 6 locations in Williams used to be a Holiday Inn, with interior corridors. If going to the Grand Canyon and the historic cabins are full, I'll book the first night in Williams.

As far as Day's Inn, there is a great one near the airport in Albuquerque which had a green chili chicken soup offered free during happy hour, and the friendliest desk staff I've run into in the States. There are a lot of chains where the owner/manager makes huge difference in quality. Usually that shows up in the reviews (for which I still find TA useful). They even have an elevator. I'll admit that as I age, an elevator or a ground floor room next to a parking space is also getting more important.

OTOH not unusual that a supposedly nice chain has a bad location or lots of isssues. E.g., I was just at a Hyatt Place in a business park in N. Phoenix that had a sort of nice breakfast, although it didn't start til 7am which is really ridiculous for Phoenix. The room was nice, but neither the hair dryer nor the HBO channel worked. The parking lot was jacked up, the hotel was too close to the Freeway (even earplugs or the noisy a/c unit didn't help). Had a similar experience last year in Chandler (can't remember which hotel it was) but thought, I should have just stayed at the Motel 6 next door.

So I would go back to the Lordsburg Motel 6 and the Abq Day's Inn, but not the lovely Hyatt Place in Phoenix (North).

For the most part, I don't vacation at hotels, and don't need business services, I pack my own shampoo and Kleenex, and look mainly for inroom refrigerator, microwave and coffee. Avoid the hotels that charge extra for everything, too.

I also look for unique places that have something special, like the historic cabins at GC, or Santa Rita Lodge inside Madera Canyon, where I was able to book a room an hour before they were due to close last Thursday.

I pay £75 a night.

In Rumania I take the penthouse, in Italy I take a room. All the same to me. Clean sheet and shower.