jabber

Just recently stayed at a AAA motel and felt the surroundings were abyssmal (tiles were off bathroom walls, beds had THIN mattresses, very old & pilled bedspreads, we felt like the place was not clean). How do they determine AAA ratings, and who can I contact about it?

Annie

Hi Jabber:
AAA definitely needs to know about this horrible place. Their recommendations are usually pretty good. They are on line at AAA.com. Please do it now while the details are fresh in your mind!

Patrick

Out of curiosity, what was the AAA rating given to this place? I know that if AAA gives a place just one or maybe even 2 diamonds, I wouldn't stay there on a bet. And what was the place so all of us are warned??

GOL

I learned a little on the AAA process when I worked at a motel (private owner, not a chain). Each year, the AAA rep came in with a checklist of items that had to be met to be 1, 2, 3 or 4 diamonds. He/she toured the entire property, looked at the recommendations from the previous year, and determined the rating. Not only did they look for cleanliness, but age, room size, restaurant availability, bathroom amenities, features in the rooms (tables, desks, movies, etc.) The AAA books describe what constitutes the ratings.

I was surprised to learn that the owner had to pay $1500 annually just to be in the AAA book. He didn't like the fact that he had to pay to be in the book yet had no recourse if the AAA reviewer was "unreasonable" [I am not taking a side, but the room size was "too small" - yet 30 yrs ago it was 3 diamonds. It was not reasonable to assume the owner could just make the rooms bigger (huge capital expense) like he could buy new beds, curtains, carpet and linens.

tweedy

Jabber, if the hotel was on the east coast it was my cousin and her husband that did the rating so I would be happy to yell at them for you.

If you have a name on the hotel, I would be happy to pass it along and have the place rechecked.

bob Brown

I wish to take an opposite point of view where AAA two diamond establishments are concerned. The diamonds measure amenities; they do not necessarily measure quality. I have stayed at two diamond establishments that were very, very comfortable. In fact, they were better than most 3-star establishments.
The one that comes most readily to mind is/was the Gaslight Motel in Laramie.
We were there about 6 years ago and our room, with a king bed, was luxurious.
Yet, the establishment was rated only 2 diamonds. The same is true of the Flamingo in Cardston, Alberta. Also, Homestead Village properties routinely rate 2 stars. Why? I have no idea. But the ones I have used provide comfort and security.

Over the years, I have used some 3 diamond properties that were not very good. Moreover, I have found that conditions which fall under the 3 diamond umbrella vary widely.
The range is from barely acceptable properties that deserve one and a half stars to luxurious Hampton Inns and Marriott Courtyards that have large, comfortable rooms. In fact, a Hampton Inn in Phoenix we used in June was so nice that I do not know what more it had to have to present in order to be in the 4 star category -- full service restaurant I presume with hot and cold running bell hops. So given the fact that the quality of 3-diamond establishments varies so widely, I wonder if even AAA really knows what its diamonds are actually measure. I don't.
(And Yes, I read the into to the tour guides.)
I now take the diamond system with a grain of salt after several disappointments and "bum buys" because I was naive enough to trust the diamonds. Now, I simply look by the name of the establishment. I know which ones are consistently good and meet my needs and those which don't. That method for me is much more reliable than trusting the diamonds.

no

I agree with bob b. I have found their rating system to be very inconsistent. I didn't realize that you had to pay just to receive a listing in the book. That might explain why some very nice hotels are not in there. I wonder if the size of the ad th hotel pays for has anything to do with the rating? We won't even talk about the time AAA left me hanging for over 4 hours on a hot summer day in Atlanta with car trouble. The local police finally came to my rescue.

Judas

So now we know-Tweedy is one of them-a Siamese twin of our travel agent friends on this site.

tweedy

Ya know I am so fed up with being harrassed. All I have ever done is be nice to people and give them info when asked and I got alot of emails that I was also happy to answer.

Just to make it clear, I do executive search for a living and have nothing to do with being a travel agent or anything related to travel, other than posting here.

So I am done, this used to be fun, but no more I am tired of being abused.

bye.

tweedy

Cindy

Aw, Tweedy, I hope you don't mean it. I've enjoyed reading your posts. Besides, if being called a travel agent siamese twin (whatever that is) is the worst that happens to you on this Forum, then you're way ahead of the game.

Cheers!

me

Calm down tweedy! As another NYer I know you can take this minor nonsense (you arent a recent transplant from some little town, are you). As Cindy indicated, we are all grateful for your advice. Stay tuned in.

GOL

Yeah, Tweedy, the only people you are hurting are the people you haven't helped yet.

norena

I certainly must agree with Bob about the ratings being for amenities. On the trip we just returned from we checked out the 2 diamond Best Western, lobby and rooms, and the 3 diamond Comfort Inn which were a couple of blocks apart. They both had lovely lobby, meeting rooms, indoor pool, special comp breakfast, and airport shuttle. Rooms seem to incude same amenities except the 2 diamond BW had much larger rooms. We chose it at a much better rate. The only thing we could figure was that maybe the Comfort Inn had an amenity or two which we were not aware of. It certainly wasn't something we needed at the time.

In our travels, we have found the ratings to be very misleading, unless one understands, the "amenities" seem to be an important factor. As Bob and I have found, the 2 diamond motel can actually have much better rooms.

ANon

I don't think I would trust Frommers ratings either. We stayed at a place that had a Frommers 4 or 5 star plaque hanging on the wall and it was a dump and a half. Probably the dirtiest hotel we have ever seen.