I'm trying to come up with some chain hotels that aren't boring, cookie-cutter corporate hotels. Two I came up with were the haunted Hilton in Honolulu and the Nickelodeon Holiday Inn in Florida. Can anyone think of any others? Any weird, kitschy, or unique Sheratons, Radisson, Ramadas, Hyatts, Best Westerns, Marriotts...?

Thanks!

What haunted Hilton? HHV is haunted?

karameli, most chains in downtown cities are unique.

The Hyatt in St.Louis is the old train station.

Many hotels in New York City are in historic buildings.

South Beach is almost entirely made up of deco buildings.

The Meeting Street Inn in Charleston is a Holiday Inn but you will not find a Holiday Inn sign anywhere.

Most B&Bs in Key West are old houses or clusters of old houses.

I guess my point is if you get off the highways and away from the strip malls, the hotels have much character.

Name a city and I bet Fodorites can come up with several examples.

I like the Kimpton Chain their hotels are funky - even the new buildings have character inside.

My favorite so far has been the Cypress Hotel in Cupertino, it might look like the Holiday Inn from outside but inside - well, it's something else.

It would scare me to use tiger skin carpeting in my own home but hey in this case, it works!

In the PNW, the McMenamins group has some very unqiue places, and they are quite fun!

Thanks everyone! I'm not looking in a particular city...it just came from talking to friends who, like me, have free nights saved up at chains (Holiday Inn for me) and don't know where to use them. So it got me thinking...every chain must have one or two fun hotels in it. I'm going to look at all these suggestions...any others?

And kamahinaohoku, I've seen the Honolulu Hilton on a few ghost sites...here's what one says: "The ghost of a beautiful woman in a red dress has been seen wandering the halls here. In 1959, an employee saw her vanish before his eyes, as he was escorting her to a room. Some say she is the ghost of a woman murdered in a tower room, others say she is none other than the volcano goddess herself, Madame Pele." Haven't been there (unfortunately) to see for myself!

Ditto Kimpton group.

Mahalo karameli. I know there are lots of ghosts in Hawaii (and I also lived in a haunted house on University Ave on Oahu), but I'd never heard about the Hilton ghost before.

The International house in NOLA belongs to an interesting group as well, I don't recall the name but they also have the 523 lofts as well.

What about the "No Tell Motel" Chain?

Double ditto Kimpton and Joie de Viere.

SA,
We were supposed to stay at the Intl House in NOLA one year but it was right after 9-11 so it was canceled.

Went back next year and while staying at the Wyndahm, we went and checked it out. Very nice. Good bar and restaurant, too.

Found the website for 523 and it looked VERY interesting.

When we were researching our first NYC trip, I stumbled upon some wild "condos" I think in the GV/SOHO area....forgot to b'mark it and could never find it again.

I too agree with Kimpton. I've stayed at the Sir Francis Drake in San Francisco, and the Hotel Monaco in both Denver and Chicago. I like the boutique feel and look.

I also agree about the Hyatt in Union Station. While the hotel itself is supposed to be just so-so (I live in St. Louis so have never stayed there, but I work very close to it and we've had clients stay there that didn't care for it), and filled with people on group tours, the lobby is just gorgeous and worth a look.

Tracy

Another vote for the Kimpton group as well.

After spending many years working on various Brand Teams within Marriott, I can say that most of the major hotel chains while they may have unique qualities at each hotel for the most part are cookie cutter...it's just part of the branding. Since you are a Holiday Inn point collector, you may want to look at the Mills House in Charleston, SC...it is a Holiday Inn property though you'd never know as the only corporate sign you see is a brass plaque with Intercontinental on it.

As for small boutique chains, my personal favorite is Joie de Vivre Hospitality as each of their hotels are diffent...they even have a fabulous Vegan restaurant in one of their hotels are in Northern California though they recently opened a hotel in LA. Most of their Check out their site at www.jdvhospitality.com. They've even got this great feature on the site called a Hotel Matchmaker where you answer questions about your likes and style and it recommends hotels for you.

Have fun wherever you end up using those points!!

Holiday Inn's Chateau Lemoyne in New Orleans was great in 2001, but I've not been there since then and I don't know how it fared in the 'cane.

I really like the Sheraton Gunther in San Antonio... Very nice, turn-of-the-(last)-century look and feel.

How could I forget the Renaissance ClubSport in Walnut Creek???

We stayed there in August to see a show at Chronicle Pavillion.

GREAT facility and in Wal Creek?!?!?!?!
Hotel, full service health club, swimming pools, juice/coffee bar/restaurant and some of the best service we've ever had.

Rooms were gorgeous right down to the thick terry cloth bathrobes and slippers...We actually felt like those hi rollin' ***kmom's*** LOL!!!!

Mills House in Charleston and Mulberry Inn in Savannah...both unique Holiday Inns. Vinoy (Renaissance) in St Pete, a 20' era hotel, likewise the Don CeSar (Lowes)in St Pete Beach. Hotel Victor (Hyatt) in South Beach is supposedly in this class, but I have yet to see it...just have heard stories.

Crown Plaza downtown Akron Ohio. It's built in the old Quaker Oats building. The rooms are round as they are built in the silo's.

Crown Plaza hotel in downtown Indianapolis. It's built into the old train station. A few of the rooms are in old rail cars.

It's a bit too authentic for some people. The train station is still active. Some people don't like the rumble of the trains traveling nearby.

WOW!!!! Thanks for all the tips...these all sound really interesting, and so many of them are in places I wouldn't have thought to look! I have a lot of web-vacationing to do tonight