nic

We will be visiting Florida in November this year. As we will be touring around the State visiting different areas, I wondered what people thought of the following well known hotel/motel chains:- Days Inn, La Quinta, Hampton Inn, Ramada Inn, Best Western, Holiday Inn Express, Howard Johnson and any others you may have stayed in. We are from the UK and don't have many of these chains, so I was wondering which are the best value for money etc (I know they sometimes vary location to location, but I am interested in the overall view).
Thanks in advance for your help.

Pat

Spent 2 weeks in California in July. We stayed at Best Westerns in Sonora, Pismo Beach and Sherman Oaks. Also were at a BW in Albany, NY in August. No bad experiences in any of them. The rooms were all very clean and any requests were filled quickly.

Lori

Generally speaking these are all fairly decent hotel/motel chains. We've used a variety of Best Westerns in many states and they ranged from good to very good. Of course you can always get the occasional hotel/room that is not quite up to par anyplace, but in general you should be OK with any of these. Check out the individual websites for each hotel (BW has a really good website) for more specific info on each. If you know what cities/towns you will be in post a request of this Forum "How is the XXX Hotel in Naples, Fl" for example, you may get some good responses. I know nothing about FL, it's been years since I've been there.

Gary

nic:

I travel almost constantly for work. As I travel on government rates, I've stayed in all of these chains except Howard Johnson (which the revived version after the original company went broke). Unfortunately, most chains are franchise-based, which causes inconsistency in quality.

Anway, I would put Holiday Inn Express and Hampton Inn in a top category, La Quinta and Best Western next, then Ramada and Days Inn.

I've found Ramada the least consistent. Days Inn has a lot in common with another cut-rate American chain, Red Roof Inn. Both Days Inn and Red Roof Inn are consistently clean and inexpensive, but very bare. I've stayed in Ramadas that were very nice or, in two cases, very, very poor.

Yet another common, inexpensive chain is Comfort Inn. I have had good luck with that chain--I would rank it in the La Quinta/Best Western Category.

Good luck with your planning.

Karen

We always feel most the Best Western group of hotels/motels are superior to AAA. Recently stayed in a La Quinta and found it to be fine for couple of nights.

Don

Of the hotels that you listed, Hampton Inns are the most consistent. Days Inn, Ramada, and Howard Johnson are very inconsistent--a few are good, but must are subpar in my experience. La Quinta, Holiday Inn Express, and BW are mostly consistent and generally very good. You might consider adding Microtel Inns to your list. Microtel is a fairly new chain, and consistently very good in my experience. Online at www.microtelinn.com.

Jessie

If bargins are a consideration , La Quinta is running a 2 for 1 weekend sale "at participating locations" I think until Dec. I have always found them to be quite consistent though I would agree with a previous poster that Hampton Inn would be the top of the list in my experience. laquinta.com to check out their sale.

Bob Brown

I think the leading chains:
Hampton, Marriott, Bass Hotels (Holiday Inns and some others) are so competitive that it is hard to chose unless you know something about the management of a local facility, either good or bad.
I find a room with a king sized bed at a Fairfield Inn (Marriott) hard to beat for value. However, recently we stayed at a Hampton Inn in Phoenix near the airport and it was a huge, excellent room.
Courtyard by Marriott is also hard to beat, but they are usually a little more expensive than their Fairfield Inn cousins.
Another chain that has motels around is Homestead Village. I like them because you get a small kitchen with the room.
I do not know if there are any properties in Florida. To be honest, I look for Homestead Village first.
The ones I have stayed in have good security and ample parking. Besides, the rooms were competitive with any of the middle range accommodations named above. Perhaps not quite as commodious as a Courtyard king room or a high end Hampton Inn, but close.

Donna

Here's another vote for Fairfield Inns by Marriotts. Amazing value for the dollar. Most are brand new. Each we've stayed in has been wonderful.

Judy

I have also found Fairfield Inn (part of the Marriott chain), Hampton Inn, and Homewood Suites to be the most consistent and best value for the money. (Courtyards and regular Marriots can often be a good value on the week-end.) All generally include an expanded continental breakfast, with beverages, cereals, yogurt, toast, muffins, doughnuts, fruit, and sometimes even breakfast meats and waffles (even had eggs once at a Hampton Inn in New Jersey).

I have some poor experiences with Ramadas, Days Inn, and Howard Johnson and now generally avoid them.

GOL

Here is my $.02.

Avoid Days Inn. At all costs.
Hampton / La Quinta probably the best of your group. Best Western varies on the individual owner, but generally are good. Holiday Inn Express, then Ramada. Can't say about Howard Johnsons.

When we have to decide on where to stay, price is first, then I check which hotel/motel was built last. Usually any new hotel (less than 12 mths old) will be very good.

Many of the chains around Orlando, when there are vacancies, advertise on their sign (seen from I-4) all rooms for a low price ($29.00, $35.00, etc). When making reservations at chains, always ask multiple times for the lowest rate or a lower rate. Some chains have rate categories called "lowest rate" that in fact is not the lowest. When making reservations, check and compare all rate categories, including AAA, Corporate, Senior, Government or Weekend.

Perry

Here's my $.02 cents. Stay away, if at all possible from anything owned by Choice hotels, Inc. I believe Quality Inn is one of their properties. I have been emailed by quite a few people who have told me that allegedly, they too had their debit or ccards used improperly. You get what you pay for and the consensus appears to be that toilets are not clean, sheets and bedspreads not washed, carpets not sanitized, etc. I could go on. Hampton Inn, Fairfield Inn and Marriotts are good if you have it in your budget.

Owen O'Neill

I would stick to Hampton Inn and Fairfield for consistency and lowest price, would use Marriot TownPlace Suites or Extended Stay America if I had a larger family and wanted cooking facilities and would upgrade to Marriot Courtyard if it was in my budget. Most of the other chains mentioned are very good in some locations but sometimes not in others - less consistent. I have stayed in Red Roof Inns in three separate locations and awoke with a backache every time - somethign that never happens to me at hoem or in other motels - I attribute this to the brand/type of mattress they use but my experience may be unique.

Samantha

Hi Nic - Over the years I've stayed at all of the ones, multiple times, that you've mentioned and they have varied (from a little to a lot) in cleanliness, etc. My 2 top votes would be Best Western and La Quinta. Enjoy your planning and have a great time on vacation.

Cali

I wouod skip Days Inns as I have found them to be very inconsistent - some dirty, some clean ,etc. I have found Hampton Inns, Courtyards by Marriott and Amerisuites to be very nice and all have been very similar no matter which city I am in. The others you mentioned can vary also, however not as much as I find Days Inn does. I will never stay at a Days Inn again even if I have to drive to another city.

Cal

Almost all of the chains are franchises and as such will vary somewhat from location to location. I agree that Day's Inn and the Ramada are quite inconsistent. Best Western will also vary as it is the most loosely affilated chain and all of the properties are individually owned. However I have not really had any bad experiences with them. I disagree with the above poster's comment on Choice Hotels. Choice Hotels includes Clarion, Quality Inn/Suites, Comfort Inn, Travelodge, and probably some more. I am sure there are some bad ones as there are 1000's of them however they are not that bad generally. In fact some of the Quality Inns are pretty upscale. I listed their properties in declining order of quality.

Our personal choice is Embassy Suites or Hilton if there is not an Embassy Suites available. These properties are on the upper scale pricewise.

Howard Johnson is pretty inconsistent and I would avoid them. You usually cannot go wrong with Holiday Inn and of course the Mariotts are good but are up in the same price range as the Hiltons.

topper

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kay

FYI - I discoved this summer on a cross country road trip that Comfort Inns, Suites and their affiliates offer a "Government worker" discount, savings of approx 50%. I am a school nurse and took my paycheck stub as proof. It was a great savings. They also really do keep to their 100% satisfaction or you don't pay policy...

Monica Richards

I have yet to have a bad experience at a Best Western. The worst you can say about them is that in some properties the decor is dated. But they have large rooms and are relatively inexpensive.

nic

Thanks loads to everyone who responded, it will be a great help, I feel I've got abit more knowledge of whats available now.
Thanks again
Nic