If you are planning a trip to Florida, especially Miami.. stay away from the Days Inn. All of them, especially the Miami Intl Airport Days Inn. Dirty rooms, horrible staff... just a nightmare. You may find a decent deal, but what you may in a cab to leave and get a nicer place.. will cost you more inthe long run! And dont be fooled by the free shuttle.. it may not show up! ANd you'll pay again for a cab! Don't do it!!!

Thanks for the warning and another vote against Days Inn.

Days Inn could not PAY ME to stay in one of their rooms!

I am not fan of Days Inn but can you elaborate on your comment "All of them"?
Have you actually visited "All of them" in FL or the Miami area?
Days Inn's are mostly franchise properties and there are some that are pretty decent for budget travelers.
I suggest that people research properties on igougo.com, tripadvisor.com or one of the dozens of other sites that post numerous reviews.

Some people actually look at reviews of properties BEFORE they show up!

And chains can vary from property to property. Super8's, Comfort Inns and Travelodges are a few I've noticed differences in levels of "quality".

I must agree with TxTravelPro's comments; some Days Inns are pretty decent. I stayed in one in Asheville recently that was comfy, clean, roomy, and very reasonable. On the other hand, a Budgethost Inn in Florida City was among the worst chain hotels I've ever stayed in. Yet, I have no idea whether it is representative of the chain. Keep in mind that the hotels are often (always?) owned by individuals.

I wrote a letter of complaint to Budget Host, but have not recieved a response as of yet. I think that our best protection, as consumers, is to take the time to complain - politely, of course.

Bunman doesn't just hate Days Inn, he hates Norwegian Cruise Lines too. Sounds like he just had a bad trip all the way around.

Give him a break. We stayed at that hotel about 4 yrs ago post-cruise and it was so bad that we STILL talk about it, lol! I swear there were blood stains on the carpet. There were standing ashtrays in the halls. There was so much smoke in the "lobby area" that we were choking, and FL is supposed to have stringent smoking laws. The area is full of derelicts and drug dealers and it was one time in my life when I was too afraid to go to sleep in a hotel. Our room was filthy. We did have free HBO though, lol. There was a really good authentic hole-in the-wall Puerto Rican restaurant down the block which was GREAT! However, the walk back was terrifying. I posted several warnings on the cruisecritic boards following this and have been a much smarter traveler ever since. Live and learn. ps- the Ramada near the pier was pretty darn bad too!

During our US visit some years ago we stayed at two Days Inns. One was OK but our room in the other (in Savannah) was smelly and dilapidated. We were under the impression that franchisors imposed some minimum standards on their franchisees, but it seems not to be the case in the hotel business. We walked around to the Hyatt and after a minute's negotiation got a walk-up special rate for a nice river view room at only $30 more. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes not.

My experience with Days Inn is about the same at the other inexpensive chains. Better than some - Best Western for example.

A few of them have been very good.

Keith

I've stayed in Days Inns in 15 states in the past 4 years and have not had a problem with any of them.

First hand I can tell you the Days Inn South Beach (21st & Collins Avenue) is dismal at best.

While I have never stayed at a Days Inn I find it hard to believe "all" of them are bad. The poster is making a blanket statement saying "all of them". Has he stayed at "all" of them?

Perhaps Days Inn is not the Ritz (but would you expect that considering their rates in most places)? There are good hotels and bad hotels in ALL chains.

It pays to do your homework beforehand by reading reviews and asking advice. If a situation is particularly bad you can always contact the corporate office via letter detailing what the problem was in the specific hotel (not "all your hotels are bad").

Just remember, not all hotels look like website pictures, not all hotels in any chain are the same. Do your homework first tho, it does help in the long run.

The point is that Days Inn is a brand name as are Kraft, Sara Lee, Panasonic, and Honda. Kraft, Sara Lee, Panasonic, and Honda deliver consistently good products whereas Days Inn does not.

Even though some Days Inn's may be great places to stay, I, and others, choose not to do business with a brand (e.g. Days Inn, Super 8, Motel 6, and that ilk) we have learned from experience will likely deliver dissatisfaction.

It's all a matter of what you expect of a hotel/motel. If you take a holiday and stay a week or more at the same place you would want a different kind of accomodation than if you only need a clean room with bathroom for a couple of nights max.when you're touring the country.We stayed at a Days inn in Mystic CT in 2004 and it was alright. We have often stayed in Motel6 on our extensive tours and never had to complain. Paul

I have had both good and bad experiences.

BAD - Days Inn in Fort Lauderdale and in Orlando.

GOOD - Days Inn in Williamsburg almost across the street from Busch Gardens.

Happytrailstoyou, I don't quite get your overall suggestion of avoiding "brands". Would you also expect dissatisfaction if you chose a brand like Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons? There are good and there are bad brands to start with, as well as high and low end brands. Choosing a very low end brand is certainly more likely to result in unhappiness than starting with a higher end brand. And among each brand, yes, there will be better and worse.

Frankly at the price point of most Days Inns, I think I might actually feel safer staying at one of those than at a same priced mom and pop place these days -- especially when out traveling the highways. Still it might be wise to do some homework on checking out the reviews of any individual place you're condidering staying.

For the record, I went to tripadvisor and read the reviews. There were only a few which actually stated how bad this place was. Believe me, I've traveled the world and I've never seen a scarier hotel than this! If I hadn't had my husband with me, I would have RUN from this place and camped out at the airport overnight.

Concept behind brand comparison:

Honda good vs. Yugo bad.

Consumer Reports does brand comparisons for autos, motels, and much more.

If I have a bad experience with a brand (e.g. Days Inn) I switch brands. It's called being rational.