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In the 80's, I could count on Motel 6 being a good deal. But after me and my wifes overnighter to the Murfreesboro show, I will never stay at one again. Not just because of one night, but a few bad experiances in the last few years. Accor has ruined it.

So the question goes out to those who travel much. I know there is no perfect chain, but which one has become most consistant without robbing your wallet? After all, you are not there to stay in your room, but you do have to sleep in it.

:worthy:

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In the 80's, I could count on Motel 6 being a good deal. But after me and my wifes overnighter to the Murfreesboro show, I will never stay at one again. Not just because of one night, but a few bad experiances in the last few years. Accor has ruined it.

So the question goes out to those who travel much. I know there is no perfect chain, but which one has become most consistant without robbing your wallet? After all, you are not there to stay in your room, but you do have to sleep in it.

:worthy:

I've never had any trouble at Fairfield Inn or Hampton Inn. Stayed in hundreds of them all over the US.

I am curious about the Vagabond Inn we're staying at in Pasadena. The name alone is makes me laugh everytime I type it.

I wonder if I have to bring my clothes in a little bag tied to the end of a stick? :worthy:

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Haha, I love the idea of a thread to review hotels. Perfect for those of us that are traveling during the season. I've got a Drury Inn booked for next weekend, anybody stayed at one of those recently?

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Drury inns are always a good chain, much like a hampton inn or courtyard....no worries

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In the 80's, I could count on Motel 6 being a good deal. But after me and my wifes overnighter to the Murfreesboro show, I will never stay at one again. Not just because of one night, but a few bad experiances in the last few years. Accor has ruined it.

So the question goes out to those who travel much. I know there is no perfect chain, but which one has become most consistant without robbing your wallet? After all, you are not there to stay in your room, but you do have to sleep in it.

:laugh:

Somebody said Hampton Inn, Fairfield Inn. I'd go with that too. I'd add in the Holiday Inn Express to these. If it says " Express ", it probably was built in the last few years and not in need of major renovations. Most Ive stayed in on trips are clean, safe, have a decent continental breakfast if you're on the go, and not overpriced for what you get. I always check out the hotel discount websites( Comcast links about a dozen in one site ), get the best deal, then book with that hotel directly. 99% of the time, they'll honor that discounted rate you found thru the discount brokerage ( ie Orbitz, Travelocity, etc ). Plus, if something goes wrong, it's better in my opinion to be dealing with the hotel itself upon arrival.

Edited by X DM
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I've had great luck in the past couple of years with Priceline. If you only bid for 3 and 4-star hotels on their website, you can't hardly go wrong. In the past two years, I've won two Priceline bids in New York City area, at the Intercontinental Barclay for $120 on Thanksgiving weekend!!! and the Hyatt on the Hudson - wow, what a view - for $65. Earlier this summer, I won bids on our trip up to Annapolis for the show at the Naval Academy at a Hilton in Chapel Hill, N.C. for $45 and a Sheraton in Richmond for $50. It's best to always have a refundable backup somewhere, but you can get incredible deals through Priceline, and you get to stay at some pretty swanky places for not much more (and sometimes cheaper!) than Motel 6 or Days Inn.

You can also bid on airfare and car rentals on Priceline. I've never tried Priceline for airfare, but I'm renting a Mustang convertible for Pasadena for $550 (including all taxes and fees) for 12 days. Cheapest deal on the car rental agencies' websites was $950, at the same agency I got mine from. The $550 rate is even cheaper than anyone else had for their cheapest economy car.

Edited by oldsoprano
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Wow! Great responses to this thread. Thank you! We were really at our wits end and figured this would be the place to pose these questions. Drum corps people being experienced travelers and all. I'm gonna go tell Roger his thread is taking off! :)

I remember in Denver at Finals we had a horrible experience with that Howard Johnsons, anyone go there? We had to switch hotels it was so awful! :laugh:

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It's also good to ask locals about safe vs. "omg, no way" neighborhoods.

Hotels near the Atlanta airport-- holy cow, no. You can see the spray painted gang tags on buildings even before you land. Tons of shootings & carjackings around there. Rent a car & get out of there PDQ.

Yeah, what OldSoprano said about Priceline. Once you ever get spoiled for nice hotels at bargain prices, you don't even want to look at the others again (nothing wrong with being discriminating!)

Edited by GeorgiaGirl
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Drury inns are always a good chain, much like a hampton inn or courtyard....no worries

Umm..Not always. The Hampton Inn I stayed in after the Cypress, Texas show this past Thursday night was not so nice. I laid down and the ceiling was covered with black moldy stuff that was just disgusting. I know it's damp in Houston but COME ON. Guests look at the ceiling. They are there to lay down in the bed and naturally, look up. Then to put the cherry on top I was in the shower trying to warm up after working in the constant drizzle and bent down to make sure the plug wasn't in the tub and caught a gander at the side of the toilet facing the tub and we'll sum it up in a word. EWWWWWWWW. I'd booked the room on Hilton reward points and nothing else was available so we dealt with it but a few words at the desk resulted in a sizable number of reward points being deposited back into my account.

I can top that though. At DCA Finals a few years ago we stayed in an Econolodge in Scranton and didn't into the room until late late late at night. It was a lovely place with a bullet proof glass pass through to check in after hours. There was a little (ok, a lot actually) DNA deposit on our sheets and I went to the desk at 2 am asking for clean ones. He told me he didn't have key to the closet to get us any. We got through the night and then got out of there as soon as we could and the call I made to the manager the next day resulted in him offering me a 20% off coupon for a future stay next time I was in Scranton. When I mentioned the hair clogging the shower drain, the damp carpet and the smell he went up to 25% Yeah, like I'm going back to Scranton and if I were I seriously doubt I'd return to Petrie Island.

(Did call the corporate office and get a $50 voucher for any of their locations after that for those of you who like happy endings and I used it at the Sleep Inn in Rockford last year to attend Phantom's Home show and it was lovely, clean and fabulous. Thank you Choice Hotels)

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Haha, I love the idea of a thread to review hotels. Perfect for those of us that are traveling during the season. I've got a Drury Inn booked for next weekend, anybody stayed at one of those recently?

If your staying in the one just north of Highway 70, in Denver. Shady area. :huh:

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