Wyndham Rewards - Is Microtel consistently good?

I get my Hilton Gold status from a lot of nights spent on the road, staying at Hampton Inns. I like Hamptons because of their consistency. Some are better than others, but not greatly so. I like knowing what I am going to get, and I usually avoid unpleasant surprises by staying there.

Last week, I was traveling to Buckhannon, WV. The Hampton Inn there, and my backup hotel, the Holiday Inn Express in Weston, did not have any rooms available. With some trepidation, I booked the Microtel. I paid about $40 less than what I would pay for the other places, and it was every bit as nice, if not nicer. The rooms was stylishly furnished, comfortable, and spotless. The breakfast was nearly identical (which is to say, nothing much).

Are Microtels consistently good? (The Buckhannon property is only a few months old, so that probably has a lot to do with it.) With the current nonsense going on with the Hhonors program, I am looking for a reason to switch.

I have always had good luck with this branch. I gave up on Marriott's after many bad instances. In fact, even though microtel is good, it has always paled in comparison to an actually wyndham. The breakfast equipment is similar between Microtel and Wyndham's, with the exception being Wyndham's have much more variety. I have also always gotten free snacks (read- free beer-) and was treated really great!

I have stayed for weeks on end at Wyndham's, and I have admittedly only stayed about 5 times at a micro tel. The only thing I really have a problem with is the no status level. You can earn points, but they have no levels like gold, platinum, diamond, etc. I would say thats my only drawback

so i know im replying to a more or less dead thread, but i absolutely love microtels. i take a lot of road trips, and as a college student i do kind of try to keep the budget as small as possible. but when i first started staying at this chain i had no idea it would me so nice, i find that it is one of the most consistent chains that i have ever stayed in. everything form the rooms to the amenities to the breakfasts, even the floorplans in my experience is always the same. the only changes i have ever noticed were if there was a pool (some places where winters were rough didnt have them) it changed locations around the building. i have stayed in more than 12 different microtels in more than 10 states, always with the same great experience. plus now that i finally am a rewards member, (i know dumb on my part for not doing it sooner) i am reaping the benefits as well.
even when my budget allows more, if i have a choice to stay in one of these, i most likely will, over another unknown place

Noinamg--Welcome to FT. Hope you find some helpful information here, I sure have.

Welcome, noinamg, to FT!

Thank you for the information. I just stayed in a Hampton Inn in PA last weekend. I completely forgot about even looking for a Microtel; I just automatically booked HI out of habit. I will definitely remember to search for a Microtel on my next road trip.

The Hampton Inn there, and my backup hotel, the Holiday Inn Express [...] The breakfast was nearly identical (which is to say, nothing much).

Ok, now I'm a bit confused. The breakfast at Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express is typically way better than at, say, Days Inn or Super 8 or Travelodge (which are the ones I'd describe as "nothing much").

Yes, it's not as good as the breakfast at an HGI, but given your "nothing much" description, I'm not clear now whether you really meant that the breakfast is comparable to Hampton / Express (in having a decent selection of types of breads, eggs including hopefully hardboiled -- the only kind easily proven "real"! -- at least a couple kinds of fruit juices, and at least two kinds of milk including skim aka non-fat at both every Hampton and every Express.

I know the breakfast at Baymont is comparable to Express, while the breakfast at Days Inn / Super 8 / Travelodge is much "simpler". Now I'm trying to figure out where the Microtel breakfast fits in among all these other brands.

Microtel is definitely a bright spot in their portfolio. So is Wingate. Iffy on Baymonts.

In years past, I have found Microtel did not provide a hairdryer. The last few, though, have sported one on the wall. They do not have a coffee maker, which I really like in a room. The breakfast is minimal. Some properties have a few suites, about $20 more than a standard room, with fridge, micro, and coffee maker.

Microtel has won JD Power hotel guest satisfaction survey (http://www.jdpower.com/news/pressRelease.aspx?ID=2011106) in the budget/economy segment for past ten years straight.