pinniped

Note that *all* of the lower-to-midrange suburban U.S. brands listed in this thread will have a...umm, how should I say this?...wide variance in the quality of their evening snacks.

I've stayed at Embassies that did a decent job of managing their always-frenetic manager's receptions, providing hot items at a rate of throughput that matches the horde of locusts devouring them. I've stayed at others that just put pretzels and popcorn out and get out of the way.

Residence Inns are a little more sane but we're still talking about ballpark-quality snacks at best. I've also stayed at a lot of RI's where they cancel the evening receptions due to low occupancy. For example, they may cancel them several weekdays before or after any kind of holiday.

I probably wouldn't select my hotel based on the reception...unless you happen upon one that really does it well. Kimpton could be an example of this, although theirs are a very light snack and wine - certainly not dinner.