I would never seek out a Crowne Plaza, apart from the handful of nice ones I've stumbled across. I've stumbled into too many disappointing ones to do the seeking out thing. Reflect on the state of San Francisco's airport Crowne Plaza and compare it to the one at Singapore airport.

Shouldn't brand consistency be something to aim for, rather than silliness about "lifeaholic mindsets" ?

Off the top of my head there are nice ones in Bandung, Chennai, Singapore airport, and a very nice one indeed in Doha (but also a not-so-nice one in the same city). Muscat has an OK sea-side CP, and the one in Jeddah next to the IC is just about OK.

Anyone who believes Crowne Plazas come third in an any "most loved" ranking has been smoking. Heavily.