I stay about a dozen nights a year at Choice Hotels, but most of my stays (10-12/month) are with Intercontinental (IC) or Starwood (*W). Where I travel, the quality of Holiday Inn or Sheraton is generally nicer than the Choice properties, which are in turn generally nicer than, say, a Four Points. The other two factors are breakfast (better at Choice, best at HI Express) and free hi-speed internet access (most IC properties have it, but not Choice).

I don't use Choice Privileges for anything but miles, so for me it comes down to a cost comparison--nighly rate vs. value of points/miles. Usually IC comes out ahead when they have one of their promotions going, and *W has a good one right now, too. They both end on 3/31, though, so in April, the Triple Miles offer with Choice is very competitive: 750 airline miles with each stay. I'll probably be spending most of my time at the nearest Comfort Inn next month.