heubergen

I'm currently on a longer road trip and still unsure which chain I should choose for the rest of it (about 30 nights). I don't care much about rewards program or renegotiation but I do about care about the price and how nice the room is. Are good (those with 4 bubbles or more at Tripadvisor) Best Western hotels comparable with Fairfield Inn or Hampton Inn? What are the differences between those brands? Specifically about breakfast, staff, bathroom.

gadberry

Very hard to say. Hampton inn will give you consistency and predictability. BW it's always hard to say. Each property is independent. Reviews are subjective. Depends on guests expectations before arriving. HH rewards points are the best value. I would stay away from Marriott. Try to focus your stays on two chains, BW and HH. Depending on location and day DoubleTree and HGI can be very good values. Especially on a Sunday night. So don't automatically disregard them.

Also the quality of your experience sometimes depends on the other guests behaving themselves. Staff can be hit or miss. They are humans. Try to be flexible with breakfast. Make do with what you can. Try to bring some of your own fruit or bread. Maybe go elsewhere to eat if necessary. Breakfast can be a surprise either way. If breakfast is important,. DT HGI much better (usually). Some Hamptons don't have good breakfast. Quite often the eggs are freeze-dried. In other words, it's difficult to rely on some one else's subjective opinion.

heubergen

Thanks! Sounds like a lot what I already heard in older threads, I was hoping BW would have made some progress in the last years here regarding consistency. I guess I'll just try out the Hilton brands and see than.
Well Breakfast is a thing; if it's not really really good I prefer to take my own cereal with my and just eat them or go out. So if it's not a lot better than HI and FI than it doesn't matter for me I guess.
Regarding the beds; are they on the same level as HI and FI or are they also inconsistent?

jm1991

i would not just stick to one brand. do a quick research of the area you are planning to stay. Best westerns are typically less expensive and some may offer better breakfast and similar amenities as low tier marriott properties or hilton.

davie355

I'd take any Fairfield or Hampton sight unseen over Best Western. I've stayed in all three brands over the past 1-2 years.

For Hampton, look for 20% off rates through the Hilton MVP program, which is free. https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilt...-mvp-rate.html

gadberry

Good advice from JM. Beds are also hard to say. One strategy is to look for the cheapest BW in the area. Then check HH and decide if the price difference is worth it to you. In other words, I would stay at BW for $100 instead of HH for $200.

heubergen

I heard about the MVP program before but:
For me it's just important to have a worry-free brand where I don't need to spend 5 minutes for each hotel to check photos, reviews etc. I made a statistic and for towns along my road the BW's would be about 87$ (per night, king bed) in average while the Hilton's are at 117$ in average.
PS: What I like about the BW (I know silly) that on there website they display the tripadvisor reviews directly so I don't have to check each time on my own.

Staley Cornell

I second this. I usually choose Hampton Inn over Fairfield and rarely stay at a BW.

Blind and Green

And I third this. If staying at the lowest chain brand when all brands are in a given area, I stay at Hampton, HI Express, Fairfield, and then Best Western. I've stayed at some fantastic Best Westerns, but there is just not enough consistency in the product for me to choose it without additional research.

KathyWdrf

I disagree that Hampton Inns are "consistent." Some are definitely more upscale than others. Some include things like microwaves and fridges as standard, others don't. Some include studio suites in the mix of rooms, others don't. Etc.

Also, consistency is not always a good thing. Some Best Westerns I've stayed at are quirky and delightful, and no Hampton Inn would or could ever be like them. Hampton Inns are generally OK but pretty boring.

Finally, sometimes saving money is important, especially in the more expensive places. BW does tend to be less expensive than other certain other chains in the same location.

sdsearch

There's at least one Fairfield in Anaheim that doesn't have a free breakfast (in fact, I don't think any sort of breakfast). And I once stayed at a small-town Hampton that had moldy bagels in their breakfast buffet.

So i suggest you not assume that all those brands you mentioned other than BW are 100% consistent and don't need to be researched. Yes, perhaps they're more consistent, but not 100% consistent.

Blind and Green

Agreed. I didn't mean to imply they were 100% consistent. I've stayed at some less than stellar Hampton Inns (though I've not stayed at any with moldy bagels).

Athena53

I just returned from a road trip in which I had 3 one-night stays at Best Westerns (Marion, IL, Paducah, KY and Knoxville, TN). It started because the rate on the one in IL was very good but I continued because I don't use chain hotels that much (my two big trips for this year are India/Nepal, where the tour company picked them, and an Airbnb stay in Edinburgh) and wanted to try to concentrate them with one chain. In previous years I've used either Fairfields or Hamptons.

The BW gyms tended to be a bit less well-equipped; none had water coolers and one didn't have towels (although the adjacent pool did). Two had VERY small pools, even smaller than I'd seen in Fairfields/Hamptons. The third had a nice-sized one but it was outdoor only. One breakfast was similar to Hilton/Marriott (and that was the cheapest rate); the other two had fewer items. All were shower over tub rather than the updated large showers I've occasionally seen in Hilton/Marriott's comparable properties. One was on two floors but had no elevator.

Conclusion: you get what you pay for. BWs were lower than the rates for Hampton/Fairfield and I could see why, but no real dealbreakers. For a one-night stay I have pretty basic standards: clean, quiet, someplace I can get a decent workout. I may use BW on my trip in December and use the money I save for other travel extravagances.

Staley Cornell

I just completed a stay at the BW in Florence, SC mostly due to the price. I took a 2 week road trip and stayed at 7 different hotels along the way, mostly Hampton Inn. The BW room was okay and breakfast was mediocre at best. The staff was excellent and I would consider staying again, but only if I can't get the Hampton Inn at a fair price.

sdsearch

Please realize that Hampton Inn is no longer Hilton's lowest brand. The new Tru brand is significantly lower. (Though there are few of them to date, so I haven't experienced one personally yet.)

I wouldn't surprised if some Best Westerns might compare one way to Hampton but the other way to Tru!