My take on the variable SPG Brands...

W - What some hipster marketing :rolleyes: thought would be trendy 5 years ago, although some properties are definitely :-:
Le Meridien - Essentially Sofitel SPG
St. Regis - Designed to promote luxury, as imagined by kettles in Des Moines (it ain't Mandarin Oriental)
Luxury Collection - A wild grab bag of different properties with almost nothing in common, though generally pretty nice

Good morning Box.

Then avoid Ws. All the other hotels are fine, including Aloft (they're cookie-cutter motels, really, and aren't really attracting any specific crowd, as far as I can tell).

:rolleyes:

Regarding potential doosh factor, the Ws are also fine, so long as you avoid the Bar/Club area in the evenings, and don't intend to have extensive staff interaction. At most hotels, the extent of my staff interaction is picking up a key folio. I don't really care if the staff is full of itself in most cases, as I didn't travel to the destination to hang out with the check-in clerk or concierge (no offense to concierges intended, I just generally prefer to use the "random walk" method of exploring new places).

I think they try to appeal to the hipster crowd, but people looking for a good price are usually who I see staying there.

Aye. I needed to lock in the 2x IAH-GIG in J for the new date, though.

St Regis generally isn't that kettley, IMO. St Regis SIN and SFO espcecially come to mind. St Regis DC used to be blah, but has improved with the remodel.

I was aware of such for Brodeur and Langenbrunner, but not the others. I've just always been a fan of Pando.


See above re: Chandelier Room and W Hoboken. :D

Yep. I don't think they're really reaching what their original target market was. It has become an airport overnight/priceline special chain. I did like that the Aloft Austin had a pool table. Don't recall from my stays at other Alofts whether that's a feature of most/all Alofts.

Duly noted and none taken. ^ I always manage to fritz my keys at least twice per stay when I put them too close to my BB. I'm probably at the Front Desk 3-4x per stay.

So don't stay in the hotels you don't like. I mostly stay in 4P and the like. Similar enough to HGI and Hampton that I don't see any reason to differentiate. And the up-side potential for stretch properties in crazy places is better with SPG so they get my few stays that earn points.

My mother thinks Pando looks like a young Stallone and thusly refers to him as "Rocky". Nevah mind the prahhhhminnent Bahhston accent. :rolleyes:

The new look is a definite improvement. They needed to get away from Gold Brocaded Quilts, funky looking Marble, and beige carpeting. 1988 can stay where it is. St. Regis Houston was especially atrocious pre-remodel. I'm also biased against the brand, considering a very lousy stay there.

How do I know what I don't like with no exposure to them? I get a weird vibe about W's, but that's about it.