catocony

Guys,

As the average experience for me at mid-level Marriott brands continues to deteriorate, and the fact that I'm a Life Plat and don't need nights, I'm going to give Hilton a try. I pretty much have the gist of the hotel lineups, but was wondering about Hampton Inns. In general, to they line up more as a SpringHill Suite would, or a Fairfield Inn?

I haven't stayed in a Hampton Inn since the 90s, and I can't remember much about the couple that I did stay in.

darthbimmer

In terms of matching up most of the benefits, Hampton is closed to Fairfield. Both properties have regular room and maybe suites (vs. SpringHill Suites which is all suites) and both bundle free continental breakfast in the rate. In terms of quality I think of Hampton as a half notch better than FFI in many cases.

catocony

Ok, thanks. I remember when they changed the name of the Fairfield Inn Suites or whatever to Springhill. They were just the all-suite version of a Fairfield. These days, of course, the new ones are all artsy, or trying to be, but under the hood they're still basically a Fairfield. Small room, thin walls, bed in front of the AC/heater.

So, Hilton Garden Inn = Courtyard, Homewood = Res Inn, Hampton Inn = a good Fairfield.

AAL

Maybe it's just the properties that I've stayed at, but personally I'd rate Hampton closer to Springhill than to FFI.

jr1202sr

FYI I got a Status Match to Diamond from Hilton and have been treated much better than Marriott. If you are making the switch I would inquire.

qazw1

I like Fairfield more than Hampton.

I like Marriott points far more than Hilton points.

nineworldseries

I wouldn't get too enthusiastic about Hampton Inns and equate them to a "good" Fairfield. In my opinion, there are a very few tolerable (i.e. brand new) FFIs and Hampton Inns, but there are a lot of awful ones too. If I recall correctly, there are a bunch of Hampton Inns that used to be old motels with outside-facing rooms.

catocony

That's my plan.

"I wouldn't get too enthusiastic about Hampton Inns and equate them to a "good" Fairfield. In my opinion, there are a very few tolerable (i.e. brand new) FFIs and Hampton Inns, but there are a lot of awful ones too. If I recall correctly, there are a bunch of Hampton Inns that used to be old motels with outside-facing rooms."

There are plenty of old Hamptons out there. I usually do a Google street view to make sure it's interior doors, as I don't stay in properties with exterior doors. Every Res Inn or Fairfield I book, I do that.

ohmark

Newer Fairfields are half notch better than Hampton, IMO.

Orange County Commuter

My problem with Hamptons is that the dumps are just that! And they seem to have more of them then Fairfield.

Now I traveled a lot to rural America so maybe OP will be luckier but I learned to be very careful about Hamptons after a few "what was Hilton thinking letting Bubba have a franchise" stays

kanerf

They are slowly getting rid of the converted Hampton Inns and the new Hampton Inns are quite nice. I think the beds are better than most Fairfield Inns and the breakfast is sometimes better, depends on the location.

I am a Hilton Diamond and a Marriott Platinum, so I sometimes get upgraded to a suite at both properties. I have a favorite Fairfield Inn that I stay at over by Dulles. It is next to a Cracker Barrel which adds to the appeal. On the other side of the highway, one exit down, is a Hampton I use a lot as well.

The FFI is usually cheaper by $10 or so, so it depends on what promotions are going on as to my choice.

keeton

I have found my experience to be the opposite. Each property has their winners and losers but Hampton seems to be better overall.

In any case, and especially with these classes of properties: Tripadvisor is your friend.

darthbimmer

In my experience Hampton has slightly more outdated properties than Fairfield does. I don't choose between them on the whole based on the clunkers, though, because with both the clunkers are fairly enough. Consistency is a strong point with these brands. It's not like playing the has-it-been-renovated-since-1982 carnival game that is staying at a Sheraton Four Points. Or a Crowne Plaza.

Within the broad middle that makes up both brands I find that Hamptons seem to be slightly nicer than Fairfields. In Hamptons the furniture feels slightly less cheap and the beds have real mattresses instead of foam pads. I regard a Hampton Inn as competing more with a Courtyard on a quality level. I likened Hampton to Fairfield in this thread on the basis of included continental breakfast. That's because I believe the average traveler is vastly more attuned to whether a hotel offers a "free" breakfast (to me it's obviously prepaid, not "free", and it's slop I rarely touch anyway) than the quality of its bedding stock.