My best CY experience was the Downtown San Diego. The rooms were nice, and it's hard to beat the location (especially for the price). CY was half the price of the Marriott on the Harbor. The new Marriott wasn't open yet. The CY is located at the beginning of the Gaslamp Quarter, and you literally could walk to everything (including the ballpark). It was head and shoulders above what you all are describing here. Maybe I just got lucky, though.

The best FI (albeit very basic) was the Nashville Airprot. It's clean and close to the airport. There's no frills (except a small indoor pool), but it was clean, and they have some of the nicest staff in the Southeast.

On my last stay, the BNA FI was sold out, so I ended up at the Springhill next door. Now, that I'd call a dump. The staff was nice, but the rooms smelled funny, and the carpet was dirty. It was built at the same time as the BNA FI, but it has not been kept up as well.

I think it really depends on the owner and the demand for upkeep (i.e. will people stay here whether we upgrade or not). If they're the only hotel around, chances are they won't have the need to constantly upgrade. But if there's a lot of competition, I think the hotels do a better job.

To the person who put the FI in a category with Super 8 and the rest, I don't think that's quite accurate. Compared to full service properties maybe. But if you've ever stepped foot in a Days Inn, Super 8, etc. you'd know that there are still huge improvements in the quality of FI over them.

All in all, I do try to avoid the FI's and have very little problem not having to stay there. A couple of airport nights aside, I tend to keep things more upscale. But the few CY's I've experienced have been more on par with HGI/DT than a Days Inn, etc.

Just my 2 cents.

This is a tough set of questions. Last week, I was near YYZ, and stayed at the 2 month old Residence Inn. It was awesome, with flat screen tv, nice bed, etc. Much better than the Courtyard I stayed at before.

Similar experiences have taught me that there are always FI and RI that will rise above the CY, but not consitently so.

I think that the only true answer is to test out each city.

When I have time (rarely) I will stop by the local properties to see how they are.

More likely, I will post here on a city-by-city basis to get input.

FlyerTalk is the best source to get this info.

US Numbers:

Courtyard - 583
Farifield Inn - 527
SpringHill Suites - 115

http://marriott.com/corporateinfo/gl...WT_Ref=mi_left

Given that most of my business travels send me to places where there are *only* FI's, a couple observations:

1. I also disagree with the poster who said that FI = Super 8, et al. That's generally not true where I stay (outstate MN, SD, IA, ND). The FI is usually one of the better properties in those kinds of places - and they charge accordingly. Fairfield is definitely better than Days Inn, Super 8, etc. in those places. The one location where they have competition in that segment is St. Cloud - the Ramada Limited is just as good, and usually about $20-25/night less.

2. Part of why the Hamptons (I just stayed in one in the LA suburbs) seem better is perhaps because of their new campaign in terms of internal branding. I have to admit it looks pretty slick (i.e., redone signage around for breakfast area, newspaper stand, rooms, etc.). Fairfield hasn't done anything like that in a while, so perhaps it seems a little dated by comparison.

3. I agree with other posters who've noted that there's more variability in terms of FI - that's true. Most of my issues have been noise-related, but then again, I've also had those kinds of issues in full-fledged Hiltons too. What has made the difference, and why I remain loyal to Marriott, is the service at the individual hotels. Despite the variability of the hotel quality, the service has been more consistent at FI/CY. I've been in enough hotels to have had problems at a variety of brands - nothing's perfect - but Marriott seems to take control of the problems with greater frequency than other chains I've dealt with.

Oh, and I'll have to try the renovated CY in Naperville. The last two times I was there was pre-renovation, and was able to get $59/night. That made it an easy call for the CY for me.

There is a significant difference in the ownership of Fairfields and Courtyards and that difference contributes to the inconsistency seen at Fairfields.

Marriott has 3 or 4 "big owners" who own the majority of the non-Fairfield properties. These properties are franchised and managed by Marriott.

Fairfield properties, however, are owned by a bunch of "small-time" operators. For many Fairfield owners, it may be the only property of any franchise that they own. So when you have 500 Courtyards owned by the same guy (actually a company, but whatever), you'd expect a little more consistency in the product. When you've got 500 Fairfields owned by 400 different people, inconsistency is understandable.

Believe it or not, I have switched from CY in Beaverton, OR to Fairfeild Inn. While the room is not necessarily nicer, it really isn't any worse, they give a very nice free breakfast (nicest I've seen in a FF) and it is $40 less a night. Oh, the staff is nicer too.

I thought that Courtyard was no longer giving points for incidentals. The Marriott website also mentions that they are room rate only. http://marriott.com/rewards/earn/earnptshotel.mi#brand3

The last few times I stayed at the Tyson's Corner, VA Courtyard I charged breakfast and a newspaper (USA Today sucks, had to buy a Washington Post) to the room and I only got points for the room rate. You only get points for incidentals at full service Marriotts and Renassiance hotels.

Are some locations not following that policy?

Thanks Brian. ^ I will admit to not seeing many SHS in my limited travels in U.S., but wasn't sure if there actually weren't that many or not just where I was at the time. Maybe I'll give one a try if it works out somewhere I come across one.

I was all about loyalty to Marriott but I started to feel like a baby calf in the dark boxes they call CY hotel rooms. I maintain top tier with Hilton and Marriott so I can opt for an HGI when the new (or renovated) CY is not available. I tend to stay in one location for a week at a time and the HGI is even better than the RI....especially since summer is upon us and the families are in vacation mode. FI are out of the question unless I am in the middle of nowhere (ie: Statesville, NC). The new HI's are very impressive and the upgraded corner suites are a pleasant surprise. My business travel is mainly on the East Coast now and I notice that most of the CYs are new or renovated. There are also quite a few of the SHS properties.

I just stayed at a CY and hadn't in a long time. I got a refrigerator in my room. Is that standard or an upgrade?

Some of the CY's that are undergoing renovations are putting fridges and microwaves in all the rooms so not sure about that. Also, just as a FYI, in AZ there are 12 CY hotels (9 in PHX, 2 in Tucson, 1 in Page). 3 of them have already undergone their renovations (No. Scottsdale, Airport, Mayo Clinic) and another 4 are starting in July (Mesa, PHX North, Camelback, Tucson Airport). The other 5 are relatively new (either built or renovated in the last 10 years) and are not bad. By comparison (and to relate to this topic) the HI & HGI in this area are not consistent and not too great. Most FI aren't good here either (with N. Scottsdale the exception) so it basically boils down to individual city. I prefer CY above all else and expect to see more consistency by the end of 2005. Just my 2 cents!

I spent a lot of time in Scottsdale last summer and fall. I stayed at the SH and the FI. The SH has just completed a renovation and was quite nice. Only negative is they don't have an exercise room. There is a CY across the parking lot and a RI across the street. The CY had also just undergone a renovation. Since I liked the SH a lot and they are generally a better deal than CY (read breakfast included), I didn't try the CY. Once it moved into Fall season and prices started going up, I switched to the FI to conserve project budget. It was okay, but had a tired feel to it. Very cramped breakfast room to boot. The sign out front claimed it had been recently renovated as well. Since I am a point whore and the price was always significantly higher, I didn't try the RI. YMMV....

--Jon

SHS has breakfast? That is not indicated on the website, and is a reason why I have avoided SHS. Is it just your property, or is it a new feature?

All SHS include free breakfast. It is a brand standard and as far as I konw it always has been. It is enhanced continental breakfast: cold cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, do it yourself waffles, bagels, muffins, fruit, hard boiled eggs, sometimes one other hot item (e.g. egg disks, microwave pancakes, etc.). Other than the "other hot item", I think it is a great spread. Give it a try sometime...

--Jon

How does SHS compare with Homewood Suites by Hilton? Do they have free highspeed internet?

Thanks.