My husband and I have just gone into the consulting business for ourselves. As we are probably going to have to travel, and eventually relocate, I want to start joining good frequent traveller programs for airlines and hotels. I think I have the airline thing down, because we already have so many miles accumulated through United, but I know nothing about hotel plans. My priority is to find something flexible enough for solo business travel for either of us, and something that is also good for families if we choose to travel with our children. We have a toddler and our daughter is seven. I'm looking into chains the quality level of Marriot or westin, but can't really make heads or tails of the brochures and of course no one tells me now they compare to others, just that they are the best. So I'm asking other parents - help!!

---Sara

Terrin's quote of the day - "I'm not screaming, I'm louding!"

Well my 8 yr old has his two favorites and you named them. Not coincidentally they both cater somewhat to kids!

1) Marriott, then
2) Westin, and
3) Hyatt, a more distant 3rd place!

Just having a menu for kids seems to make a big difference!

http://www.embassysuites.com/

Very family-friendly and at the same time you have the flexibility of the other HHonors hotels.

When travelling with the kids, I seek the following (in order)

KITCHENETTE. Victoria (3) seems incapable of saying "Daddy" without adding, "I'm hungry.". Failing a kitchenette, I want a refrigerator.

POOL. Caitlin (5) loves to swim. Patrick (2) loves to splash. Victoria likes to tell Patrick to stop splashing.

ROCKER. You usually have to ask, but you can often get a rocking chair. All my kids love to snuggle for a few minutes before bed. A rocker makes this easier.

We don't go ANYWHERE without a nightlite. Victoria wakes up frequently during the night and puts herself back to sleep. If there is no light, she need attention.

We take advantage of the crib when they've got one, but we always pack the portable crib. We really need two (Victoria needs to be contained, otherwise she'll wander around the room in the middle of the night), but one is an absolute MUST (Patrick).

We've had good success at the cheaper hotels (Best Western, Days Inn, etc.) but you MUST call ahead to see if you can get these things.

As far as the larger hotels, Marriott has been good. Residence Inn especially.

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"I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own."

[This message has been edited by Jon Toner (edited 06-14-2000).]

I can only answer part of your question because when we vacation with the children, we try to rent a condo with kitchen. I have however traveled through a lot of different hotel plans over the course of 2 jobs with international companies. Out of all of them, I like Starwood's Preferred Guest the most, and that is what I have now. They own Sheraton and Westin and a whole bunch of others, so there never is a problem finding a hotel, and the best part is that there are no blackout dates or anything like that, so I have never had a problem booking during a heavy travel season or convention-time. Here's the registration info site if you're interested - www.preferredguest.com.

wendy

I agree with Wendys recommendation--go with Starwood. They often have promotions that can bring you to silver or gold status and, if you are earn platinum status, there are a range of personalized Concierge services that will become available to you.

Hilton resorts can be extremely kid-friendly but then you'll have to deal with the dreaded HHonors 1-800 Number and their unfortunate customer service.

Todays paper edition of the Wall Street Journal has an interesting article on which hotels are most likely to provide a warm welcome for your children. It's on page W7 in the Weekend Journal section.

http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...ML/005917.html

I second the Starwood nomination. Most of the Westin properties have a "kids program" where some may have daily programs (most resorts, not too many business hotels.) If you give the ages of your children, you get an age appropriate ammenity at checkin, and the staff has a "whatever you want, whenever you want it" mentality (not quite as much as the W's, but still...)

Barring that, Embassy suits is great among family travel, because of the extra space. Dont know very much abotu any kids amenities, but my aunt and uncle, with three children, tend to stay there.