simpleflyer

'Anywhere' covers a lot of places.

There are places such as US national parks where lodging occupancy is extremely tight owing to high demand, and the rates are more or less fixed within a given category of hotel. (The lodges are run by concessions but owned by the National Park Service.) A room with private bath in Grand Canyon South Rim is going to set you back considerably more than US$100 in most of the lodges, most of which are comfortable but far from luxurious, and even in neighbouring Tusayan finding a room for $100 would not be easy to nab most times of the year. If the location requires it, one must pay.

simpleflyer

Chains deliver, or should deliver, what they are supposed to deliver: reliability, flexibility of booking (i.e. ability to cancel and rebook), predictable standard of furnishings, and at least in the midscale and above ones, decent soundproofing and ventilation - these last two aspects are somewhat in conflict and thus hard to get right. I appreciate it when a hotel DOES get it right. Price doesn't always indicate that a hotel gets these things right.

As for 'unboring' hotels: the 'excitement' of finding a cockroach is one I could do without. As could a friend have done without the excitement of hearing a gun battle take place right outside the door of his motel room (which he admits he accepted only because every other room in the city was booked solid at the time.)

rankourabu

Check out
http://www.bedbugregistry.com/

Plenty of chains 'deliver'
From Super 8 to a Ritz.

CMK10

I like to stay at Conrads when I can and I've never been disappointed in one. I believe in life, most of the time you get what you pay for. Hotels for me continue that theme.

Also, I like to frequent high end hotel bars when traveling and those also never disappoint me.

simpleflyer

You are quite correct, nowhere is safe from bedbugs. But my point was that excitement might not be what one is seeking .

s0ssos

I don't think that theme of you get what you pay for holds in travel anymore. First-class travel is now achievable due to miles and points. Is it a more enjoyable experience if you pay the $10,000 than use points?

emma69

I want and like sterile and dull at that price point, my idea of heaven is a completely sterile room, crisp white bed linen, no fancy throw pillows / bed spread. I want gleaming glass, chrome etc. in the bathroom, no homely touches. I want lots and lots of white towels. I really don't want nor care for local "touches" in the room - I don't need my hotel room to be "authentic" to the location, I want it to be as if I was anywhere or nowhere in the world. I will take a nice view, sure, but when I close the curtain (black out blinds) I want the room sterile, quiet and dull!

VivoPerLei

At the hotel I'm staying in now I have a nice room on the club floor. Wandered over before going to work yesterday and found that they don't open until 0800. They advertised a nice complementary breakfast when I checked in, but how many people, traveling for business, can afford to wait until 0800 to eat breakfast? If I want to pay for it in the main dining room of course, that is open far earlier.

So, yes, that is disappointing.

stut

That is rather tight, but I rarely have to leave before 08:30 to get to an office while travelling (unless it was particularly difficult to get a conveniently located one). That said, I'm generally the customer, not the vendor these days...

I agree that I like a hotel room to be 'clinical' in that I like crisp white sheets, a crisp tiled bathroom, and a general absence of fussiness. But I don't want it to be the same everywhere, and I certainly don't want it to be the same as home. I find that sameness rather soul destroying. It's possible to have stylish, individual, unfussy hotel rooms, and that' something I'm very happy to pay for.

mmff

A million times this. I'd just add that in my idea of heaven there is no carpeting on the floor.

RAAng

This is me. I recently returned from a trip that included a reasonably high ender in Miami Beach. It was nice, the staff quickly remedied their seemingly high number of mistakes, but I felt my pocket was being picked at every turn. Better was the Hilton in Cocoa Beach. Much cheaper, room just as nice, and I could get ice without tipping someone to bring it. Not to mention, I didn't have to tip someone to spread the pool towel on my pool chair that cost me $25 plus attached state, local and county taxes a day in resort fee.

NewEngland2NYC

[QUOTE=pinniped;26553029]No, not usually disappointed at a well-run luxury property.

"I've certainly been disappointed at some mainline Marriott/Hilton/Starwoods that were charging a high-end price because I happened to be there at a peak time. (Frankly, there are a lot of these in NYC that don't live up to expectations.) But if I'm at a Ritz or Four Seasons, it almost always delivers."

I totally agree. I go to NYC every 3 weeks and sometime I can get a "luxury" hotel for $250. I have tried the W midtown, Waldorf, Le Meridian, and Ritz. Each time the rooms were worn, lack of amenities, and a real let down. I am glad I did not pay full price, and feel sad for those that do.

Ricebucket

I know you're joking, but...

Silkworms are all babies. They're larva, and they spin the cocoons to house themselves as they metamorphose into moths.

Also, silkworms feed on mulberry leaves. So yes, they're all vegans as well.

raquelle

It's all about expectations. $11 in Siem Riep in 1991 got four of us a huge suite in what is now the $800 Grand Hotel d'Angkor - including one flickering light bulb and a toilet on a raised platform.
And $2 was a room in a tree house in Malaysia. Had to balance to reach the WC on a connecting branch.....

mediclawyer

For stays of longer than one night, I prefer AirBNB. Always have wifi and a kitchen across a variety of price points from luxury to frugal. Even when everything isn't perfect, it is usually at least interesting and still better than a hotel. I prefer living like a local, and have a source of advice. I choke on paying more than $200/night for a bed, and wish for more cheap/super tiny/super clean hotels like they have in Japan. (Yotel, etc). Here's a good story on micro-hotels in the USA:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel...ntry/72265080/