Nice Hotels as we get older?

[Chuckanut]

Another topic got me thinking that one of the ways I BTD is to upgrade the quality of the hotels I stay at when I travel. In younger days I mostly camped. If I needed a hotel, I found a room at the very inexpensive places - Motel 6, Econo Lodge and Super 8, etc.

I will still use a less expensive hotel for road trips where I simply have a one night stay - arrive in late afternoon or evening, washup, eat, sleep, and then on the road by 8 AM at the latest. I call those drive-thru destinations. I tend to sleep well so an iffy mattress, parking lot noise, light leaks through the window don't bother me very much.

However, at a destination where I will be spending 3 or more nights, I find that a nicer hotel rooms are getting very tempting. By this I mean rooms that have more space, perhaps a sofa or a few descent chairs to sit in, a patio or balcony with a view if possible, easy access to laundry machines and services, a separate sitting area, and a good hot breakfast in the morning. Within walking distance of a descent restaurant and/or coffee house is great also. I just take things at a somewhat slower pace and getting down-time to relax in the mid-afternoon or evening is part of being on vacation. Sometimes, I simply update my travel notebook, and maybe adjust future plans based upon new information. In hot areas, I've been known to nap in the hottest part of the afternoon, and then go out again in and enjoy a warm evening.

How about others? Have you found that for whatever reason, a nicer room has become more important to getting the most out of a destination? Why?

 

[ivinsfan]

I'm with you a transiting hotel and destination hotel are two different things. I live rural and hear no noise at night so I will try to book a transit hotel with rooms opening to a interior hallway rather then directly to the outside. I don't mind paying more for that.



In a destination hotel I like all the things your mention plus some type of cooking option to make things a little easier.



If it's more then a week I will look for a VRBO type properly. I suspect since we haven't road tripped much during Covid I'm going to feel some sticker shock when looking at the destination hotels!

 

[Midpack]

We wholeheartedly agree. Where we used to stay at Hampton Inns more often than not, and a splurge was at most $300/night - our last vacation our rooms were $600/night (though a very expensive destination) and we don’t regret it at all. We find ourselves in boutique hotels or B&Bs more often than big cookie cutter hotels. We’re looking for better (hotel) locations more than “nicer rooms” but they go hand in hand at least somewhat. More often than not when we travel it’s on the ocean coast, and we want to be on the water or within easy walking distance. From now on we’d rather travel a little less and stay in nicer places if we need to cut back. In our late 60’s we’re realizing the day will come when we’re unable to enjoy active travel, so we might as well enjoy it while we can. Life’s too short…

 

[OldShooter]

... How about others? Have you found that for whatever reason, a nicer room has become more important to getting the most out of a destination? Why?

In our case, the strategy for a number of years has been to book nice AirBNBs. We look for small apartments with kitchens and en suite baths (of course). It's a little like coming home to plop into recliner chairs, pull the cork on a bottle of wine in the evening, heat up a croissant for morning snack.

That said, our last AirBNB was maybe three years ago and as I read about the proliferation of "professional hosts" I fear that the pleasant and casual ambience we have liked may be going away. We'll see.

We basically hate hotels. Anonymous boxes piled on top of one another, factory production art and décor, light bulbs chosen by the accounting department, etc. If we were interested in the golf, tennis, swimming amenities that would probably be different but for us a hotel room is not a place we want to spend any significant time.

For some reason we have never tried VRBO, but that will probably happen at some point.

 

[RunningBum]

The room itself isn't such a factor to me as much as convenience, depending on the destination. Staying right at a ski resort and not having to deal with driving and parking or ski shuttles is great. Amusement parks sometimes have early hours and special ride lines for those who stay at one of their hotels. Being walking distance from the start/finish of a marathon is a big plus to me.

 

[ivinsfan]

Old shooter the reason I put one week as a cutoff for VRBO style is that the increasing amount and cost of the fees gets pretty extreme for a 3 to 4 day stay. You can find boutique hotels that are not like the ones you describe. These are the type of places we book. The Desert Pearl in Springdale Ut is our favorite.

 

[Dash man]

After some bad experiences at cheap motels, I pay for hotel chains I know are clean and comfortable. I have difficulty sleeping in unfamiliar surroundings, so I’m somewhat picky.

 

[Trailwalker]

We've upgraded from the inexpensive places to airbnb's with kitchens. We both stayed in expensive business hotels when we worked and avoid spending $ there. On the road, we usually stay at dog-friendly Red Roof Inns.

Favorite Red Roof Inn story:

Pounding at the door late at night.
Me: "Yes."
Man at door: "Dude, I'm sorry, but I dropped my beer bottle from the second floor on top of your car and dented the hood.
Me: Looking outside. "That's not my car."

Man at door: "Oh, no problem then."
Door Closes, dead bolt and chain attached.

 

[aja8888]

35 years of constant business travel staying in top European hotels (London, Paris, etc) and in some of the scummiest places one can imagine (Back of Mobil gas station with three "prefab" rooms attached (no hot water, out house)) in VERY southern Idaho.

There's many other scummy places when doing oil & gas work, but use your imagination........sleeping in the truck would have been better. And some of these places were on the TX/Mexico border.....again, use your imagination! Having a firearm with you is a good thing...

When I (we) travel now, we like middle of the road hotels (chains) as I still have many thousands of accumulated hotel points to burn off. We can stay in the Marriott chain and prefer suites. And in the Holiday Inn chain, we can usually get the suite part of the chain.

One of these days, when all the "points" are burned off, we will try an AirBNB.

 

[braumeister]

top European hotels (London, Paris, etc)
...
some of the scummiest places one can imagine (Back of Mobil gas station with three "prefab" rooms attached (no hot water, out house).

Which did you prefer?

As for me, Hampton Inn is my standard default, since I have almost never been anything but completely satisfied with them. For other chains I'll look for their equivalent. Luxury hotels actually turn me off and I avoid them like the plague.

 

[grasshopper]

The Desert Pearl in Springdale Ut is our favorite.

We did Zion/Bryce in May with Country Walkers 15 folks that like to hike,, eat, and drink. When traveling independant we like to stay at the grand old lodges in the national parks

So we were disappointed to not stay at the Zion Lodge, instead had 3 lovely nights at the Desert Pearl. We didn't regret our excellent stay there. The only sound was the Virgin river outside our room.

 

[aja8888]

Which did you prefer?

As for me, Hampton Inn is my standard default, since I have almost never been anything but completely satisfied with them. For other chains I'll look for their equivalent. Luxury hotels actually turn me off and I avoid them like the plague.

Hampton Inns are very good and consistent.

For "budget" type rooms, the NEWER Holiday Inn Express rooms are quite acceptable, plus they serve a pretty nice breakfast which is included.

With the Marriott chain, I like the Residence Inn for suite type and the Courtyard ones for budget type.

Marriott also has Springhill Suites which are nice and less costlier than the Residence Inns.

 

[Dtail]

Hampton Inns are very good and consistent.

For "budget" type rooms, the NEWER Holiday Inn Express rooms are quite acceptable, plus they serve a pretty nice breakfast which is included.

With the Marriott chain, I like the Residence Inn for suite type and the Courtyard ones for budget type.

Marriott also has Springhill Suites which are nice and less costlier than the Residence Inns.

Exactly in agreement with each comment.

 

[ivinsfan]

We did Zion/Bryce in May with Country Walkers 15 folks that like to hike,, eat, and drink. When traveling independant we like to stay at the grand old lodges in the national parks

So we were disappointed to not stay at the Zion Lodge, instead had 3 lovely nights at the Desert Pearl. We didn't regret our excellent stay there. The only sound was the Virgin river outside our room.

FYI we have stayed at Zion Lodge, and it was grand in name only.....the view was nice but not that much nicer then the pearl..we would go to the Pearl in early Dec, have a nice dinner, then sit in the hot tub (usually just the two of us) while watching The Geminids streak across the sky..it's probably one of our all time favorite couple memories. We did this for several years in a row. Springdale in quiet December is a magical place, the complete opposite of busy season.

 

[W2R]

Hampton Inns are very good and consistent.

For "budget" type rooms, the NEWER Holiday Inn Express rooms are quite acceptable, plus they serve a pretty nice breakfast which is included.

With the Marriott chain, I like the Residence Inn for suite type and the Courtyard ones for budget type.

Marriott also has Springhill Suites which are nice and less costlier than the Residence Inns.

Exactly in agreement with each comment.

+2 Me too.

The federal government sometimes put me up at Springhill Suites when traveling for work, and I loved them! Didn't know they were less expensive so to me, I guess they were a bargain.

We are retired now and getting older, so we don't travel any more if/when we can avoid it. Back when we did travel we usually used to choose Hampton Inn or similar.

 

[njhowie]

I will still use a less expensive hotel for road trips where I simply have a one night stay - arrive in late afternoon or evening, washup, eat, sleep, and then on the road by 8 AM at the latest. I call those drive-thru destinations. I tend to sleep well so an iffy mattress, parking lot noise, light leaks through the window don't bother me very much.

However, at a destination where I will be spending 3 or more nights, I find that a nicer hotel rooms are getting very tempting. By this I mean rooms that have more space, perhaps a sofa or a few descent chairs to sit in, a patio or balcony with a view if possible, easy access to laundry machines and services, a separate sitting area, and a good hot breakfast in the morning. Within walking distance of a descent restaurant and/or coffee house is great also. I just take things at a somewhat slower pace and getting down-time to relax in the mid-afternoon or evening is part of being on vacation. Sometimes, I simply update my travel notebook, and maybe adjust future plans based upon new information. In hot areas, I've been known to nap in the hottest part of the afternoon, and then go out again in and enjoy a warm evening.

How about others? Have you found that for whatever reason, a nicer room has become more important to getting the most out of a destination? Why?

Ditto point for point.

When I do my long solo drives (e.g. moving DD out to Vegas and back) I will Red Roof it every other night, and sleep in the car for a few hours the night in-between. I really like Red Roof because they are pretty standard from location to location, and most have been renovated in the past few years. I use their website to book a room as I get an idea where I'll be ready to call it a day. I usually book it and then check-in within an hour or two and it always works out great.

When we go on real vacations, I do let loose on the purse strings a bit. As we've gotten older, we've grown like the accommodations to be a little nicer. We have the Disney timeshare which gives us good benefits in FL, CA, and Hawaii so we use that as we can. They always provide a 5 star experience. But when we can't, we no longer immediately look for the 2 and 3 star places.

 

[aja8888]

Me too.

The federal government sometimes put me up at Springhill Suites when traveling, and I loved them! Didn't know they were less expensive.

Compared to the Residence Inn suites, they are less expensive, but quite nice for the cost.

 

[ivinsfan]

Me too.

The federal government sometimes put me up at Springhill Suites when traveling for work, and I loved them! Didn't know they were less expensive so to me, I guess they were a bargain.

We don't travel any more if/when we can avoid it, but we usually used to choose Hampton Inn or similar.

SS/HI pretty similar and what we look for when driving..they are very consistent .

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

I've had this "let's agree to book better accommodations" discussion with the missus more frequently since our last big trip in 2019 where we were out all day walking in record heat only to get back to our oven/room with no A/C, towels slipping off the shelving, and only one outlet across the room in the most inconvenient location to charge all of our devices.
She agreed so we've taken it into consideration in our evolving travel budget. But it's more about going from hole in the walls (mainly in Europe) to basic business hotels. I think our current sweet spots are places like Holiday Inn Expresses, Courtyards, Toyoko Inns, etc. (or just nicer independent places) which I suppose isn't saying much.

As we get older, I don't feel the urge/need to endure lots of discomfort in order to save a buck. In addition to core needs like safety, location, and internet access, stuff like an ensuite, good HVAC, level shelving , decent access to wall outlets, etc. is kind of the minimum nowadays.
But we also generally don't necessarily need a lot of space or fancier amenities (like a pool, room service, etc) because we typically don't make use of them. So when go on a cruise, redeem credit card/hotel points, or used our companies' corporate rates it's a bit of a treat.

 

[euro]

Another topic got me thinking that one of the ways I BTD is to upgrade the quality of the hotels I stay at when I travel. In younger days I mostly camped. If I needed a hotel, I found a room at the very inexpensive places - Motel 6, Econo Lodge and Super 8, etc.

Back in the day, we only used Motel 6 type places in order to keep expenses low - even when traveling with 2 kids. We then "graduated" to Super 8 (not much of a step up, but SOME). Since FIRE, we graduallly moved up the ladder a bit and will now stay at Hampton Inn class places (mostly suites for between $150-$200 a night when doing road trips in the US.
For road trips in foreign lands, things can range from $$$$ (London, nice place in Kensignton) to $ (cheap AirB&B in Inverness). Just depends on what's available and where.

 

[Chuckanut]

Which did you prefer?

As for me, Hampton Inn is my standard default, since I have almost never been anything but completely satisfied with them. For other chains I'll look for their equivalent. Luxury hotels actually turn me off and I avoid them like the plague.

I find places like Hampton Inn to be good. I got the no fee Hilton credit card that supposedly might get me a free upgrade. It's actually done that a few times.

I don't care for luxury hotels. Somehow they are just too stuffy for my plebian tastes

 

[euro]

I don't care for luxury hotels. Somehow they are just too stuffy for my plebian tastes

Agree! I used many luxury hotels for business travel and never really enjoyed them. Every time you step out of the room, someone goes in and straightens out the pillow, or empties the trash can, or picks up and folds your clothes.... not my cup of tea...

 

[ivinsfan]

I find places like Hampton Inn to be good. Also, Holiday Inn will work for me. About every 3rd time I get an upgrade to what amounts to a small one bedroom apartment. That's very nice for stays over 2 nights.

I don't care for luxury hotels. Somehow they are just too stuffy for my plebian tastes

A boutique hotel isn't the same as a luxury hotel IMO.

 

[braumeister]

When in Europe, I really enjoy getting away from the chains much of the time. I have made favorites of a few family owned hotels in various cities that I will go back to repeatedly.

Of course, there are a lot of good, reasonably priced chains over there as well. On the cheaper end, Ibis is usually decent, and I've never been disappointed with Scandic in Scandinavia.

 

[38Chevy454]

I used to travel for work fairly often, accumulated a bunch of Marriott points. They made me lifetime platinum status, even though I rarely use hotels now. Need to try and stay with one chain member program to build up enough benefits when you are in accumulation mode of hotel and rental car member points.

We typically travel now in our RV motorhome. But when I do need a hotel room, I'll usually burn some Marriott points and stay at a Fairfield or Courtyard; sometimes a Springhill Suites or Residence Inn if longer stay than overnight. I agree with the just traveling through and no need for a room with extra stuff I won't likely use for a quick overnight and back on the road. I do think spending a little extra for a nicer place than the lowest budget is usually worth the extra cost. More for being a quieter place and having fully functioning A/C or other requirements for a better stay.