Nice Hotels as we get older?

[ArmchairMillionaire23]

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?

DW needs her own separate room. She is unable to sleep in the same room with anyone else. Her last 2 years away at college she worked odd hours and slept in fitful shifts when she could get time to herself. Once we married, we slept (well, I slept) in the same bed for the first two nights. On the 3rd night, after being awake for over 60 hours, she finally got up and slept in the spare bedroom in her old bed. She's had her own room for almost 15 years.

So when we travel, it's two rooms or she doesn't sleep. So we usually try to find places that are $75/night or less per room. (cheaper chains like the OP mentioned) If we can find a suite with 2 actual bedrooms for around $150, (or less than $200 nowadays) we'll get that. If it's a one-night stay, and it's not too pricey, I'll even book a mini-suite with one separate bedroom with a door and a pull-out sofa and I'll sleep on the sofa.

Happy wife = Happy life.

 

[marko]

I have a rule that I never stay in a chain that starts with "R", Radisson, Red Roof Inn, etc. Too many weird issues

Raffles and St Regis as well?

 

[marko]

When we got married in San Francisco I booked a deluxe room at the Mark Hopkins. When we checked in the clerk advised he could "upgrade" us to the Cyril MagninCyril Magnin suite for some modest amount and I said sure (what else would I say eh) and there we were.

I think the room was like $850 a night and has to have been one of the best deals ever -

+1. The Mark and the Fairmont across the street. First Class! Have stayed at both.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire23]

Hotels are fine for transit stops... Usually do HI or Hampton, sometimes Best Western.
But for staying some place I *STRONGLY* prefer apartments - so Airbnb or VRBO. I read the fine print about deposits/cleaning policies when deciding. Same as I do with hotels that tack on resort fees, parking fees, etc.

Airbnb, VRBO don't seem to be an option for us since we're not cell phone people. For most short (1-3) day trips I don't even bring a laptop so wi-fi or plenty of outlets in the rooms are not that important.

A disappointing trend lately is the elimination of alarm clocks, room phones and phone books in the drawers. DW likes to be able to see what time it is when she wakes up in the middle of the night. We use the room phones to call each other's rooms and also to order pizza or Chinese food delivery if we don't feel like fighting Friday or Saturday evening dinner crowds.

 

[Koolau]

When we got married in San Francisco I booked a deluxe room at the Mark Hopkins. When we checked in the clerk advised he could "upgrade" us to the Cyril MagninCyril Magnin suite for some modest amount and I said sure (what else would I say eh) and there we were.

I think the room was like $850 a night and has to have been one of the best deals ever -

Sorry. For $850/night, I want to sleep in the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House. BTD be hanged!

 

[Phroig]

Most Hilton and Marriott chains are good value for the money. Another decent chain is Drury Inn. We only stay in places with free breakfast (hot, not continental).

 

[Koolau]

When folks here travel significant distances (so that you must find lodging along the way) do you make reservations either ahead of time or (say) early in the afternoon? We typically drive until we can't drive any more and then pick from the available places at a medium sized city along the Interstate. We've tried planning ahead, but road construction or other delays, etc. can interfere. What do most folks do on long trips?

 

[euro]

When folks here travel significant distances (so that you must find lodging along the way) do you make reservations either ahead of time or (say) early in the afternoon? We typically drive until we can't drive any more and then pick from the available places at a medium sized city along the Interstate. We've tried planning ahead, but road construction or other delays, etc. can interfere. What do most folks do on long trips?

Pre-pandemic, we always took that approach too. Drove until we were ready to stop and then just find a place to stay. That worked well for many years. Never a problem. However, during/after initial Covid, we found that many places we tried were booked out and it became a hassle to chase down a hotel "on the fly". We now book ahead of time. That means we always get to stay in place we know is adequate, but it has the drawback of much less flexibility in terms of when to stop but also what route to take. Basically, you have to lock everything in before you leave - not our preference.

 

[Phroig]

To say I plan everything in advance would be an understatement. I like to drive about 450 miles a day. I look up hotels at each stop (availability/prices/ratings), and have everything booked for the trip, including the return. I sometimes spend hours on this, but I enjoy it. We do Airbnb for the destination, and that search might take several days.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire23]

When folks here travel significant distances (so that you must find lodging along the way) do you make reservations either ahead of time or (say) early in the afternoon? We typically drive until we can't drive any more and then pick from the available places at a medium sized city along the Interstate. We've tried planning ahead, but road construction or other delays, etc. can interfere. What do most folks do on long trips?

Without a cell phone we usually figure out where we're going to stay and book our hotels from home before we leave on a trip. Occasionally, if our itinerary is somewhat fluid, I'll bring the laptop and we'll book our next night's room before we check out in the morning.

We used to just get in the car & drive, stopping at rest areas with welcome centers and finding deals in the coupon books. But then when we'd show up with the coupons, those places started pulling that "sorry, we don't have any rooms available at that price" cr*p so we learned to have reservations and book ahead of time.

 

[audreyh1]

When folks here travel significant distances (so that you must find lodging along the way) do you make reservations either ahead of time or (say) early in the afternoon? We typically drive until we can't drive any more and then pick from the available places at a medium sized city along the Interstate. We've tried planning ahead, but road construction or other delays, etc. can interfere. What do most folks do on long trips?

We made several cross country road trips in 2020 and 2021 and did not have any trouble finding last minute hotel availability along the way at our usual places.

So we still don’t make arrangements until the last minute (or hour). We’ll have a general idea, but we don’t commit to the location or even which hotel until we are almost ready to stop. These days I’m usually busy reviewing options on my cellphone at the last charging stop for the day.

Just completed a 3000 mile loop and the last minute hotel booking still worked perfectly. The hotel apps make it very straightforward, and we check-in and out using the app and use digital key whenever we can.

 

[mystang52]

For just an overnight stay, I'd consider Fairfield Inn, or Spring Hill Suites, or equivalent from another chain. More than 1 night, my first second and third choices would be Marriott; if no Marriott, then Hilton or equivalent. I still squirm thinking about a discount motel I stayed at years ago. I think it was a Motel 8. I was there to run a Half Marathon in a somewhat remote area, so pickings were slim. It was gross. I had already rejected 2 rooms, and the "best" that I could get wasn't good. I literally lined the bed with towels, but had trouble sleeping. At least I had a good race. That one experience was plenty for me, regarding discount places.

 

[athena53]

As DH got older and had less stamina I tended to book rooms for our European trips that were close to the action or at least within walking distance to public transportation so he didn't get worn out before we even got to any attractions. I also wanted there to be a comfortable lounging are so he could watch TV (oh, yeah- needed a few channels in English) while I explored some more.

Now I go for Airbnb and middle-of-the-road places such as Hampton Inns, especially on road trips I'm perfectly happy with a 30-minute or hour-long walk into the areas I want to explore, with public transportation or Bolt/Uber in bad weather. Must-haves include Wi-Fi, A/C if it's likely to be stinking hot, cleanliness and peace and quiet.

Once in awhile I splurge with Hilton points- in Malta I paid for one night (about $360) and redeemed points for the second- room had a balcony facing the sea, so did the Executive Lounge I enjoyed during my stay. Not something I'd do for a week's visit but for 2 nights it was superb.

 

[DRC726]

We stay mostly at Hampton Inns and/or Courtyards or similar as they are always clean and have a decent breakfast. However, when in an especially scenic location, we will splurge and stay a couple of nights in very nice hotels to take the experience to another level. We learned long ago not to cheap out on hotels. The cheaper chains tend to be franchises run by people whose standards of cleanliness are poor and you suspect that the sheets haven't been changed....

 

[ivinsfan]

When folks here travel significant distances (so that you must find lodging along the way) do you make reservations either ahead of time or (say) early in the afternoon? We typically drive until we can't drive any more and then pick from the available places at a medium sized city along the Interstate. We've tried planning ahead, but road construction or other delays, etc. can interfere. What do most folks do on long trips?

This can be a risky approach in modern times...we usually have some idea of where we want to stop for the night. Then around 3 pm or so start checking close towns on our cells..that way if the place we choose first has nothing decent open we can stop sooner or drive a little longer to find a decent room Cause the last thing you want to do on a long road trip is drive backwards to find a place to sleep.

 

[Out of Steam]

To say I plan everything in advance would be an understatement. I like to drive about 450 miles a day. I look up hotels at each stop (availability/prices/ratings), and have everything booked for the trip, including the return.

This is my wife's preference, including the maximum distance. Left to my own devices, I'll push to 550 miles, which allows me to get home from most of New England in a single day.

 

[Jerry1]

To say I plan everything in advance would be an understatement. I like to drive about 450 miles a day. I look up hotels at each stop (availability/prices/ratings), and have everything booked for the trip, including the return. I sometimes spend hours on this, but I enjoy it. We do Airbnb for the destination, and that search might take several days.

This is my wife's preference, including the maximum distance. Left to my own devices, I'll push to 550 miles, which allows me to get home from most of New England in a single day.

The drive I do the most is to see my dad and it’s about 625 miles. I used to just do it in one day, but that’s no longer my preference. I like to stop somewhere after half way. It’s about an 11 hour drive with minimal stops so I like to get 6 hours the first day. Thankfully there are two decent size towns at that point so availability has never been a problem.

Given that it’s just a quick overnighter, I’ll stay just about anywhere, but my standards have gone up a bit over the years. It goes up a lot more if DW goes along for the trip. Definitely like a place that has a breakfast included. Nice to be able to grab and go in the morning.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire23]

This is my wife's preference, including the maximum distance. Left to my own devices, I'll push to 550 miles, which allows me to get home from most of New England in a single day.

I used to drive 15, 16, even up to 18 hours in a day. Tried a few 12s and even a 15 once after I got married and DW put the kibosh on that. Now we look up our route on Google Maps and we only drive however many miles we could get in 6 hours. We might take 10-12 hours to get there if we stop for lunch/shopping/touristy stuff, but 6 hours of distance driving is all we do.

I was a little apprehensive about having more hotel stays when we travel at first but I've found it to be actually much more relaxing. If we see an interesting billboard or roadside attraction we can pretty much stop at will until it gets too late. If there's not much to see along the route then we explore the town a little if we get in too early to check in. Once in a great while on our last leg on the way home, we will push it to an 8 or at most 10 hour stretch if it means getting home a day earlier but otherwise the 6 hour rule actually works pretty nice for us.

 

[SecondAttempt]

So we still don’t make arrangements until the last minute (or hour). We’ll have a general idea, but we don’t commit to the location or even which hotel until we are almost ready to stop. These days I’m usually busy reviewing options on my cellphone at the last charging stop for the day.

I think you pay significantly more as a walk-in. I've seen this standing in line at checkin at some hotels where the people without a reservation are offered a rate much higher than mine. And I'v efound I rarely get a good rate at an airport hotel if I call from the airport to checkin the same night (if a flight was canceled for example.) I used to Fly in to LAX quite a bit with a final leg to Arizona. I always paid much less atthe same hotel when I booked a planned overnight stay vs when I had to stay at the last minut ebecause of a cancellation or delay.

 

[SecondAttempt]

If we see an interesting billboard or roadside attraction we can pretty much stop at will until it gets too late.

I am planning a couple of road trips, Lincoln Highway and Route 66. I am trying to keep most days under 200 miles for exactly that reason. But those trips are unique in the sense they are completly about the quirkiness along the route and having time for the unexpected.

 

[skyking1]

I have a trip across country in November, helping a friend move. She has booked the AirBnB's all the way there in advance. That is the most structured I have seen but I chose how far we drive each day. I'll be towing a car trailer and doing ~500 miles per day.
For the return we are winging it, probably picking in the morning the direction and how far, and looking for airbnb's/hotels.

 

[audreyh1]

G

I think you pay significantly more as a walk-in. I've seen this standing in line at checkin at some hotels where the people without a reservation are offered a rate much higher than mine. And I'v efound I rarely get a good rate at an airport hotel if I call from the airport to checkin the same night (if a flight was canceled for example.) I used to Fly in to LAX quite a bit with a final leg to Arizona. I always paid much less atthe same hotel when I booked a planned overnight stay vs when I had to stay at the last minut ebecause of a cancellation or delay.

No, I don’t think I do. Maybe if hotels were full, but they generally are not and they compete with other hotels in the immediate area. It’s also easy to skip a busy area when you are driving.

And I’m not a walk-in or even calling around. I have memberships in a couple of brands and use their apps to look at availability plus use my AAA discount which is often significant. The apps each bring up prices and availability at several hotels in the vicinity.

We certainly don’t stand around in any check-in line hoping for a deal. I choose the accommodations from the app online before arriving and we have usually checked in online, picked our room, and have our digital key and go straight to the room upon arrival. If someone hasn’t experienced this type of “touch less” check-in and out experience I highly recommend it.

This is for road trips on the way to a destination where flexibility is valuable to us. If I’m flying somewhere which fixes the schedule it’s a different story. At destination I do plan ahead and it’s generally not a hotel.

 

[DrRoy]

Definitely spending more on better lodging. We always pay up to stay in National Park lodges to be closer to the sights. We used to talk about owning a vacation home, maybe a log place. That would be so expensive that it seemed better to rent one some time. We are going to try this in Colorado later, with a VRBO log home, 3 nights, $500+/night.

 

[athena53]

I like to book ahead on road trips, too. Typically I'm driving from KC to the Carolinas to visit family. When it was DH and me, he did the driving and I'd make a reservation when we were 3-4 hours away from stopping. Now that it's just me and it's the same general destination I know where I want to stop (just past Nashville going out, around Paducah, KY coming home) and I book it ahead of time. You never know when a place might be overrun- we once thought we'd make a stop in Paducah during the weekend of the National Quilt Show and ended up driving an hour past Paducah. Another time there was a HS wrestling tournament in an area where I was staying and they were turning away walk-ins.

 

[ivinsfan]

I agree with audrey on the last minute booking..it's not a walk in. And yes belong to a couple of the big chains loyalty groups. I will say the downside can be you get a room that isn't in your preferred location because of higher occupancy...OTOH I booked a last minute room in a busy area and got my EXACT desired room ,top floor away from the elevator.


In an era when cancellation polices have gotten more punitive, we don't book ahead on a driving trip. We don't want to give up our flexibility.