Categorize These Hotels
 

I'm unabashedly turning to the Planet to do some of my work for me. I'm trying to put the following list of categories into three categories based on their general type and quality:

Best Western
Candlewood Suites
Comfort Inn
Embassy Suites
Fairfield Inn
Holiday Inn Express
La Quinta

So, based purely on your perceptions, how would you divide those into high-end, mid-range, and low-end hotels? And thanks for wasting your time helping me to do something productive. :)

Embassy Suites
Comfort Inn/Suites

Candlewood Suites
Best Western


Holiday Inn Express
La Quinta
Fairfield Inn


Best Western is the hard one for me to judge. I've been in some that I'd put ahead of everyone but ES, and some that belong in a group with EconoLodge.

Best Western's are independently owned. Some rock, some suck. Crap shoot. Candlewood Suites is like staying in prison, at least what I would guess prison is like. No like. Embassy Suites is pricier, but rooms always are consistently nice. Everyone raves over Holiday Inn Express shower heads. I don't get it. Run of the mill economy stay. Don't stay at any of the others.

The ones that say Suites - high end.
The ones that say Inn - mid range.
The ones that say Western, Express, or sound Hispanic - low end.


Seriously though, I've only ever stayed in a Comfort Inn and the Holiday Inn Express. I would say Comfort is on the low-end, while Holiday Inn Express is mid.

Low-End
Best Western
Comfort Inn

Mid-Range
Candlewood Suites
Holiday Inn Express
Fairfield Inn
La Quinta

High-End
Embassy Suites

Best Western doesn't own hotels as far as I know. The owners of properties that are branded BW have to meet a certain criteria. They are basically hotel/motel owners that benefit from being a "franchisee." The range of accommodations runs from pretty nice to crap.

The new La Quintas are nice. The older ones need some work but I think they're working on it. They are definitely mid-range.

Embassy Suites are a step up. They have a free happy hour in areas that allow that.

I've never stayed at the others listed.

BTW, one of the best places I've stayed ever was a Best Western. They are no longer a branded BW.

Man, you guys must be staying at the 1970's Comfort Inns in the sticks.

All the newer "Suite" properties I've stayed at have been rock solid.

Embassy Suites is for middle class people that want to feel like royalty. I love those hotels. The glass elevators, the plants, the plants, the plants.

LOL.

Got plants?

If I'm driving down the highway and I see all of those hotels, my perceptions are going to be:

Nicest to least nice (where I'd like to stay):

Embassy Suites
La Quinta
Fairfield Inn
Holiday Inn Express
Candlewood Suites (which I've never heard of)
Best Western
Comfort Inn

1 through 4 would all be "nice" and 5 through 7 would be "tolerable".


Best value to least value (where I'd choose to stay):

La Quinta
Holiday Inn Express
Fairfield Inn
Comfort Inn
Embassy Suites
Candlewood Suites (which I've never heard of)
Best Western

La Quinta and Holiday Inn Express always seem to be a nice room at a reasonable price. Fairfield is too expensive most times for what it is. Comfort Inn is cheap in all aspects. Embassy Suites is expensive in all aspects. Never heard of Candlewood. Best Western is usually cheap but run down.

My perceptions?

High End: Embassy Suites

Middle: Holiday Inn Express, Fairfield Inn, Candlewood Suites, Comfort Inn

Low: LaQuinta, Best Western