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I hate the Best Western chain as a whole. They never seem to update the rooms and they always smell like a mixture of old cigarettes and multiple cleaning chemicals.

But worse than Best Western is Travelodge. They stink! I once checked in to a Travelodge, checked out the room, went to dinner, checked in to another hotel and went back to the Travelodge to check out and they told me I couldn't so I said to hell with it. I told my boss about it and he said "Don't worry about it, it happens to the best of us."

I have been too afraid to stay at any Econolodge.

I have had good luck with Days Inn. They've got great ones and they have stinkers. The key is to pay attention to their ratings in their guidebook. They tend to tell the truth. I stayed in one Days Inn in El Paso, TX that was so nice and had a pool that I wanted to move in. I've stayed at the Days Inn near Chicago's O'Hare with flight crews, that was so bad you couldn't wait to make that 6 am flight the next morning.

Why is it that all Holiday Inn Express hotels have been better than Holiday Inn? I mean really, Holiday Inn Express is a great chain.

Airport Hiltons should be avoided unless the airline is paying. They charge $150-$300 for an $80 room. That said, most other Hiltons are nice if a bit expensive.

In Santa Rosa I spent 7 months living in the Redwood Inn and Trailer Park. The room was $41 per night and had a kitchenette. The place was worn down but kept spotless. They painted while I was there. The parking lot was swept daily. They changed my bedspread every couple of weeks. And they only presented me with a bill once per month. I had my father stay there and I had my technician stay there twice. The place was run by Apu.

I have had decent luck with Motel 6 and Motel 8, you generally get what you pay for.

Microtel is alright if you just need to sleep one night somewhere. The rooms are tiny, spartan and lit with florescent tubes. But they are all of a uniform quality. They are cheap but not any cheaper than the other low-priced chains.

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Expect to get a severe reaming by Kat Baggett and Eli Blasingame shortly.

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What is true of most of these chains is that local management has as much to do with the comfort of the place as does the chain. That said I have also found that in most places, newer is better.

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Aaron,

Best is Embassy Suites in Bellevue WA (my employer at the time was paying for it). Great room, free happy-hour drinks every day, and free breakfast made to order. I could get used to that.

Went to a Travelodge in South Carolina. The phone lines were messed up. I HAD to get on line to e-mail in a report and an order part so that they could get ordered first thing in the morning.

I went down to the lobby and asked them to use their FAX line in the office. It took me 10 minutes to convince them to let me do it. I had all the messages composed off-line. It would only take me three minutes for crikey sake! (Longer than it actually took to make the call!) The old bitty stood there with her arms crossed, tapping her foot on the ground the whole time.

I asked her to put in a work order to have the line fixed ASAP. HECK! I used my phone line tester to tell them exactly what the problem was! She promised me that it would be done first thing in the morning. I came back later on, tested the line and it hadn't been fixed. Not only that, nobody had been into the room... not even houskeeping! (I always "fix" the door.) When I asked the woman at the desk she swore the guy had been there and fixed it.

I just packed up my shit, checked out and went across the street to the Sleep Inn. It was $10 more expensive. That's why I didn't go there in the first place. Never went back. From that day on, the boss didn't complain about me going to the Sleep Inn. It was a MUCH nicer place, anyway.

What's more, after staying at the Sleep Inn a few times the manager got to know me and would hook me up with better rates.

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With that in mind, I haven't had too many complaints with various places I have stayed. However there is one chain I do not patronize just by the name alone. Ever hear of "Budgetell motels"? Something about that name just doesn't strike me right. Don't get it? Say it out loud.

You can check them out online at www.baymontinns.com .

As for Budgetel, there is 1 Budgetel in name only still in existance (in order to keep the trademark on the name) in Appleton, WI. It has all of the Baymont amenities (and was remodeled in the conversion), but just has the other name.

Like Brad, I didn't really care about the facilities: I was only going to be there for about eight hours. The evening I arrived was one of the hottest of the year, yet the radiators were full on and the valves seemed to be jammed open. The windows would not open. A couple in the next room were having an almighty row: the woman was explaining in gruesome detail what she would do to her husband if he didn't accede to a list of demands. Six sweaty and sleepness hours later I was seated over breakfast (barely eatable) with a fat South African who decided to lecture me about how the 'bliks' were ruining Africa and that 'we should have hanged that shit Mandela when we had the chance.'