Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

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Alexa9
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Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by Alexa9 »

What do you expect out of a hotel for $50-500/night?

$50 basic highway exit bed and bathroom motel, clean but simple
$100 pool and hot tub, nicer, breakfast, wifi
$200 nice location with restaurant, possibly near beach
$300 ocean view
$400 all inclusive beach resort
$500 Ritz NYC, Paris, London, prime location, perfect service
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nisiprius
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by nisiprius »

I once stayed in a Hyatt Regency in San Diego--it was a business trip, the group was traveling with the company president, and he arranged the booking. And there was no water. (City water main construction in progress). They gave us a complementary liter of European spring water when we checked in.

So, put running water and flush toilets on that list--because you can't take them for granted.
Last edited by nisiprius on Wed Dec 20, 2017 7:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
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boglegirl
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by boglegirl »

Alexa9 wrote: Tue Dec 19, 2017 4:22 pm What do you expect out of a hotel for $50-500/night?

$50 basic highway exit bed and bathroom motel, clean but simple
$100 pool and hot tub, nicer, breakfast, wifi
$200 nice location with restaurant, possibly near beach
$300 ocean view
$400 all inclusive beach resort
$500 Ritz NYC, Paris, London, prime location, perfect service
It's completely dependent on supply vs demand for area & time of year you're staying. It's not uncommon for my husband to pay in the $300 range you mentioned on a business trip to Chicago or the Bay area, and end up with a room in a Hampton Inn that matches the amenities in the $100 range.

But if you have some flexibility you can probably enjoy the amenities you listed at those price points.

ETA: don't forget parking and resort fees. These can add up to $70/night at many nicer hotels. With taxes and those fees, the $300 room you think you're getting will cost you $400.
canderson
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by canderson »

This is highly dependent on country/city. $500 in NYC can get you a run of the mill Marriott/Hyatt but we paid $289/night last week in Berlin for the Regent. That same Regent if in NYC would push $800+/night easy.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by DrGoogle2017 »

It depends on the season too. Prepaid senior rate on Hilton is a lot lower than cancel anytime on booking.com and on trivago.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by HIinvestor »

Yes, location, location, location affects what you can get and the pricing. If you’re not too picky, you can take your chances in a lot if cities and end up with some nice surprises in lodging on Hotwire or Priceline. We got a 3 night stay at a very nice suite hotel near Pamona for relatives graduation which included breakfast buffet, free parking and two beds plus a sofa bed. I believe we paid $40/nite of so. Rack rate was many times that. When we go to medical conventions with MDs, hotels at nice cities range $200-500+. When we go to conventions with respiratory therapists, 2nd tier cities and hotels $100-300 or so.

I have stayed at 5* hotels in DC at amazingly low prices (bid on Hotwire and got 10-25% of Rack Rate). Amenities vary, depending on age of hotel, brand, city.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by Johm221122 »

Hotel rates are very dependent on many factors,$50 dollar rooms in my area would probably be rent by the hour places that I would recommend you avoid
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verbose
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by verbose »

I don’t know if you can get anything for $50/night that meets any sort of standard besides “has a roof and a door.”

About fifteen years ago, we had to stay in a hotel in a suburb of Indianapolis due to an ice storm during our road trip. Getting off the highway at midnight, we only found rooms available in Knights Inn for about $50/night. The room was not clean. I had to sleep on the pillow that smelled least like stale sweat. My husband gallantly took the second-least smelly pillow. The bathroom was poorly lit and we tried not to look at it.

Hotel prices are based on location, time, and amenities. “Clean” is an amenity.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by cheese_breath »

For $50 I hope for a solid door with good locks and windows with iron bars.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by RudyS »

NY Thruway exit 35, East Syracuse, is overbuilt with motels. Recently stayed at a very acceptable Quality Inn for $50.00. As said earlier, it's all about location.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by johnbarry »

$350 per night in the village in NYC: I've stayed in better hostels. Nice view, but old, smelly bed, heating which made loud banging noises all night, a festering bathroom, and barely edible breakfast. Amazing location though.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by mxs »

verbose wrote: Tue Dec 19, 2017 6:32 pm I don’t know if you can get anything for $50/night that meets any sort of standard besides “has a roof and a door.”

About fifteen years ago, we had to stay in a hotel in a suburb of Indianapolis due to an ice storm during our road trip. Getting off the highway at midnight, we only found rooms available in Knights Inn for about $50/night. The room was not clean. I had to sleep on the pillow that smelled least like stale sweat. My husband gallantly took the second-least smelly pillow. The bathroom was poorly lit and we tried not to look at it.

Hotel prices are based on location, time, and amenities. “Clean” is an amenity.
About fifteen years ago I did a travelling college job in Tennessee and stayed in some Knights Inns. A little better than your description, but not much better.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by denovo »

It's completely dependent on supply vs demand for area & time of year you're staying. It's not uncommon for my husband to pay in the $300 range you mentioned on a business trip to Chicago or the Bay area, and end up with a room in a Hampton Inn that matches the amenities in the $100 range
.


+1

If you have any flexibility when scheduling travel , you should watch out for major conventions or other big events, since the prices go through the roof.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by flyingaway »

Expensive business hotels usually charge extra for almost everything: breakfast, wifi, coffee, etc.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by whodidntante »

I've not found much relationship between price and value for hotel rooms. My $700 room wasn't hugely better, or even better, than $300 rooms I've had.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by daveydoo »

Alexa9 wrote: Tue Dec 19, 2017 4:22 pm What do you expect out of a hotel for $50-500/night?
For vacation, no hotels -- only VRBO or HomeAway (or similar). Especially if there are more than two of you. For less than the price of two hotel rooms, you can generally get a remarkably better property with several times the square footage. We "splurged" for these (how much per night?!) after realizing it was still less than two only-decent hotel rooms. Plus, you get a real neighborhood and a kitchen. And the online photos are of your actual place.
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JoMoney
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by JoMoney »

As others have said, it all depends on location, time of year, supply/demand.
On a summer weekday in Las Vegas, with no major conventions in town, you can find some full featured hotels for $50 a night.
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Snowjob
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by Snowjob »

50$ - Bedbugs, hidden cameras, a break in, general uncleaniness
100-200 - A good night sleep, peace of mind
300+ - Regret, a hole in my wallet, hoping work paid for it :D
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by snackdog »

There is not much correlation so this entire thread seems ridiculous. I just stayed in a $1000/night room (for work) and it was nothing special. It was large and included a deck with hot tub but was not well furnished. There were rodents in the outdoor area after dark. Breakfast was blah. On the other hand, we have stayed in fabulous villas in Bali for a fraction that price that included private pool and a cook. We had the penthouse suite on a cruise for about $40pp/night a few years ago and that included all you can eat and entertainment.

Your best bet is on single night stays and just turning up at the desk after 6pm. You can do way better than rack rate by talking directly to the desk staff.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by sport »

snackdog wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2017 3:12 am Your best bet is on single night stays and just turning up at the desk after 6pm. You can do way better than rack rate by talking directly to the desk staff.
This may not work depending on demand. One time I was staying in a motel with advanced reservations. I went to the front desk in the evening to get some extra towels. While I was there, someone came in and asked the desk clerk "I saw your vacancy sign, how much is the room?" The quoted price was four times what I was paying.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by Johm221122 »

snackdog wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2017 3:12 am

Your best bet is on single night stays and just turning up at the desk after 6pm. You can do way better than rack rate by talking directly to the desk staff.
I work at a hotel and about 30% of time you would be looking all night because hotels are full
For best rate shop on line and call 1800 number if you find it lower than hotel's web site,they should match plus cut 10%
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by JMacDonald »

One can find a room in Santa Fe, NM for $50 a night or $500.
https://www.motel6.com/en/motels.nm.santa-fe.150.html
http://fivegraces.com
I have stayed at the $50 a night motel many times and survived, but never at the $500 hotel a night.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by carolinaman »

One major factor you did not mention: safety and security. Also, cleanliness (my wife is big on this and can quickly spot cleanliness problems). Generally, the lower the price, the less safe the hotel is. However, there are many exceptions to this rule both low priced and high priced. I have seen reviews of hotel chains where safety is rated.

In our city, there seems to be a disproportionate number of robberies and murders at cheap motels off interstates.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by chrischris »

For $50 in the US, I would expect my room to have been used heavily for drug use and other various crimes, such as prostitution.

I would strongly suggest everyone on this forum avoid such a place.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by nisiprius »

I wish that travel guides would routinely mention the age of the hotel building and/or the number of years since the last renovation, since I have the feeling that that would be the single most reliable guide to the "general" experience. Not even the... well, let's say the $150/night hotels... seem to be able to keep up with maintenance perfectly. On the other hand, a newly-constructed Motel 6 ain't bad.

One potential issue with chains is that... I don't know if there are exceptions at the high end... even if you think the chain's offerings are completely standardized, you may be fooled by staying in a few that were actually built by the chain... and then encounter one that was some other hotel that was acquired by the chain. So the logo and the size of the towels and the kind of soap are standard, but the general room layout, the A/C, etc. aren't.

P.S. How many readers are old enough to remember that Motel 6 originally charged $6 a night, and Super 8 originally charged $8?
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by nisiprius »

Here's a weird one. At the cheap hotels, I expect to get free WiFi. At the expensive ones, I don't. I hate that hate that hate that. It sucks. It's just wrong. It's the modern-day equivalent of outrageous charges for phone calls on the room phone. Usually I cave in and pay. Sometimes I complain and moan and bitch and they say "oh, well" and give it to us for free. One chain, I won't mention which because I'm not sure... but it's one of the seriously high-end chains... have a weird deal in which you can get free WiFi but only for one device. You have to enter your last name and room number to log on.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by Rupert »

Snowjob wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2017 2:59 am 50$ - Bedbugs, hidden cameras, a break in, general uncleaniness
100-200 - A good night sleep, peace of mind
300+ - Regret, a hole in my wallet, hoping work paid for it :D
+1. I find that there's a tremendous difference between a $50 hotel room and a $100 hotel room in terms of cleanliness, safety, quality of bed/linens/towels, etc. (Note that I'm talking about most parts of the country here. You aren't going to find a decent $100 hotel room in the middle of Manhattan or San Francisco.) So I will always pay that premium. But there's not that much difference between a $100 hotel room and a $300 hotel room except, usually, location. I will only pay that premium when it places me much closer to whatever it is I'm in the location to see, e.g., a national park. Resorts are different as they include amenities you aren't typically looking for in a hotel room, and so I wouldn't try to compare a resort room with a hotel room.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by DrGoogle2017 »

We found good price with Wyndham hotel chain, less than $50, free breakfast and WiFi. It’s near the train station near Grand Canyon. Las Vegas is another one, MGM, again it depends on the week.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by lthenderson »

canderson wrote: Tue Dec 19, 2017 5:22 pm This is highly dependent on country/city.
+1

The most expensive hotel room I can rent in a hundred mile radius of where I live is probably right at $100.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by MI_bogle »

nisiprius wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2017 7:17 am Here's a weird one. At the cheap hotels, I expect to get free WiFi. At the expensive ones, I don't. I hate that hate that hate that. It sucks. It's just wrong. It's the modern-day equivalent of outrageous charges for phone calls on the room phone. Usually I cave in and pay. Sometimes I complain and moan and bitch and they say "oh, well" and give it to us for free. One chain, I won't mention which because I'm not sure... but it's one of the seriously high-end chains... have a weird deal in which you can get free WiFi but only for one device. You have to enter your last name and room number to log on.
That's because the cheaper hotels are competing, and use it as a feature to get you to stay there. It doesn't cost them that much and it's something people really like. Whereas at a fancy hotel, frequently used for business and conferences, often the user is not actually the one paying the bill, their company/client is
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by MI_bogle »

chrischris wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2017 7:01 am For $50 in the US, I would expect my room to have been used heavily for drug use and other various crimes, such as prostitution.

I would strongly suggest everyone on this forum avoid such a place.
I've stayed at many hotels for $50 a night or less that had zero evidence of drug use or shady behavior. It's all about location

In LCOL areas, hotels can be very cheap and still be plenty nice.

In HCOL areas I'm sure a $50 room would be disgusting and in a dangerous neighborhood
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by RudyS »

MI_bogle wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2017 10:04 am
chrischris wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2017 7:01 am For $50 in the US, I would expect my room to have been used heavily for drug use and other various crimes, such as prostitution.

I would strongly suggest everyone on this forum avoid such a place.
I've stayed at many hotels for $50 a night or less that had zero evidence of drug use or shady behavior. It's all about location

In LCOL areas, hotels can be very cheap and still be plenty nice.

In HCOL areas I'm sure a $50 room would be disgusting and in a dangerous neighborhood
+1 It helps to look in TripAdvisor for reviews. I have found them
for the most part legitimate.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by researcher »

MI_bogle wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2017 10:04 am I've stayed at many hotels for $50 a night or less...In LCOL areas, hotels can be very cheap and still be plenty nice.
Recently stayed at a very acceptable Quality Inn for $50.00.
We found good price with Wyndham hotel chain, less than $50, free breakfast and WiFi
Could you please provide links to the specific hotels you've stayed at, that cost less than $50/night, and were nice/clean/safe?

I live in a LCOL area, and travel to many other LCOL places, and haven't seen such a hotel since the 1990's.
Last edited by researcher on Wed Dec 20, 2017 10:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by SmileyFace »

$50 - Unsuitable - bedbeds, crime-ridden, dirty, not upkept.
$100-$200 - Decent hotel out in the suburbs (Crappy hotel in the city - unless its a greatly reduced rate).
$300+ - Decent hotel in the city
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by JoMoney »

researcher wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2017 10:27 am
MI_bogle wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2017 10:04 am I've stayed at many hotels for $50 a night or less that had zero evidence of drug use or shady behavior. It's all about location
In LCOL areas, hotels can be very cheap and still be plenty nice.
Could you please provide links to the specific hotels you've stayed at, that cost less than $50/night, and were nice/clean/safe?

I live in a LCOL area, and travel to many other LCOL places, and haven't seen such a hotel since the 1990's.
Here's one I found on priceline.com for a hotel I've stayed at in Las Vegas.
Image

Can't find any links advertising the price, but I've payed between $49.99 and $69.99 for Motel 6 in San Luis Obispo / Pismo Beach California in late winter / early spring. Not exactly the nicest hotel, but not bad, and a really nice/safe area.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by researcher »

JoMoney wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2017 10:38 am Can't find any links advertising the price, but I've payed between $49.99 and $69.99 for Motel 6 in San Luis Obispo / Pismo Beach California in late winter / early spring. Not exactly the nicest hotel, but not bad, and a really nice/safe area.
Again, please include the website/url to the specific hotels where you've paid less than $50 for a nice/safe/clean room.

Is this the hotel you are referring to?
I think this proves that we have extremely divergent views on what qualifies as nice/safe/clean.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Revie ... ornia.html
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by iasw »

The most expensive cash I've ever paid for a hotel room was around $350/night, and that was at the Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World (on the monorail and you can walk to Magic Kingdom). Room was very nice and resort amenities were good. I felt like I had a good value out of that.

When we were in D.C. I used points to pay for our hotel room. Cash rate would have been $400/night, and I would have felt very cheated. Decent location, but tiny room. I was paying for location.

btw, hotel points are where its at. Don't forget to use your loyalty points or even buy some if the math works out. Some points redemptions avoid tax and surcharges, too.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by lthenderson »

researcher wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2017 10:27 am Could you please provide links to the specific hotels you've stayed at, that cost less than $50/night, and were nice/clean/safe?
I've used Camping Cabins by Koa when on a roadtrip where I like to make time. Just a small cabin with a bed. Last time I rented one it was $10/person for the night.

https://koa.com/ways-to-stay/camping-cabins/
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by JoMoney »

researcher wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2017 10:47 am
JoMoney wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2017 10:38 am Can't find any links advertising the price, but I've payed between $49.99 and $69.99 for Motel 6 in San Luis Obispo / Pismo Beach California in late winter / early spring. Not exactly the nicest hotel, but not bad, and a really nice/safe area.
Again, please include the website/url to the specific hotels where you've paid less than $50 for a nice/safe/clean room.

Is this the hotel you are referring to?
I think this proves that we have extremely divergent views on what qualifies as nice/safe/clean.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Revie ... ornia.html
Yes, that one and this one
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Revie ... ornia.html

Here's a link to the Excalibur
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Revie ... evada.html
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by MathWizard »

Under $100 is nearly gone.

We normally stay in places at about the $100/night rate.
Best Western,

Strangely enough, you get breakfast at those hotels too.

At the $350/night hotels, I end up paying nearly $20 for a breakfast buffet.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by Charlesmetz83 »

researcher wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2017 10:47 am
JoMoney wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2017 10:38 am Can't find any links advertising the price, but I've payed between $49.99 and $69.99 for Motel 6 in San Luis Obispo / Pismo Beach California in late winter / early spring. Not exactly the nicest hotel, but not bad, and a really nice/safe area.
Again, please include the website/url to the specific hotels where you've paid less than $50 for a nice/safe/clean room.

Is this the hotel you are referring to?
I think this proves that we have extremely divergent views on what qualifies as nice/safe/clean.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Revie ... ornia.html
I couldn't agree more. If we showed up to a motel 6 for lodging my wife might count that as grounds for divorce.
We generally don't stay at anything crazy mainly marriott properties in their lower tier like fairfield or their autograph collection. Staying downtown Minneapolis next week for $90 a night at the autograph collection. We generally try to keep it under $150, unless the location/time dictates a larger budget.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by JoMoney »

Charlesmetz83 wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2017 11:21 am
researcher wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2017 10:47 am
JoMoney wrote: Wed Dec 20, 2017 10:38 am Can't find any links advertising the price, but I've payed between $49.99 and $69.99 for Motel 6 in San Luis Obispo / Pismo Beach California in late winter / early spring. Not exactly the nicest hotel, but not bad, and a really nice/safe area.
Again, please include the website/url to the specific hotels where you've paid less than $50 for a nice/safe/clean room.

Is this the hotel you are referring to?
I think this proves that we have extremely divergent views on what qualifies as nice/safe/clean.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Revie ... ornia.html
I couldn't agree more. If we showed up to a motel 6 for lodging my wife might count that as grounds for divorce.
We generally don't stay at anything crazy mainly marriott properties in their lower tier like fairfield or their autograph collection. Staying downtown Minneapolis next week for $90 a night at the autograph collection. We generally try to keep it under $150, unless the location/time dictates a larger budget.
Well, hopefully there's a lesson in there about people having "divergent" perspectives.
I'll leave it to your imagination about places I've stayed that were under $50 that I would not consider relatively nice/safe/clean.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by Charlesmetz83 »

I remember stopping at a motel 6 on our way to Florida when I was growing up and it was the first time I saw a sign advertising hourly rates.
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Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by btenny »

$100 is possible but not likely for a decent hotel. The only time I find this low a price is way off season or in way out of the way locations. I know we paid $100ish Euro in Valencia Spain for a nice hotel in late November but also know that spot is $200-$300 Euros in the summer. Likewise I have paid $100ish for a nice hotel on the water front in Morro Bay in central California in late October. That hotel is $200ish in the summer.

But I have never found a hotel under $100 that I would stay in, any time. IMO Motel 6 is just bad in most towns and I would not stay in them. In my travels I find that $130ish is the going rate today for a OK hotel in a off freeway location in summer or high seasons. Hotels like La Quita or Best Western or Comfort Suites fill this bill for us. But these places are not near downtown or the beach. We also see prices vary a lot from weekends to weekdays or vice versa depending on the location. We go to Napa/Sonoma for wine events a lot. It we stay over Friday or Saturday the prices are $200ish but Sunday is $140ish. This is for a motel in Fairfield that is 15 miles away. If we stay right in Sonoma the price is $300ish. So again location and timing is crucial.

Good Luck and Safe Travels.
btenny
Posts: 5702
Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2007 6:47 pm

Re: Hotel $50-500/night Expectations

Post by btenny »

Oh and one of the worst hotels we have ever stayed at was the Disney Sports Experience (???) hotel in Orlando. We paid $200 for that lousy place. We stayed one night and left early. The beds were terrible. There are no carpets or rugs in the rooms so the floors are hard and cold. It was a 1/4 mile walk to my room from the parking lot. It is a 1/2 mile walk to the lobby from the pool or your room. It is a 1/4 mile walk to the lobby from the car check-in area. It seems most guest come by bus so forget cars. You have to wear a plastic wrist band in lieu of a room key. The place was over run with kids running and yelling and generally out of control until about 2AM. Going to the pool was like going to kids camp. The room walls were so thin I thought there were made of paper.

Oh and we had a similar bad experience at Animal Kingdom. I was shocked how bad it has become. I will never recommend Disney stuff in Florida again, ever. The attractions are just mediocre and very over crowded with bad customer service.
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