In my travels, I have stayed in a wide price range of inns. The cheapest, $29.95 a night just south of Florence SC. The most expensive, $280.00 a night in Times Square NYC. The difference in the rooms? ...not much, oddly enough!
I remember traveling with my parents years ago. We never stayed in anything fancy. The most fancy, the Holiday Inns, but usually, it was an independantly owned roadside inn. Dad, being in the trucking, had plenty of inside knowledge from the drivers on where the best value in motels were, and they definitely did not correspond to the price paid then, and still don't!
We actually camped out in our little pop-up camper most of the time when we traveled places, but arriving at a motel, especially a Holiday Inn was always special and fun! Seeing that big neon sign with the star on top was always great! It meant a big pool to play in, a TV with dozens of cable channels to choose from, and not having to clean up or make the bed because the maid would do that for you!
My take on it is that a HOTEL is an Inn that you access the rooms from inside corrodors, where a MOTEL is an inn where the rooms are accessable from the outside. There are still a lot of classic Motels around with the neon signs and unique appearances. Unfortunatley, they are being overcome just like the roadside diner is, and being overtaken by chains. Do you all have any interesting tales of road trips and motel fun when you were young?
So, here's my take on hotels nowadays;
Things that you get no matter how much you spend:
A room, usually in the neighborhood of 10 X 20, and about 200 sq/ft.
A bathroom, usually about 60 sq/ft with a tub/shower, sink & toilet
A basic Remote color TV varying in size from 21 to 27 inches
King bed, or two doubles
wall or window mounted heat pump / air conditioner
Lamps by bed, over table/desk, & by TV
maid service for daily guests
a telephone
Here's some of the things that you may or may not get, and price does not really make a difference in their prescence:
Swimming pools of varying sizes, sometimes indoor
CATV systems with as little as 12 channels or as many as 100
video game system that you must pay to use
a fitness center with a few beat-up cardio machines
sometimes a full hot breakfast, sometimes continental, sometimes none
A nice view or a terrible one, dependant upon location of the hotel
internet service, sometimes wireless
elevators
a cheap alarm clock/radio
Here's things that are usually better in fancier hotels:
A shuttle bus/van service
room service, at a fee
a fancy lobby
a fancy restaruant or bar on site
USA today newspaper delivered to the door
a wake-up call avaliable for a fee
bell-hop service avaliable at a fee
the gym/fitness center may be better equipped
Here's things that are BETTER in cheaper hotels:
Internet service, if avaliable is usually free
local telephone calls are usually free
many older hotels have kitchenettes with sink and/or stove
new hotels sometimes have microwaves and/or refrigerators
playground for children
windows that actually open
parking is usually free
Things I wish hotels had, and that I especially wish pricier places should have:
Better television sets with better pictures (Trinitron Wegas?)
a small HiFi sound system to play CD's, I-pod or other music on
a LOCAL newspaper delivered to my door
a small library that I can check out books at
better quality mattreses/beds
A VCR, DVD player or some way to play back camcorder footage on
A fancy shower
Fitness facilities with weight machines for a full workout (bowflex or soloflex?)
Free laundry facilites for guests
an accurate thermostat on the HVAC system
one of those neat new multi-head showers
I remember traveling with my parents years ago. We never stayed in anything fancy. The most fancy, the Holiday Inns, but usually, it was an independantly owned roadside inn. Dad, being in the trucking, had plenty of inside knowledge from the drivers on where the best value in motels were, and they definitely did not correspond to the price paid then, and still don't!
We actually camped out in our little pop-up camper most of the time when we traveled places, but arriving at a motel, especially a Holiday Inn was always special and fun! Seeing that big neon sign with the star on top was always great! It meant a big pool to play in, a TV with dozens of cable channels to choose from, and not having to clean up or make the bed because the maid would do that for you!
My take on it is that a HOTEL is an Inn that you access the rooms from inside corrodors, where a MOTEL is an inn where the rooms are accessable from the outside. There are still a lot of classic Motels around with the neon signs and unique appearances. Unfortunatley, they are being overcome just like the roadside diner is, and being overtaken by chains. Do you all have any interesting tales of road trips and motel fun when you were young?
So, here's my take on hotels nowadays;
Things that you get no matter how much you spend:
A room, usually in the neighborhood of 10 X 20, and about 200 sq/ft.
A bathroom, usually about 60 sq/ft with a tub/shower, sink & toilet
A basic Remote color TV varying in size from 21 to 27 inches
King bed, or two doubles
wall or window mounted heat pump / air conditioner
Lamps by bed, over table/desk, & by TV
maid service for daily guests
a telephone
Here's some of the things that you may or may not get, and price does not really make a difference in their prescence:
Swimming pools of varying sizes, sometimes indoor
CATV systems with as little as 12 channels or as many as 100
video game system that you must pay to use
a fitness center with a few beat-up cardio machines
sometimes a full hot breakfast, sometimes continental, sometimes none
A nice view or a terrible one, dependant upon location of the hotel
internet service, sometimes wireless
elevators
a cheap alarm clock/radio
Here's things that are usually better in fancier hotels:
A shuttle bus/van service
room service, at a fee
a fancy lobby
a fancy restaruant or bar on site
USA today newspaper delivered to the door
a wake-up call avaliable for a fee
bell-hop service avaliable at a fee
the gym/fitness center may be better equipped
Here's things that are BETTER in cheaper hotels:
Internet service, if avaliable is usually free
local telephone calls are usually free
many older hotels have kitchenettes with sink and/or stove
new hotels sometimes have microwaves and/or refrigerators
playground for children
windows that actually open
parking is usually free
Things I wish hotels had, and that I especially wish pricier places should have:
Better television sets with better pictures (Trinitron Wegas?)
a small HiFi sound system to play CD's, I-pod or other music on
a LOCAL newspaper delivered to my door
a small library that I can check out books at
better quality mattreses/beds
A VCR, DVD player or some way to play back camcorder footage on
A fancy shower
Fitness facilities with weight machines for a full workout (bowflex or soloflex?)
Free laundry facilites for guests
an accurate thermostat on the HVAC system
one of those neat new multi-head showers