La Quinta Inns: OK place to stay for a night?

[Nukeman7]

These are by definition all 2-3 stars, including up to Best Western Plus if I remember right. They don't have bell boys, restaurants, conference room, etc but they usually come with free breakfasts. Normally the 4+ starts one are like Hilton Garden Inn or Hyatt House and those don't come with free breakfast or parking usually.

It has nothing to do with only quality within the star rating, like cleaniness or staff quality.

Yep, my post was not intended to suggest the 2-3 star class properties were related to any user reviews or ratings. A 1 star class property can theoretically be rated as 5 stars by reviewers on TripAdvisor, Yelp or Google Reviews, albeit unlikely. My preference is to stay in a 3 to 4 star class hotel that offers good value and consistent quality (e.g., Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Courtyard Marriott, Residence Inn, Drury Inn & Suites, etc.) as long as it has a 4+ rating on TripAdvisor. However, one must be more flexible if travelling with a pet.

 

[Dave Hess]

I check reviews of any hotel before I travel.

I don’t want to go to a sketchy hotel to save money.

 

[Pablo]

I check reviews of any hotel before I travel.

I don’t want to go to a sketchy hotel to save money.

Yeah. We've seen your account balances.





Sorry couldn't resist.

 

[Dave Hess]

Yeah. We've seen your account balances.





Sorry couldn't resist.

I can afford the Ritz Carlton but stay at a $150 night hotel like the Fairfield Inn @ Issaquah when we visited Seattle.

Nothing fancy but a decent hotel in a clean, safe area away from the homeless crackheads in Seattle.

 

[y_p_w]

Mediocre at best 2nd life hotels, meaning it was a 1st rate Marriott or whatever 10 years ago, then the owners would not do what it takes to refurb, keep it up etc. Owner switches to a lower standard franchise. Dead giveaways: old tub with a curtain and 10 years worth of caulk and/or bath fitters style insert. The mechanics and HVAC will be lower end (Noise and a little janky). Low/dark/narrow hallways. A good bit of patina on most stuff. You get the idea.

There is better to be had for the almost the same $. (Avoid Fairfield Inn and Sheraton). Aloft is my go-to.

Asterick: LaQuita does allow small pets. That's why my parents stayed there. Not sure if that's your bag? Might also be a negative.

Don't know about that. A lot of them seem to be fairly small, where they could have previously been one of the lower tier brands from Hilton, Marriott, etc.

 

[D60]

They're great if you're drunk
Seriously I stayed in one in Arkansas and it was not so bad.
Clean and everything modern
Drama free

Oh geez, is there now a b*stard Zee09 child wandering around Arkansas??

Seriously, we use LQ because of the pet policy. Our dogs do not bark in the room, we do not leave them unattended in the room, and we do pick up their waste -- plus usually a few piles left behind rudely by other pack leaders.

 

[Zee09]

Oh geez, is there now a b*stard Zee09 child wandering around Arkansas??

Seriously, we use LQ because of the pet policy. Our dogs do not bark in the room, we do not leave them unattended in the room, and we do pick up their waste -- plus usually a few piles left behind rudely by other pack leaders.

Me and slick you know who...

 

[kballowe]

Like any other budget motel. Look the place and the location over.
Our experience is that they typically have more comfortable beds than most budget motels.

 

[Kira]

Reading this thread, I conclude I lived through a "Golden Age" of bargain motels.

There were "Scottish Inns" all over the place and they were good.
In Canada, I consistently found motels which kept a few rooms "unmodernized".
Those rooms seemed dated only in comparison to the refreshed ones.
They were always clean, in fine condition and significantly less expensive.