I am wanting to know if anyone knows how to determine a clean and safe hotel. I will be traveling by myself with my two boys and am looking for an affordable hotel for the night. I would love to hear your suggestions! i am hoping to not spend more than $60 or so. Is that reasonable? I forgot to put that I want to find a hotel in Knoxville as that is my half-way destination. hopefully somewhere off I-40 to I-75
Hey J., when looking for a great hotel, I always read the recent reviews that other guests have posted. That really gives you a great idea of what to expect. Have fun!
Try tripadvisor.com for recommendations from people who have stayed there before. I think $60 is a little optimistic. Check Orbitz and Travelocity for deals.
I just returned from a long trip out west from GA and I have to say Hampton Inn and Suites is worth the money.
Check out the outside of the hotel. Is the yard clean and free of debris? aIs the hotel neat in appearance? Go on line and see how the hotel was rated. Ask family or friends for a recomadation for a resonable price hotel.
Good morning J.,
I'm a loyal priceline.com customer. I just go in and put in the amount I want to spend and the star levels and I've gotten GREAT hotels for a very small price. We just stayed downtown Atlanta at the Renassance Hotel for $50 and it's listed as a 4 star hotel.
The amount will depend on where you are traveling. More popular cities-higher cost. I always try to check out the reviews online. That can really help.
Most of the traveling websites (hotels.com, hotwire.com, travelocity.com, etc) offer reviews of the hotels right on their site. I've found them very helpful in choosing rooms in the past.
The sites that were listed in the other responses are excellent places to check for reviews. Also, check to see if they allow pets. Everyone knows that not all pets are clean and housekeeping has to do a lot of extra cleaning in those rooms and sometimes they can get lax with it which can cause a flea and/or bed bug problem. I have also noticed that beach properties sometimes have a little bedbug problem due to people going to and from the beach and not showering before chilling in the bed or on the couch. If this happens enough and depending on how well the housekeeping staff is, this can be of concern. Remember, you get what you pay for but in these economic times, depending on where you are, I think you can do good with that amount.
www.hotwire.com is the best. I got a four star Hilton for $50. I can know all the other travel websites and have used all of them. This is the best. You choose the star rating and price, you won't know the name of the hotel until after you book, but it's AWESOME hotels. I have used it well over 30 times and have always been very happy with where I have stayed.
Hope this helped.
It all depends on where you're traveling to...what city and state. Will you be near a tourist attraction? If so, your $60 budget may be on the low end--or will only afford you an older motel that most likely will cause concern of cleanliness and saftey. Check out websites such as TripAdvisor.com, Expedia.com, Hotels.com and you can read guest reviews and see their ratings. Best of luck!
Hotels.com is a very good source of information and the site has customer ratings and comments with each hotel. Once u put in the area the listings and address is shown along with "star" ratings and customer comments. I read the comments sometimes even if I don't book with the site.
If you know where you'll be, all the responses below are great - looking online and reading reviews is a good judge of the hotel. If you're traveling and planning on just stopping somewhere along the way, you can look at rest areas and gas stations and each state has it's own "travel guide" it looks like an AutoTrader magazine for hotels. But, they have really good deals on hotels and they are all listed by exit number. This won't help you in researching the hotel, but it will definitely get you in a nicer hotel for much less money and will keep you from having to stop at each hotel with the kids and ask about rates.
Try www.tripadvisor.com. You can do a search by city, state where you will be traveling. I always find it helpful to have reviews from "real" people who have experienced a place.
It would really depend on where you are going. I know Fairfield/Marriott, Holiday Inns and Hampton Inns are nice. I would just caution you to find one that have interior entrance to the rooms. You know with a hallway and not an outside entrance. They are cleaner and safer. Make sure the rooms have peep holes so you can see who may be coming to your door (since you are traveling w/o a male companion)
