How to Find a Nice Hotel Without Breaking the Bank?

Country inn hotels are 90 ish + taxes, although it may be more in a large city. They have good hot breakfasts.

We have had very good fortune with Hampton Inns. Clean, nice rooms, very nice breakfast area and breakfast included. You may find them just a hair more than $100/night but worth it. See if you can join any free "rewards" program to get discounts, perhaps.

Avoid EconoLodge at all costs. I have stayed in two and both were horror-movie bad and filthy.

We tend to prefer Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Comfort Suites. I like to know that we can easily have breakfast before leaving the hotel.

We found Comfort Suites quite by accident, when the Hampton Inn was full. One thing I've found that I like about them is that they tend to be a bit less than the other two, and much more spacious. I'm a little bit claustrophobic, so some hotel rooms are just too small.

The big disadvantage to Comfort Suites is that they skimp on the lighting, so the rooms feel a little dark to me.

Hampton Inns have the best coffee, fwiw.

Remember to use your AAA discount if you have AAA. And it's ok to ask if they have a manager's rate. I've found that all three chains often have a lower, unlisted rate, but you have to ask for it.

Make sure to sign up for the rewards program and you may get a free night.

If you go to www.coliryan.com then click on travel on the right hand side you can check out hotels there. It is still travelocity but you will get a discount for going through coliryan.com.
It may only be $10 or so but it's $10 in your pocket and not the hotels.
:)
Do you have family in MA? That's where I am.
Have a safe trip.

We have preferred Hampton Inn in the past few years. And yes, ALWAYS ask if they have a lower rate or a discounted rate or something. We almost always get a discounted rate (under $100).

Oh, and if you don't want to hang around to fight the "breakfast crowd" in the lobby, they usually have breakfast to-go in a paper sack at the front desk, with a bottle of water, a cereal/granola bar of some sort and a piece of fruit (an apple usually).

I'd look at hotels on tripadvisor.com. You can see rates and reviews. I've stayed at hotels I probably wouldn't have based on some really good reviews. It isn't a 'bargain' site, but it does help you locate decent, cheaper options.

I know different branches of hotels can vary. But, this summer we stayed at an AmericInn hotel in Madison, WI. I want to say it was around $100/night. But, they had amazing things to offer. They had a FREE happy hour from 4--7 (or something like that) which included free beer, wine, chicken strips, nachos, meatballs, etc. That was our dinner. They had a fabulous continental breakfast. They had a great pool and a really nice lounge set up with board games for guests to play. Look into AmericInn.

I use sites like Epedia or Travelocity to price hotels. I also go to the chains websites. Sometimes they have clubs that offer incentives like if you stay at their hotel 3 times you get a free stay. Sites like Priceline you can name your own price on hotels. You can also check Tripadvisor to find out the reviews of the hotels.

One goo tip is to use the 'newer' hotels .... like a Hampton Inn rather than a Hilton hotel b/c although part of the same 'family' they were most likely built w/in the last few years so they won't be as 'used' .

when you talk to the booking agent ask them how old is the property, when as it last updated and did the update include the rooms or just the public areas.... they should know all of that info and if they don't the actual location will!

priceline!! you can put in specific hotel names or chains. its a great way to save! we have stayed in many very nice hotels & never pay more than $100 per night & that is on the high side, usually we pay about $50 or less per night :))

I agree that Fairfield is a good choice, but I do want to suggest Priceline. You can choose what star hotel you would like and then bid on that category only and the website lets you know which hotels they will be choosing from.

We stay in hotels often and only choose 3 star or more. Most of the time we can get a 3 star for about $50 per night. We haven't had any bad surprises yet! :)

Super 8 hotels are usually very good. I work at one and we have guests that come through and tell me it's the only line they stay with. Prices are generally fairly good. Though it does depend on what town you will be in. Larger cities usually have higher prices as well as when you stay. Weekends in general cost more. If you plan it out and call ahead to book you should get the best prices available. Wait until you get there and the price may have gone up. Make sense? Good luck! :)

My ex's wife's son, (lost yet?) works in the bug fighter industry. We went to visit the family over Fall break and he was telling us they make nearly $2000per room they treat for bed bugs. So make sure you check the room thoroughly, do some research beforehand to see what signs to look for. He recommended we keep out luggage closed tightly and not leave it sitting on the counter open, not to set our stuff out, etc...have your things have as little exposure to the environment of the room as possible. The bed bugs are at epidemic levels across the USA. The person does not get any reaction to the bites for about 24-48 hours so the person can narrow it down but can't be certain if they stay in a different room each night of a trip. It could be from any of 3-4 hotels by the time you realize you are getting a rash.

Other than that I don't know which hotels are better than others.

My hubby in on the road a lot for work. We use the Hilton family of hotels mostly. Most of them have a free breakfast in the morning as well.

Hilton's are.... Hampton Inn.. good clean, basic, Hilton Garden Inn...little nicer than Hampton, more perks.

You can check the hotels out online vis the hotel website, call the hotel and ask for the rack rate (lowest rate). Most will work with you, especially if they are not sold out for the night.

Some have a web rate where the rate is much lower but you pay in advance and can't get refunded. I only do this is we are 100% sure of everything.

I worked a deal with a Houston TX very nice hotel that goes for $225 per night and got a corporate deal for hubby at $89 a night. He just has to stay so many nights a year to keep the rate which is a non issue since he is in Houston monthly for a week.

Good luck

Check groupon.com in that area they often have great hotel deals:) otherwise hotel.com has good deals

We like to stay at Comfort Suites. They are comfortable, and affordable. Most are pretty new, so they are clean. We usually spend around $80 per night for them. They also have a free breakfast, so that saves a bit, too.

We worked at Hyatt then eventually my husband went and worked for Marriott's computer tech department instead. Anyways we've stayed at marriott's for the last 10 years always. We get special rates naturally. But I agree I'd go with Fairfield Inn's. They are usually inexpensive and still very nice. Sure I prefer the full service Marriott's but the Fairfield's are great for quick trips. They usually even have pools.

My only other suggestion is make SURE where ever you end up going doesn't have bed bugs. The hotel industry is dealing with them big time. Marriott actually has a great plan about them when and if they turn up but not all hotels do. There are some sites that people can log what hotel they are at if they find bed bugs. Check those sites and also when you get in there check that room over well! Even though my husband works for Marriott we still check every single room. We've been fortunate enough not to see them ever but I know it could happen. Alot of the cheaper hotels anymore are crawling with them. Sadly usually "poorer" people don't have the funds to fight them in their own homes and they come with them in their suitcases, purses etc and walla that hotel room has them and if the hotel doesn't act fast they spread faster than roaches.

We belong to AAA, so we use their information and ratings to choose motels/hotels.

I agree 100% with tripadvisor.com. I use them a lot when we are traveling. If you don't mind not knowing where you are going to stay before you pay, you could always use Priceline.com. Every time we have used it, we ended up paying way less for a really nice hotel; we've never had a bad experience. Also, always go to the hotel chain web site to get a final price. And sign up for ebates.com if you plan to reserve your room(s) - they give a percentage of your money back!