Right, you always get nickeled and dimed more at the higher end places because they just assume you can afford it. However not all Hilton places suck. Hilton Garden Inn is pretty good, free breakfast, free wifi, and the rooms are nice. I've been staying in Courtyard Mariotts for work lately. No free breakfast but the rooms are nice.
Thanks for the heads up on garden inn. I will give them a chance next time I see them.
Courtyard was a bit better but I got a similar experience as the Hilton. 5 dollar water bottles in the room, nickel and diming all over the place.
My understanding is that it's not just that you can afford it, it's that these places cater heavily towards corporate stays, so the guest is usually not the one paying.
Holiday inn breakfasts are a bit worse quality but I've always been treated with utmost respect as a guest there, so they get my business. Room size is something I don't usually care about as long as there's a desk.
I’m in a Garden Inn now, never been in a bad one but always seem overpriced to me.
I was pretty impressed with Home2 suites, usually just a bit more than Hampton. No omelette bar but otherwise nice breakfasts with microwaveable sandwiches, and the snacks are pretty cheap instead of $5/water.
I don't think I've ever seen a nicer place charge me actual money for wifi, but usually they force you to sign up for their dumb membership club or newsletter (so, not exactly free either).
My last trip I had a box of those soylent shakes sent ahead of me and just used those for breakfast - reasonably healthy and tasty enough. Better then the free breakfast for my use case anyways.
I'll second Hilton on good customer service though, definitely one of my preferred chains. That and the business oriented Holiday Inn Express or whatever they're calling it now.
