In my travels I have stayed on occasion at Best Western. One of my biggest problems with this chain is that you never really know what you are going to get when you check in to a Best Western establishment. I have stayed in Best Western’s that were as nice and classy as Fairfield Inn (see my review), and others that barely beat out EconoLodge (see my review).

Many Hotel chains are franchised out; Best Western is one of these chains. When a company like this sells franchise rights, they are responsible to police the establishment so that it maintains a good reputation as not to hurt the rest of the establishments under the Best Western umbrella. The problem here is, that Best Western obviously does not do a very good job of that. If you choose to stay at a Best Western, it could be a big crapshoot on what you will get.

Rates and Reservations

Just as the service varies so do the rates. While this is not abnormal as many chains vary their rates based on location and room availability, I find that Best Western’s scale is just too wide. Their rates can range from $59 a night all the up to $200 a night. The other factor in the rate equation will be what type of Best Western you stay in. In my experience I have found that Best Western operates both hotels and motels throughout the US. The hotels are larger and provide more amenities so they rate would be higher. The low end of the rate obviously would be the motels located in more rural areas and the high end would be in a hotel in a major city.

Reservations can be made by calling 1-800-780-7234, if you are calling for reservations and have not personally visited the hotel you are making reservations, make sure you ask a lot of questions. Check to see if it is a hotel or a motel, check to see what amenities they have, and all other factors you would need to know, assume nothing.

The best way to make a reservation in my opinion is via their web site at www.bestwestern.com , the site is easy to use and navigate, and the further advantage is that you can get more information about the hotel and see pictures of the place.

About The Rooms

This is a really tough thing to describe, as I said before Best Westerns are franchised out, all the rooms could be different depending on the location. I will attempt to describe the rooms the best I can, but remember this is subject to change, based on location and you should research the specific location yourself via the web or personal inspection if possible.

The lower end Best Westerns I have stayed at are very basic. The provide you with a bed, which is usually a choice between 2 double or a Queen, the room decoration is usually quite bland. It contains a TV, sometimes you get a radio on the TV as well, a dresser and a rack to hang clothes on. The bathroom is as well basic with few basic amenities like soap, and towels. No shampoo, no hair dryer or things of that sort, but you can purchase these things downstairs in the motel lobby or front desk.

At the higher end Best Western hotels you will find nicely decorated fairly large rooms with a 25” television, an armoire, a choice of 2 double or 1 king size bed, a writing table and sometimes a refrigerator. The bathrooms are nicely done, with combination shower/tub including all the amenities needed and plenty of towels.

As you can see the rooms can swing from really basic to really nice, again, I urge you to check out or ask questions about the rooms as not be disappointed before you check in.


Restaurant/ Food Services

I found that most of the Best Western locations I have stayed in contained some sort of restaurant. In the larger hotels it usually is a larger fancy restaurant, and in the smaller establishments it’s more of a diner atmosphere. The prices are usually very high, and the food I found to be average. Again, if you require food services at the place you stay, call ahead and make sure they have a restaurant/diner, because some locations may not.

Location and Parking

Well the one good thing about Best Western is that it’s usually not to hard to find one. I believe the last I read they have the largest amount of locations then any other hotel chain. While this is an asset it could also be seen as a deficit because it seems the Best Western corporation goes more for quantity then quality.

Most Best Western locations have sufficient parking for it’s guests, but I have found that some of the larger hotels in major cities don’t have any parking if you can believe that. I guess the price of the Real Estate was too high to put in parking. Anyway as with everything else I mentioned, Call ahead and check.

Staff an Management

I know I may sound like I am repeating myself, but again it really depends on the location involved. The larger fancier hotels provide an excellent staff that is very helpful, courteous and interested in your pleasant stay. The smaller motel establishments vary greatly. Some have a very good staff, and others have a guy at the desk that just wants to take your money and give you a key. Unfortunately this is not something that would be easy for you to check on ahead of time. It’s not like you will call Best Western’s 800 number and they will say “the staff is horrible, go elsewhere”. My only advise is that I have found in this one case that you can usually judge a book by it’s cover, the nicer it looks, better shot you have a good staff being there.

Summary

I am aware that I have painted a pretty uneven picture here that could be a bit vague, that’s be cause that is what they are. They are a complete crapshoot because they have so many locations, so many different types of hotels/motels under their corporate name. Many times mom and pop motels will buy in to the Best Western franchise, and you will see it on the sign “Joe’s Motel” and right above it a Best Western logo.

To summarize, the Best Western name can not really be trusted, I am only recommending them and giving them 3 stars because many of their locations can be quite nice or at least average. The downside is other can be a horror show. Use discernment when choosing a Best Western hotel, and I would recommend one of the other hotels I’ve reviewed like Hampton Inn and Fairfield Inn much more if you have the choice, because there, you always know you would get good service.







Recommended: Yes