Hotels

I travel a lot for business and a bit for pleasure. I've stayed in hotels an estimated 25 nights this year. Each year the average is 30+ nights. This many nights gives me an opinion about hotels.

There have been scary ones - like this. There have been great boutique hotels like this and this. There’s been national chains on both ends of the spectrum - high and low.

Later this month I’m staying at my favorite in Bellevue, WA. It is very relaxing to sleep with the door to the balcony open and the cool breeze and the silence of the night. The trees in the Pacific Northwest absorb all the sound making for pleasant and rejuvenating nights.

Coming up, we have a boutique hotel booked in California for which I am very excited. Kimpton is the chain and they have about 50 hotels nationwide – no 2 alike. The Serrano in San Francisco is great – having stayed there 20 + nights a couple of years back. I’m excited to return to pay Kimpton another visit.

It seems that these smaller boutique hotels offer superior services, décor, free internet, competitive pricing and an overall better stay than the larger national franchises. I’m becoming more and more inclined to stay at a boutique or even discount chain when given the chance. What’s been your experience?