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John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints |
In my opinion the Motel 6 chain offers the best value for money. Most Motel 6 locations have recently been refurbished and the quality of the accommodation is close to that of the other much more expensive motel chains, although the rooms may be a little smaller and the motel normally only has an office rather than a fancy lobby. Motel 6's are consistently clean, tidy, comfortable, well run and quite sufficient for most people's needs. The majority of Motel 6's have open air swimming pools. Motel 6's do not have their own restaurants they but are almost always located close to several restaurants. If you have a car then the lack of an on-site restaurant is no problem whatsoever. There are Motel 6's throughout the USA but so far only a very small number in Canada.
If a town doesn't have a Motel 6 then we'd probably use the Super 8 chain which is rather more expensive but still generally fairly good value for money, although less so in recent years than in the past. Super 8 motels have all the facilities you'd find at much more expensive establishments, except that in most cases they don't have a restaurant or a swimming pool. There are Super 8's throughout the USA and some in Canada.
Whereas most Super 8's have inside corridors, most Motel 6's have outside walkways. Super 8 rooms tend to be a bit larger and slightly better appointed. If you just want somewhere to sleep for the night, these factors are largely irrelevant. Of more practical importance is the fact that whereas Motel 6 normally uses single glazing, most Super 8 rooms have double-glazed windows, reducing the traffic noise from adjacent roads. Paradoxically, Super 8 rooms normally have noisy individual air conditioners, whereas many traditional style Motel 6's have a much quieter air conditioning system fed from a central source via air ducts.
If we can't find a Motel 6 or Super 8 in the area where we wish to stop, then we'd normally look around for a small independent "mom and pop" motel. These can often offer very good value for money.
Because there are so few Motel 6's and Super 8's in Canada, we mainly use small independent motels there.
There are many more expensive motels available, both members of chains and independents. Personally, we don't feel they offer anything over Motel 6 and Super 8, but of course many people do prefer them. Most of the expensive motel chains tend to have their own restaurants.
Some alternatives to motels are to rent an RV (recreational vehicle, i.e. a motor home) or to camp, but these have some practical disadvantages described on the Style Of Holiday page.
In the USA and Canada, Bed and Breakfast (B & B) is a very luxurious and expensive form of accommodation.
The Motel Chains page has more information on the subject.
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Most recently modified 19-Apr-02