I've actually not found the privately owned hotels to be uniformly worse
than the chains, but I have found them to be much more variable. Chains
hotels are like chain restaurants. They are seldom great, but you
almost always know what you are getting.

Absolutely true. You can ALWAYS eat at Burger King, and know (with a
certain degree of assuredness) that your burger will be well done.

However, if you want a GREAT burger, you've simply got to visit the mom
& pop restaurants. There is no substitute.

Private hotels run the gamut
from flea bag dumps to really nice places.

Actually, our experience is a bit different, and it's a small but
important distinction. Private MOTELS are often bad, because they are
often formerly chain motels that have had their brand stripped from
them, for various reasons. (Usually the owner didn't keep updating the
facility, and couldn't keep up with whatever minimum requirements the
chain put forth.)

Private HOTELS, on the other hand, are often what are called "boutique
hotels" -- small, privately owned facilities that were NEVER a chain,
and never will be. Many times these are really over-grown bed &
breakfasts, like ours. Seek them out, and you won't be disappointed.

The trouble is you often
don't know what you are getting until you get there. This isn't a big
deal if you can get a room elsewhere, but occasionally you have no
choice by the time you find out that you've reserved at a dump.

This is where the internet has been the absolute savior of travelers!
Do not stay at ANY hotel that doesn't have their own website. (And I
don't mean the "blanket" "Sheraton" website that talks about the chain.
Those are totally useless...) The flea bags almost certainly don't
have their own website -- which makes them easy to avoid.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"