Best Western Logo
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5.2

Overall Score

Author: Kalicia Bateman

LAST UPDATED: April 12th, 2022
Hotel Type: Economy

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The Good

  • Hotel options
  • Reputation
  • Amenities
Best Western  offers guests  a choice of the following hotels based on customer's needs and budget: BEST WESTERN® BEST WESTERN PLUS® BEST WESTERN PREMIER® BEST WESTERN PLUS EXECUTIVE RESIDENCYSM BW Premier CollectionSM. The Best Western hotel brand has a strong global reputation for excellence, with yearly awards such as the following:
  • The prestigious TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence four times more often than the industry average.
  • International Quality Assurance Awards 2014-2015
Pet owners will be pleased to learn that Best Western is very pet-friendly hotel with more than 1,600 pet-friendly hotels across North America. Working with Cesar Milan, Best Western provides tips to make travel easier for guests and your pets. They also offer for an exceptional midscale value with the following amenities:
  • a welcoming environment
  • comfortable room,
  • breakfast
  • free high-speed Internet access
  • great service
  • Business center with copy and fax service
In North America, 49 percent of Best Western-branded hotels maintained an overall rating of four or higher, out of a possible five, as reviewed by TripAdvisor users. Positive guest feedback includes:
  • comfortable beds
  • clean rooms
  • nice helpful staff
  • close to public transportation and tourist attractions
  • very reasonable pricing
Best Western also offers what they call the "I Care" Cleaning Program. This program empowers housekeeping staff at Best Western hotels in North America to an innovative way of cleaning using tools such as Ultra Violet (UV) sterilization wands and UV inspection black light wraps to clean guest rooms and common areas. They also provide clean remotes or wraps for the remote control device and pillow and blanket wraps.
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The Bad

  • Pricing
  • Scrutiny
Best Western's long list of prestigious awards and brand popularity makes it harder to see the reality of the actual hotel experience, i.e. if they deliver on their promises. Guests should be aware that there is also a difference in quality between the economy Best Western and the higher tiered brands like the Best Western Plus and Best Western Premier. With each tier upgrade, amenities are delivered closer to what the brand promises,  with pricing increasing substantially for guests only in the midscale demographic. Amenities promised have faced some friendly scrutiny from customers, such as:
  • Noisy locations in some major cities
  • facilities are not as good as the price
  • You get what you pay for, no more.
  • Small rooms
  • Communal balconies in some locations (limited privacy)
Also to be noted is that promoted amenities are typical at most United States hotels but not guaranteed. Additionally, amenities will vary at International locations.
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The Bottom Line

Best Western holds a plethora of accolades in the hotel industry for everything from best website to best customer engagement. They have several brand tiers with increasing levels of quality, amenities and pricing. Guests get the level of quality they pay for. As a global brand with a solid reputation, guests can feel secure in what to expect, although it can vary on location and individual franchise owner standards. The hotel chain's universal appeal comes from its great staff, its convenient locations across North America and several other continents, and its commitment to providing personalized and caring guest experiences.  As the world's most popular midscale hotel brand, Best Western's affiliation with so many partners allows customers to benefit from various discounts like AAA membership.
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Star Rating

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3.7

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332 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

39%

4 grade

27%

3 grade

13%

2 grade

3%

1 grade

17%

Sentiment Criteria

Value

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Quality

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Service

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Trustworthiness

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Julie Shelton Crescent City, CA

We're on a road trip on the coast of Oregon and ended up in Coos Bay at 5:30 pm My husband had seen the ad for the Edgewater Inn and thought it would be a nice place to stay. According to the front desk, the only room available was a Spa room for about $240 and since we had been on the road all day, we took it. Dated hallways, entry doors, carpeting, draperies, beds. Updated bathroom. Friendly staff, grab and go breakfast was a convenience. Overall, disappointed in the accommodations for a Best Western. Stayed at the Coos Bay Edgewater Inn in the parking lot of a grocery store, overlooking a muddy river. Supposedly, the only room available was a SPA room so we took it. ($240 plus tax) Friendly staff. Overall, very disappointed with the accommodations - dated hallways, carpeting, entry door to room, furnishings (old fashioned quilted bedspread, non-functioning sliding glass door draperies, uncomfortable bed.) 2 plastic patio chairs in the room with one fabric chair. Bathroom had been updated but the overall hotel needs renovation. Grab and go breakfast was a convenience.

5 years ago

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BE KIND Kalispell, MT

We have always ONLY stayed at Best Westerns when traveling as a family. Within the past 5 years it has been hit and miss. We are pretty easy going & not too uptight. We like clean rooms, which Best Westerns are routinely clean..never really a problem there. But front desk service seems to be increasingly lacking basic old fashion customer service politeness. We are going to start seeking other hotels from now on since the reason we stayed with Best Westerns in the first place was because we enjoyed the consistency & yet we have been at many Best Westerns where employees were either having a bad day, hate their job or just life in general? We just politely go in to get our room, call for information, etc and have been increasingly met with well...just not very nice people. Guess that is to be expected in this day of so much anger in our world...guess we just hope to get some retrieve when we are on a trip. We can't help that we are customers ruining the day of the employee by coming to stay at their hotel. We don't really take much personally usually but it seems to be getting worse, hit and miss..and we would rather go to a hotel where they are more professional routinely. Don't need to worry about who I am going to talk to when I go to a hotel. I'd rather just know it's going to be easy. Here is my card, here is my rsvp, thank you for the room key. We are only yet Gold members but don't care about maintaining anything further. Called to report our concern not to be compensated, NOT to be told they are sorry we are "upset" I explained we are "concerned" not "upset" with the quality of the hotel of late and just thought Best Western should know. It was a curtesy call not a complaint call. I guess customers are simply invisible anymore. That's ok. Good Luck Best Western! We just don't need to pay money for drama when we are trying to take a trip to relax. :)

5 years ago

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Cade Boudreaux , FL

My stay at the Best Western was not good. The rooms were messy and the people next to me were very noisy. I woke up early for breakfast and the breakfast was not that good. I would only stay if it were the last hotel I had a choice to stay in.

6 years ago

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Laurie Reynolds Park Hills, MO

We told the front desk at KC Speedway that the tub had sewage from the drain backing up. Nothing was ever done. There are no towels. Once used you live with it. Their policy. Get you in the door then screw you.

4 years ago

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Lindsey American Fork, UT

I'm pretty picky with hotels, so every Best Western I've stayed in for work has been pretty beat up and ugly. Breakfast is sub-par, and beds are pretty uncomfortable.

8 years ago

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Rocio Diaz Tallahassee, FL

You get what you pay for. Breakfast options leave a lot to be desired, cleanliness is subpar, and customer service could be improved. Also, lots of locations need to be updated.

4 years ago

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Amy McCarlie Orem, UT

My experience here was very average at Best Western. I have had better experiences at other hotels, but for the money you get what you pay for.

5 years ago Edited September 14, 2021

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Retired

Was ok, the place was ok clean, could of been better. Was dated and worn.

7 years ago

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Jami Lucas Eagle Mountain, UT

I have had a few experiences with rooms they were dirty and the free breakfast is not very good.

6 years ago