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Holiday Inn is one of the most recognized hotel chains in the United States. It’s in over 1,300 locations, is well known for its unique internal design, and is, at present, the official hotel of Major League Baseball.

Holiday Inn hotels are usually known for their unique internal courtyard style. The rooms facing outside of the hotel aren’t any different, but the rooms on the other side usually face a large internal courtyard, which often has a pool, eating area, sometimes a restaurant, and sometimes a heated whirlpool. It promotes a community feel and is considered very family friendly and safe, because parents don’t have to worry about their children being out at the pool away from their eyesight.

The first Holiday Inn hotel opened in Memphis, TN in 1952, with the premise of having affordable places for families to stay. The intention for growing the chain was to have hotels everywhere a person would go so guests knew they would be staying in a place that not only had quality standards, but was affordable. Holiday Inn was the first hotel chain to have a rewards program, now known as Priority Club Rewards.

Holiday Inn maintained that standard until the original owner and creator, Kemmons Wilson, retired in 1979. Since that time, the Holiday Inn brand has expanded and grown into many different brands, including a foray into the luxury hotel business with the Crowne Plaza Hotels.

Crowne Plaza Hotel

The Holiday Inn family of hotels all have the name Holiday Inn, which makes it easy for everyone to know they’re the same chain. The standard hotel is called Holiday Inn, which most people are familiar with if they’ve done any traveling. The rooms aren’t spectacular, but are functional and comfortable. Most of these hotels have a full restaurant and bar.

Other names in the chain are:

Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites, which is a mixture of both regular rooms and suites;
Holiday Inn Resort, which are located mainly in high tourism areas;
Holiday Inn Sunspress Resorts, which are located in resort areas;
Holiday Inn Garden Court, which are only in Europe and South Africa, and styled more for their location than the traditional Holiday Inn American style;
Holiday Inn Express, which are smaller, more compact versions of the big hotels

Holiday Inn is still a quality hotel chain, and you will always have a very comfortable stay at any of their hotels.

See Also:

Holiday Inn on Wikipedia
Holiday Inn Corporate Homepage

Hilton Hotels

One of the top hotel chains in the United States, and around the world, is the Hilton brand of hotels.  Conrad Hilton founded the chain by opening his first hotel in 1919 in Texas, then started buying up more hotels.  The first hotel to have his name on it was the Dallas Hilton in 1925, which was also his company’s first high rise hotel.  He didn’t open his first hotel outside the state until 1939, with the La Posada de Albuquerque in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The Hilton brand comprises of 9 different types of hotel chains, some very exclusive, others midrange with some minor special touches here and there, and some others that are closer to budget hotels.  However, even the budget hotels offer amenities that other hotel chains would be hard pressed to follow.

El Conquistador Resort, The Waldorf Astoria Collection

At the top of the chain, oddly enough, are the Waldorf Astoria brand name hotels.  These are all elegant and expensive, named and styled after the original Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City, which is also owned by Hilton.  The brand is so exclusive that there are only 20 of them around the world.  These hotels are only in vacation destinations, and some of them offer golf clubs as well as special spa accommodations.  The hotel in Saudi Arabia, for example, starts at $400 a night, has only 46 guest suites, an extra large Jacuzzi in each room, Italian furniture, intricate wall decorations, gold leaf ceilings, marble bathrooms, and private butlers for personal attention around the clock.

If that’s a bit too much for you, step down slightly to the Conrad brand name hotels, obviously named after its founder.  There are only 30 hotels of this brand around the world, a couple not yet complete, and only four in the United States.  Lobbies lined in golf plating, extra large rooms and bathrooms, and spectacular views are what these hotels are known for.

One of the fastest growing favorites in the Hilton brand are their Homewood Suites hotels.  These hotels offer kitchens and are for extended stay clients who wish to be able to fix their own meals or buy food and have a place to store it.  One of their newest hotels is in Reno, Nevada, and it was styled so as to fit within the décor of the Southwest.  As with all Hilton hotels, they offer a full breakfast with many choices.

My favorite hotel brand within the family is the Doubletree, which also offers style and luxury of a fashion.  However, their best feature is the world famous Doubletree chocolate chip cookie, which can only be purchased from this brand.  Each guest gets a warm cookie upon registration, and cookies can be bought at $10 for a can of 8.

The newest brand in the Hilton family of hotels is the Home 2 collection, which features all suites for extended time away from home.  What’s special about this hotel chain is that it calls itself 70% green, and the look and feel is definitely something different from traditional hotel room chains in both color and style.

The other brands of hotels in the chain aren’t slouches either; these are:  Embassy Suites; Hilton Garden Inn; and Hilton Grand Vacations.  Hilton also offers hotel points rewards under their Hilton Honors program, which includes upgrades and guarantees that they will have a room for you whenever needed, or will pay for your stay at a hotel of comparable luxury if you reach their platinum level.

You can’t go wrong by staying at any hotel within the Hilton family brand. Get the best deal when you book your hotel today at www.DiscountHotels.com – right room, right price.

Visit www.Hilton.com for more information about Hilton Hotels.

See Also:

Waldorf Astoria

Conrad

Homewood Suites

Doubletree

Hilton Garden Inn

Embassy Suites

Photo Credit: MetroPetSupply.com

Are you looking to go on vacation, but aren’t sure what to do with your pet? Why not take your pet with you?

Discounthotels.com understands that your pets are an important part of the family, and can connect you with more than 13,000 pet-friendly hotels and motels across the United States and Canada. These pet friendly vacation retreats offer you the accommodations you deserve as well as the ones that will make your pet feel special.

Some of the places we will find for you have special services for your pet, such as grooming services, animal beds, walking services, and even special meals for their sensitive palates. Others have access to dog parks, day care/boarding, sidewalk bags for dogs and kitty litter trays for cats, and gourmet cakes and cookies, which your pets will love.

For instance, look at a hotel like the Affinia, an exclusive hotel chain in cities like New York, Chicago and Washington D.C. These are glamorous hotels, some with executive suites that will spoil both human and animal guests. For pets, the Affinia hotels offer amenities and services such as dog walking/sitting services, grooming, day care and boarding, and, of all things, a pet psychic.

Or maybe you’re the casual vacation traveler who still wants to bring your favorite pet with you. In that case, a hotel like the Residence Inn San Diego La Jolla might be more to your liking. While they don’t offer any of the specialties of a big budget hotel, they do allow pets and will supply things for you like water and food bowls, dog beds, and a special walking area for your pet.

Whatever your need or want, Discounthotels.com can help you find cheap hotels with the accommodations you need and the customer service you’d expect. Just visit our pet friendly hotels section to begin your search.