Best Western Rewards Elite Status Match: Super Easy But Basic

They process status matches very fast. My most recent personal one with BW took less than 30 minutes after I hit send. Others came back within around 15 minutes or less. Bizarrely fast for a status match.

Hyatt Globalist mapped to Diamond Select. I don’t recall if Explorer mapped the same way.

I’ve stayed at a few iterations of BW in Europe over the years, and a few of the ‘premium’ versions were actually decent, especially in towns where there weren’t many options. Like, between them and an Ibis Budget, I’d take a BW Plus/Premier.

There are cities in Europe and Asia where BWs are better, or at least in far better locations than *gasp* Hyatts, and certainly Marriotts.

Best is you don't run into many Americans who tend to stick to Hiltons and Marriotts.

Here's an example: If you're touring the nearby Champagne houses and growers in eastern France, consider a pleasant, yet affordable stay at the Best Western Premier Hotel De La Paix in Reims. After a few tastings, far better than a 100-mile-away day-trip from the Park Hyatt in Paris.

Wow. What a snobbish comment. "Best Western Rewards is a loyalty program I don’t talk about much, given that the hotel portfolio isn’t exactly aspirational."

There are plenty of nice Best Western properties in Europe, like the highly rated Hotel Harmonie in Vienna.

Very true!

I've also stayed at BW hotels in Europe and they were very good with excellent breakfasts.

I stay at BW Casino Royale in Las Vegas. No resort fee and great location. Thanks for the post.

First hand experience: Discoverist mapped to Platinum. 2 water bottles at check-in. No experience asking for late check-out yet.

A agree with many of the other posters about the quality of the BW hotels I use in Europe - the locations are frequently far better for being close to my clients' offices, the hotels are not luxury-style but also much nicer than Ibis or other competing brands, and I've never had less than top-notch service. I'll still pick one of the higher-tier Marriott properties if I'm in a city like Vienna or Paris, but in the smaller cities where Marriott doesn't have much if any presence, a BW is a great choice.

I think BW is underrated. Yea they’re are some mediocre properties, but there are bad Marriotts and Hiltons too. They offer excellent business rates and many properties do well on breakfast. And honestly, the only incremental extra you’re going to get as a diamond at Hampton Inn is a bag of chips and a reserved parking spot.

I had a great stay at the Aiden Austin City Hotel in Austin, Texas. Great location.

Very underrated. Westfield, NJ Best Western was a standout.

What an unusual destination. Visiting friends/family, for work?

It's under an hour to Manhattan, depending on traffic/tunnel.

Wow, this brought back memories. In the late 80s and early 90s when I was traveling to Europe in my DIY mode. The only easy way to get hotel reservations was to get the BW catalog, select the property, and call the US 800 BW number to reserve.

I’m glad to hear that BW is better in Europe as I recently learned the hotel I booked in Zermatt, the Alpen Hotel a Resort, is a BE. Has anyone stayed there?

A million years ago when I was just out of school, I spent months at a Best Western in Oregon as it was the company hotel and new grads don't argue. It was actually reasonably nice. There are some BWs on the Oregon Coast that are decent. If you're not a fan of vacation rentals (and I'm not) they're often the best choice. They're decent and affordable.

And good luck with that reserved parking spot.