by Jennifer Eblin

Created on: June 12, 2009

Super 8 hotels are a great place to stay if you're looking for a bargain hotel that contains some frills, but without the high price tag. When I was a kid my family tended to stay in Motel 6 for the most part, unless my dad was traveling for business. When I got a little older I started looking for hotels on my own and ended up staying at Super 8.

The first time I stayed in one was horrible. I was meeting up with some friends and we decided to book a room at a Super 8 in southern Ohio. They called and the hotel told them that they'd have a room ready for us when we checked in and didn't ask for a credit card. When they arrived, they were told that the hotel was out of rooms and had we used a credit card, they could have held one for us.

Finally they agreed to let us stay in one of their suites for the regular price. It had a fold out couch along with a private bedroom. The Jacuzzi hot tub in the private room didn't work, but they made us sign a waiver that we wouldn't try to use it. Luckily it had its own bathroom in the main part of the room.

Unfortunately they neglected to tell us that most of their rooms were rented to high school students for after prom parties. The whole night we heard kids running through the halls and screaming. Management did nothing even though we called them. There also weren't any pillows, sheets or blankets for the fold out couch and they told us that the housekeeping closet was locked so they couldn't help us. There were also cockroaches in the room, which they didn't seem to care about.

I had the chance to stay at another Super 8 in Ohio that was absolutely fantastic. They gave me a significant discount for being a AAA member and offered me a choice of several different rooms. The rooms all had their own mini-fridge and an enormous bathroom. You also get free wireless internet, which was a big bonus.

This hotel was even better because they have a huge conference room and every morning they serve breakfast for the guests. This wasn't your typical continental breakfast either. You could make your own waffles, they had cereal, muffins, coffee, juice, milk and lots of other stuff. I've had the chance to go back several times and we always get extra food to snack on throughout the day.

The point is that all Super 8 hotels are different. You might have a great experience, followed by a bad or horrible experience. Some of them are absolutely fantastic, while others make you reach for the phonebook and find other hotels. The ones that are great though are well worth the price and the stay.

Learn more about this author, Jennifer Eblin.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.