HotelChatter

1: Ibis
It pains us to say this because Ibis hotels have a special place in our heart – they remind us of our childhood holidays. However, since we hit puberty and our palates became slightly more discerning, we have yet to see an Ibis property that impressed us.

On Tripadvisor, we’ve seen them slagged off from Dublin to Dubai; we stayed in a grotters one at Heathrow last year; a colleague just confirmed to us that he too thinks them "terrible"; and we’re still smarting over this window view. Plus, a random sampling of them was found officially unfit to lick earlier this year. That’s enough for us.
[Photo: dogfael]

2: Etap
We wouldn’t usually be the type to kick a dog when it’s down, and having just nominated Ibis, we feel a bit bad about including sister chain Etap – especially as we’ve never experienced one ourselves. However, what we’ve heard about it is what has made us never set foot inside.

In an attempt to be fair, we just asked a few people if they’d ever stayed in an Etap. The only response read: "I stayed in an etap hotel in Marseilles that made that well in Silence of the Lambs look like Claridges." And on a good note, the Etap website is announcing a "new look" for the brand. Let’s hope it’s a good one....
[Photo: baston]

3: Holiday Inn
Yes, we’re aware that, by definition, budget chains are unlikely to be swankfests. But only the other day we were being told by a magazine editor that she’s received lots of reader complaints about Holiday Inns being "bland and boring". Just thought we should pass that one on.
[Photo: MuntyPix]

4: Tulip Inn
Now Tulip Inns wouldn’t make our personal hitlist, but we’ve heard from a couple of people that they’re not all that. That in fact, in some cases, they’re "rubbish". But public opinion doesn’t seem to be totally against these guys – the TripAdvisor reviews for the Amsterdam Central branch, for example, are rather positive. Probably best take ‘em as they come.
[Photo: Tnarik]

5: Travelodge
Yes, we bigged it up yesterday for its dirt cheap offers and perfectly ok rooms, but then this morning we opened our copy of the Sunday Times Travel Magazine and saw that they’ve just named the chain most disappointing UK hotel in their annual reader awards. "Judging from submissions, it sets low expectations and hardly lives up to them," says the mag. Touché! Though, to be fair, if you’re paying £12 a night, you should probably be grateful you even get towels.
[Photo: Frankie Roberto]

Think we’ve been unduly harsh? Or did we miss any howlers? Hit us up in the comments below.