Every time I walk into a Best Western motel, what immediately comes to mind is the famous Bette Davis remark from the movie, “Beyond The Forest.” She was, as she usually was in most of her films, a conniving, cheating bitch. She walked into her new luxury home, took a famous puff from her famous cigarette and said, “What a dump!”

I tried to avoid staying in the cookie-cutter chain motels, especially those at the bottom of the food chain, as Best Western is. However, business travels over the years have forced me through their doors and into one of their tacky rooms. The average has been about twice a year, booked over my protests by my company’s conference and travel department. It’s the equivalent of booking me into the middle seat of a five-across tourist class section on a trans-Atlantic flight.

Actually, in spite of my snooty gripes, most Best Westerns I’ve visited are at least adequate. Some are better than adequate, but none could compete with upscale Embassy, Peninsula or Hilton properties. If all a traveler wants is an inexpensive, quiet place to spend the night in a clean bed, most Best Westerns fill the bill. Anyhow, how can you miss them? It may be the largest hotel chain, with more than 4,000 around the world. They’re the Starbucks of the motel world. In some busy city airport areas, there may be three or four within a few blocks of each other.

I wouldn’t recommend Best Westerns for family vacations. Although some are clustered at such tourist attractions as Disney parks, Branson, Reno, Las Vegas, New York and beach cities, the rooms are usually too small for more than two people. Of course, if you can get a very cheap rate, it would ease crowding to book two side-by-side rooms. Speaking of families, Many Best Westerns, as many tourist-area hotels do now, have big digital TVs and all the electronic doodads kids and dads love to try out. Most don’t have pools, and those that do, expect one slightly larger than a bathtub.

I certainly can’t recommend most Best Westerns … my son calls them West Besterns … for anything more than a quick overnight stop on a budget-conscious business or between-flight trip. I can recommend that if you plan to book a room at a Best Western, check with friends, business associates and family who’ve experienced recent stays.