Best Western Killeen - Killeen, TX Review

The place says that it is a luxury hotel. It is not. It is a perfectly viable choice however. It is a solid 2* hotel and that's pretty good for a city/area that is not really a city anyway.

Killeen is basically an army base and there are plenty of military people around. Most of the residents seem to be retired military too, and the place is spread out. There's no real downtown and thus no real luxury, top-notch hotels. You have mainly chains here, none being necessarily better than the next, although small things may make you choose one over the next.

I liked the Best Western for those extras. The rooms are boring and roadside. Stucco walls can let noise in from the neighboring rooms, beds are OK but the spreads can be nasty. Floors are hard laminate which is better than industrial carpet but can carry noise. With all the beds in there and other furnishings though it's not much of a problem.

Doors do not face the exterior. That's a big deal for me. You have to have a card to get in and actually it wouldn't be that hard to break into a room but at least you have the deterrent of having to get past that. The Super 8 has doors facing the exterior. Not to my liking.

The bathroom is OK. The vanity is outside and rather cheap-looking with exposed underside.

For what it is, this is one of the better hotels in Killeen. Handicapped access is excellent, you have a fridge and microwave in every room, local calls are free, and there's free highspeed wireless throughout. Those things are worth a couple of extra bucks when that's the bottom line.

You need a car here, just like any Killeen hotel. The location is about as good as you can get. It's on the "strip" that constitutes downtown. Restaurants and bars are near.

The linens are clean, as are the rooms.

The hotel is not keen on ripping you off on anything unless you want to use the phone for calls that are not local. Use your cellphone.

There is no room service. There are vending machines and a pool but I've never seen anyone use it - the place is too roadside to be a comfortable swimming hole. There is no bellhop, concierge, etc. As such, it surprises me that the hotel advertises itself on such a high level.

Visit their website and view the virtual tours. Look carefully. See all the cars in the parking lot? See no one at the front desk? See the pool water perfectly still? That's what you'll find. Everyone staying here is driving. The front desk staff is not inattentive but they are not there waiting for you. (They'll appear when they see you and be personable and friendly.)

You won't come here for a vacation. You're likely staying here because you're heading somewhere else. For that, this is a good choice. It's safe, largely quiet, and has a few perks the neighbors don't like interior doors being the most important. Most of the others offer free internet (or you can "steal" it from the hotel next door). Not every hotel has the fridge and the microwave.

Although I disagree with the hotel's presentation of itself online, I'd stay here again. It was quiet and basic for a night or two.

As for price, well, Killeen is tricky. There are a lot of hotels, most of them within a stone's throwing distance of this one. The star rating system doesn't work here. They are all the same except for the items I mentioned like the doors, internet, free breakfast (BW doesn't have that), pool (and no one ever uses it), and fridge.

At $50, this is a fair price. At $79 it's stretching. At $129 I'd stay at the Super 8 or drive another 15-20 minutes south to the outlying Austin suburbs for better for less.

Other things to know... the hotel locks the doors around 11pm. I like that. The staff is very young - mostly 20s. They are well-trained, friendly and helpful.

In sum, why not? You don't have a lot of choices in Killeen and this is a pretty good choice. If I were to choose something "better", I'd be hard-pressed to tell you. If I were to choose something "worse", I'd again be hard-pressed, although there are some pretty bad non-chain choices that are not much cheaper.

One thing I'd like to see in Killeen is a hotel that caters to the airport crowd. Increasingly I fly from Killeen because it is faster, easier, and much more laid back than Austin for not much more (and sometimes less). The big pain is that there is no airport hotel nor a hotel that offers a shuttle service, nor a hotel that offers free or cheaper parking than the airport. At $7/day, it's more than Austin's $6 onsite and less (or free) at offsite hotels. That and getting a taxi in Killeen is like visiting your Aunt in Ardmore - "What? This isn't NYC!"