Choosing where to stay is an important piece of the vacation puzzle, whether you're road-tripping, enjoying a cozy weekend close to home or putting together something more adventurous. And when you find a hotel that fits your travel style, the entire experience feels more connected. Fortunately, AAA and the Choice Hotels® portfolio make that customization easy by offering a mix of properties and price points that suit many different kinds of travelers.
To make planning easier, use AAA.com/TripCanvas to find vetted hotels, including Choice Hotels properties that carry AAA Diamond designations and meet high standards for cleanliness, quality and industry‑approved excellence. AAA Members also enjoy meaningful perks, including earning Choice Privileges points and receiving savings of 10% or more on standard hotel rates.
In this guide, we explore seven traveler types and a variety of stays that best match each style.
Choice Hotels at a Glance
Before we move into the traveler types, it may be helpful to get familiar with the following Choice Hotels brands featured throughout this guide, which have been selected for qualities like relaxation, personality and convenience across a variety of destinations. While Choice Hotels offers an even wider collection, too, this curated list represents those that most often align with our travel styles.
- Ascend Collection – well‑designed, boutique feel.
- Cambria® Hotels – modern, elevated style.
- Comfort Inn® – friendly, dependable stays.
- Country Inn & Suites® by Radisson – home‑style hospitality.
- Radisson, including Radisson Blu and Radisson RED – comfortable hotels with design‑forward sibling brands.
Each has its own strengths, whether you love boutique‑style details, modern touches or the convenience of a reliable place to return to after a full day out. As you continue through this guide, you will learn more about these properties and how they can help shape a stay that feels both hospitable and well‑matched.
1. Families and Groups: Best Choice Hotels for Multigenerational Travel
Traveling with kids and other loved ones means researching travel tips as well as juggling priorities and moods, and maybe that’s why many new parents stay close to home on those early trips. As children grow, often they become more outspoken; older kids begin shaping the family’s choices about where to stay. In fact, the 2025 U.S. Family Travel Survey, updated by the Family Travel Association, NYU SPS Tisch Center of Hospitality and Good Housekeeping, found that children, “particularly those aged 7-18, are ‘co-pilots’ in planning,” inspiring an appreciation of travel as well as choices about destinations and trip experiences. So it’s no surprise that family‑friendly hotels are finding new ways to deliver coziness, convenience and personalization to make each member of the family feel seen and heard.
There are many great family hubs in the Choice Hotels portfolio. Comfort Inn® stays live up to the “Where the joy happens” motto with spacious suites that allow for actual rest and hospitality, a must when traveling with kids or grandparents. Radisson RED, a sub‑brand of Radisson, is a thoughtful pick for families with teens because of its reputation for boldness and sociability.
Meanwhile, Country Inn & Suites remains a solid choice for anyone staying in one spot due to visiting family or planning around sporting events; complimentary breakfast, fresh cookies and good amenities are some of the perks. Many rooms provide added conveniences such as a refrigerator or microwave. One last note: availability may vary depending on brand and location, so it’s always a good idea to review guest room details to be sure you’re choosing the setup that works best for you and your family.
2. Couples: Get Closer to Each Other and the Destination with Choice Hotels
Often the best romantic getaways are the ones that slow life down and spark connection, especially for so‑called immersive travelers who are drawn to story‑filled, local‑first stays that help them experience a place together. That’s where several Choice Hotels brands shine.
Ascend Collection offers boutique properties featuring a strong sense of place; it's for couples who love wandering local streets, discovering cafés and staying in a hotel that feels anchored to its neighborhood. For a more playful, energetic vibe, there's Cambria® Hotels, a modern date‑night getaway with stylish lounges, walkable locations and cozy spaces to unwind. For couples craving something more upscale, Radisson Blu delivers a calm, refined feel — great for spa weekends, milestone celebrations or simply unplugging without distraction.
3. Solo Traveler at Choice Hotels: Picking the Right Base
Going solo allows for more conscious and sustainable interactions with local cultures, particularly during outdoor activities or experiential travel. With a bit of preparation, such as advance bookings and simple safety check‑ins, you can settle in and enjoy a solo journey.
If you want the hotel to feel like part of the narrative you’ll bring home, Ascend Collection leans into local character. Think boutique properties that mirror the neighborhood’s personality, ideal for solo adventurers who collect stories as much as sights. Booking Cambria Hotels as a home base also makes sense. A clean, modern design, inviting lobby and central locations create a balanced stay, which works well if you have the essentials but want to make room for whimsy. Meanwhile, for the more socially inclined, Radisson RED offers bold, artsy spaces that naturally promote conversation.
As you craft your plan, remember this guidance for traveling alone: pick vetted hotels, share an outline of your itinerary with someone you trust and stay open to new experiences. A checklist also may help you feel more connected, especially when you’re choosing hotels for solo travel.
4. Extra Value with Choice: Comfort® Without Compromise
Sometimes you simply want a clean, dependable place to sleep. Maybe you are overnighting on the way to visiting family or taking advantage of a last‑minute travel deal. No matter the reason, it's a good idea to look for a place to stay that's reliable and friendly, with a few creature comforts to help you unwind.
That is where Comfort Inn excels, offering a warm experience that greets you with free breakfast (waffles included). If you prefer a stay with a little extra charm, Country Inn & Suites presents a welcoming atmosphere with freshly baked cookies and inviting nooks. Together, these brands offer affordable options that feel thoughtful, which is why they resonate with many AAA Members, especially when stacking AAA Discounts & Rewards for added value.
5. Wellness Travelers with Choice Hotels: Spaces to Unwind, Restore & Recharge
Are you entering a period where coziness and relaxation matter more than ever? You’re not alone. Wellness‑minded travel resonates because people are craving real breaks from routines that leave them drained. Even a short‑term stay can meaningfully restore energy and perspective.
Radisson hotels support a calm, low-friction experience, while Radisson Blu may be ideal if you enjoy bright, modern spaces that feel like an upgrade from everyday life. Cambria Hotels also prioritizes fitness and restorative experiences. All are solid options, but as you decide, you'll want to differentiate between active and gentle experiences, where relaxation is the priority.
6. Style‑Seekers: Design‑Forward Picks from the Choice Hotels Portfolio
If you live for good design, then booking a hotel in a cool or up-and-coming neighborhood might be just as important as planning what to do. According to the American Express 2025 Global Travel Trends Report, Millennials and Gen Z are choosing style‑led trips that feel intentional and visually distinctive, and they look for stays shaped by strong design and customization. This fits well with AAA’s aspirational travelers who enjoy planning meaningful getaways.
Choice Hotels gives you several ways to build a trip around how a place looks and feels. For example, Cambria Hotels often serves as a natural gathering place for guests pairing business and leisure (aka #bleisure) as well as creators who value its storytelling potential. Ascend Collection adds a boutique touch rooted in the local community, while Radisson RED delivers a more energetic, art‑focused space. Together, these Choice Hotels brands allow you to book trips that help you bask in creativity and connect with others.
7. Road‑Trippers: Choice Hotels Stopovers That Make the Miles Easier
AAA research shows that many travelers, especially AAA Members, are drawn to road trips because they value convenience, safety and smart spending. With those priorities in mind, Choice Hotels properties along major routes offer an easy, welcoming place to pull off, rest well and start fresh the next morning. Their accessibility also reinforces AAA road-trip planning, which encourages mapping out your destination and route early, helping you pace your days and choose the stops that matter most to you.
In fact, a few standout brands may make your overnight trips more relaxing. The homey feel of Country Inn & Suites provides much‑needed respite after a long day behind the wheel, while Comfort Inn stays offer reliable, easy stopovers with breakfast, parking and well‑equipped rooms. The core Radisson brand can be depended on to provide hospitality in key travel hubs, giving you an easy place to recharge between trip legs.
And for AAA Members, every stay becomes more rewarding, so your road trips not only feel smoother in the moment but also set you up for future trip‑planning. You can save up to 10% at participating Choice Hotels and may qualify for promotions like a Fast Track to Gold Elite status after a qualifying AAA‑rate stay. It all adds up to a more rewarding trip with AAA and Choice Hotels, where the miles are easier to map out and the benefits carry through from one trip to the next.