Paying for what you get?

Ever notice that the nicer the hotel you stay in, the more you have to pay for? It seems to me that the more I pay for a room, the more likely it is that I have to pay for local phone calls, internet access, breakfast, gym access, etc.

I was thinking about this a couple of weeks ago. I was in San Francisco and staying at a reasonably nice national chain hotel and paying over $200/night for the privilege. On top of that I had to pay  forInternet access ($9.95 for crappy 200kps throughput), local calls ($0.75 a pop) and access to their gym ($10/day).  Not so  when I stay at cheaper hotels(particularly down on the peninsula, but I’ve found this to be true all over the country) – I rarely pay for this stuff.  On one recent trip to Palo Alto I stayed at a  hotel that was less than $100/night, had fee internet access, free local calls,a descent work-out room and provided me with a nice continental breakfast (also for free).

I guess you don’t always get what you pay for . . .