In 2025, traveling was a far greater part of our lives than it had been the previous year. We increased the number of nights we were not home more than two times than in 2024, and this change also fundamentally altered our experience of hotels, destinations, and even downtime.

Towards the end of the year, we found out something shocking. Although there was one hotel brand that was evidently our most fulfilled favorite, it was not the place where we have had the most number of nights. Something quite different was accorded that honor.

This is a total recap of our 2025 lodging, a breakdown of where we stayed, what hotel brands provided the best experiences and why traditional hotels did not pull the greatest victory in this round.

A Big Jump in Travel: A Comparison of 2025 and 2024

Travel in 2024 was rather humble. We had only 28 nights out of home consisting of hotel stays and a brief cruise. Go to the year 2025 and the figure had shot up to 66 total nights away.

Here’s how it broke down:

• 52 nights in the city (hotels, cabins and vacation properties)
• Cruise with Virgin Voyages 14 nights on the ocean
• 31 nights traveling together
• 21 individual evenings, mostly work-related travel

Soon enough that is time out of suitcases- and that is a lot of opportunity to impress (or disappoint) hotel brands.

Hyatt: The Brand of the Most Reliable Hotel of the Year 

In the traditional hotel chains, it was evident that Hyatt would be the best in 2025. Although we did not visit Hyatt properties as often as we did with some other brands, its general quality and consistency of the experience made it stand out.

Total Hyatt Nights in 2025

• 11 nights total

Most of the stays were joint vacation with some solo evenings

Where we have stayed in the Hyatt Portfolio

One of the factors that made Hyatt unique was the fact that we sampled different properties in the same umbrella:

• Hyatt Place as a no-frills, no-brilliance place to stay.
• Hyatt Regency to be comfortable with full-service experiences.
• The Unbound Collection of personality-driven boutique vibes.
• Grand Hyatt to classy, high-end.

Every single visit was spaced out with an intentional design, care, and consistency with the promise of the brand an element that is not always certain with big hotel chains.

Standout Hyatt Stay of the Year

The most obvious one was Great Scotland Yard in London. The hotel created an ideal balance between the fun design and the graceful touch. It was not too elaborate and at the same time, it was fashionable without being uncomfortable. Had we gone back to London to-morrow, this property would have come first on our list.

Hilton: Real World Stays that Worked

Hilton followed Hyatt by the slenderest of margins in terms of the number of nights, much of which was due to the solo travel. Our Hilton accommodation was not that luxurious yet they fulfilled the purpose.

Hilton Nights Breakdown

• 10 nights total
• Majority associated with long or workplace stay.

Brands We Used Most

• Homewood Suites to spend more time and get more space.
• Hilton Hotels in short and convenient overnight stops.

A Memorable Hilton Moment

A particularly memorable experience at a Hilton Hotel was the Hilton Boston Logan Airport, where an otherwise standard room with a city view was upgraded, which made an otherwise unmemorable overnight stay much more pleasant. At times, the difference between a little upgrade and convenience is all that matters.

Marriott: 10% Less Nights, 1 Unforgettable Experience.

Marriott did not win on the total nights but provided one of the most memorable nights in the whole year in the hotel.

Total Marriott Nights

• 9 nights total
• Scattered over a number of brands under Marriott.

Brands Included

• Renaissance
• Aloft
• TownePlace Suites
• Residence Inn
• Westin
• Courtyard

This diversity was a sign of the power and the complexity of the huge portfolio of Marriott.

The Marriott Show That Stole The Show

The Renaissance Wind Creek Resort in Aruba was the unquestionable hit. The resort was gorgeous, but what was even better was that the accommodation included a visit to a personal island, and even flamingos lived there. It was a hotel amenity that is hard to find and it was so authentic as opposed to being gimmicky.

IHG: Reduced Stays, Good Urban Prospects

IHG completed the list of the major hotel chains that we stayed in 2025. We did not stay here as many nights, but the experience was sound, particularly in big cities.

Total IHG Nights

• 7 nights total

Properties We Chose

• Kimpton Hotels as a city stay with design outlooks.
• Convenience at Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express.

Favorite IHG Experience

As soon as we were at the Kimpton theta in times square, our stay was outstanding. Having been in the very center of Manhattan, we realized what a big city knows about importance of location. The hotel itself was contemporary and warm, and the possibility to go outside and feel the vibrations of NYC was irresistible.

One-Night Stays and Independent Hotels

Not all journeys were long-term and prominent brands.

An impromptu overnight stay in one of the Drury Inns, Atlanta Airport, was a short rest-stop on the way.

Two unrelated stays in hotels, one of them actually memorable, The Cliff Lodge in Nantucket, provided the charm and character that is not always easy to find in a chain hotel.

These were brief visits which gave the yearly travelling report interest and colour.

The Underdog: Where We Will Sleep the most in 2025

Although Hyatt was declared as our favorite hotel brand, the location where we stayed the most was not a hotel.

Our trip on the Virgin Voyages took 14 days, broken into two seven-night trips, where each time we were in a Sea Terrace XL cabin. Now that one cabin added it made our one most-used room of the year.

Considerate design, personalized outdoor environment and the fact that once packed up, people could visit several places made it clear that cruising was one of the best lodging experiences.

Conclusion:

In hindsight, it was in the year 2025 that we pulled the levers all the way to the travel sector. We made more meaningful trips, had a more diverse experience of the accommodation types, and gave more attention to experience rather than routine compared to the previous year.

• Hyatt provided the highest stability in terms of quality across hotel brands.
• It took the Marriott one memorable resort stay.
• Hilton and IHG were reliable supporting parties.
• Hotel stays and cruises were supplemented with non-hotel and cruises.

When 2024 was a year of wanting to be by home, 2025 was a year of lost time. The only question we have now is how we can define the number of too many nights away when we are planning 2026.