Would you choose a "no frills" college or university over a typical residential school in the US?

I do not understand the definition of “no frills”. Somebody above suggested that Comm. Col’s are "“no frills”. But, I though that the original topic of discussion is about 4 year degrees that CC’s clearly do not provide. So, what is “no frills”? Are they 4 years in-state publics?
Maybe we can provide the definition of “frills” before we can discuss “NO frills”? OK, what are “frills”?