Motels & Hotels along the Interstate

[NW-Bound]

Spent four nights in a Holiday Inn Express in north Dallas last month. It was near the Medical Centers. Thurs night was about $100, Fri & Sat were $79, and Sun was $149. Can't remember nightly pricing like that. A nearby Marriott was $249. Stops along the way down and back were about $110 in another Holiday Inn Express and a Fairfield Inn...

Maybe there was an event nearby that jacked up the rates for Sunday? I remember trying to book a room in Charlotte once, oblivious to a NASCAR race going on that weekend. I asked why the rates were so high, and the guy laughed and told me, and that I was lucky they even had a room. OK, I delayed my trip a week to skip that chaos...

I remember some years ago, on an impromptu road trip to Northern California, having trouble getting a motel room without reservation and did not know why. Finally found one down in San Jose, and was told that it was the weekend of the 50th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge. Just looked it up again, and that was in May 1987. My memory was right, because my daughter was 2 then.

When there is a big convention in San Jose, good hotel rooms cannot be found for 30 to 40 miles around. Megacorp attendees get pissed when they have to stay in Motel 6.

When I visited Monte Carlo some years ago, I stayed at a Marriott. Recently, I thought I might come that way again, so checked the price. It was 146 euros in the winter, and up to 250+ euros in the summer. But what the heck is this 3650 euros/night on a few days in May? Could it be the Monte Carlo Grand Prix race? Out of curiosity, I searched and found that to be the case.

PS. The Monaco Grand Prix can be watched from the balconies of several hotels. These charge as high as 3650 euros per person for the rooms.

 

[aja8888]

When I visited Monte Carlo some years ago, I stayed at a Marriott. Recently, I thought I might come that way again, so checked the price. It was 146 euros in the winter, and up to 250+ euros in the summer. But what the heck is this 3650 euros/night on a few days in May? Could it be the Monte Carlo Grand Prix race? Out of curiosity, I searched and found that to be the case.

You can't sleep in a Grand Prix race car.

 

[Sunset]

....... Rather than stay in a flea-bag or else expensive "flop house", we decided around 9:00PM to just keep driving until we got home (toward 4:00AM IIRC). It's so difficult to justify spending $100 or more for a "sleep chamber."

...

We used to do this, but it's not fun, and tiring and really dangerous for me from falling asleep or just being so zoned out I don't notice something until too late.

Plus the next day we would be like zombies anyway.
So now we limit our daily distance to 500 miles tops and stay a some hotel.

When I've been by myself, I will just sleep in the back of the van with a pillow, sleeping bag and some home-made window coverings it's comfortable and very discreet. That's when I'll save the $100 hotel cost.

 

[HFWR]

I've stayed in some pretty low-rent motels over the years, but just don't care to these days. Holiday Inn Express seems to be reasonably consistent, so I'm a member of their "club". But, for example, they wanted $140/nt in Lebanon, TN, when an Econo-Lodge across the street was $70. Granted, they weren't exactly equivalent, but Jeez O'Pete...

My peeve is the armed robbery by the local tax authorities. $20 for a "tourism fee" or some such, in BFE...

Frankly, once I check a few more things off the travel bucket list, I'll be happy to just find a nice 420 friendly cabin at the lake/beach/mountain, and forego as much driving (and flying, for that matter) as possible...

 

[Ronnieboy]

Not really frequent travelers yet, as we are still accumulating...it usually takes us a few years to get the 11th night free on Hotels.com reward, but in the past 10ish years we have decided and found that the Hilton Garden Inn chain/level is the most consistent for comfort, safety, and cleanliness. Rates from $80-$130 depending on area.

We typically search for that first and then for other 3+ star ratings if the Hilton isn't available.

 

[2017ish]

I've stayed in some pretty low-rent motels over the years, but just don't care to these days. Holiday Inn Express seems to be reasonably consistent, so I'm a member of their "club". But, for example, they wanted $140/nt in Lebanon, TN, when an Econo-Lodge across the street was $70. Granted, they weren't exactly equivalent, but Jeez O'Pete...

...

That is shocking. Wonder if something big was happening in Nashville. (Or County Fair week in Lebanon, or Cracker Barrel corporate-wide event?)

 

[HadEnuff]

Marriott, Hampton, Drury, Comfort Suites and the like, but only after visiting them or thorough reading of reviews. Best Western - hmmm - maybe. Find them to be a bit hit-or-miss. Of course, this can happen with many chains.

Slightly off-topic - It seems that EVERY hotel/motel has affixed "And SUITES" to their name. We find this hilarious when cruising past a property that's clearly older and past it's prime, but WAIT - It has SUITES!



I guess I'm not that surprised. We already do a thorough bedbug check. Not sure how to tell if the sheets have been slept on; however.

If they stick together there is a good chance they have been "slept" on.

 

[audreyh1]

We pretty much do Hilton hotel chains only now. Hampton inn usually, with the occasional Hilton Garden inn. The rooms are always clean, spacious, comfortable, nice bathrooms. We use their app to find availability down the road and use our AAA discount. We usually start looking a couple of hours ahead if we hadn't already decided where to stop for the night.

When we go to South Padre Island we usually stay at the Hilton Garden Inn there. It's one of the newest hotels on the island, on the north side of town where the beaches are nicer and traffic is light. Breakfast is not included, but they have a good omelette bar and other goodies for $10. If you splurge for an ocean view suite the view is truly spectacular. Across from the convention center and birding center which is where we spend a lot of time when visiting.

 

[GravitySucks]

La Quinta, Motel 6, and Red Roof as they all accept my travel buddy for no extra charge. The La Quintas have been very nice the last few years. They took their refurbish program seriously.

 

[Sojourner]

Many of you may want to see Inside Edition's investigation.
It will make you never to stay in a hotel again no matter the price level.

For Sheets' Sake! Multiple Hotels Do Not Change Bedsheets for New Guests, Investigation Reveals - Inside Edition

IMHO, this is somewhat of a faulty generalization. The investigation cited above found that 3 out of 9 hotels in their test did not change the bed sheets. But as any good student of probability and statistics knows, this was a very small sample size and thus the results have a huge degree of uncertainty. You'd have to run this test hundreds (if not thousands) of times over many days and weeks to have any sort of confidence that the results were representative of the hotel industry as a whole.

I don't think it makes sense to avoid staying in hotels because of sensationalist undercover investigations like this. If you look around, you'll see the same kinds of stories about restaurants, but who would actually swear off eating in restaurants forever because of this? The way I look at it is, I've been staying in hotels (from 1-star to 4-star) and eating in restaurants (greasy spoons and gourmet cuisine) for multiple decades, and I'm still alive and healthy. In order to experience the world, you have to get out there and live in it. Unless you're prepared to seal yourself up in a germ-proof bubble in your house.

 

[Bestwifeever]

La Quinta, Motel 6, and Red Roof as they all accept my travel buddy for no extra charge. The La Quintas have been very nice the last few years. They took their refurbish program seriously.

We always use LaQuinta when we have our dog with us (I think there are only three that do not allow dogs) and yes, they certainly have spiffed up their properties over the past five or ten years. (DS tells me the Aloft chain also welcomes dogs, but they are not on or near most Interstates.)

 

[Sue J]

My late father-in-law was in the hotel business. He had a degree in hospitality and hotel management and was a past president of the American Hotel & Motel Association.

When he traveled on his own, not for business trips, he liked to stay in Best Western Hotels. DH and I don't travel much but when we do we look for a Best Western, just out of sentimentality. Sort of as a wink to his dad.

We did have a stay at a Embassy Suites in Deerfield, FL. The rooms weren't great but the breakfast buffet was outstanding!

 

[HadEnuff]

Some suites are nicer than others though. And in this one you don't have to wonder if the sheets have been changed.

I'll bet the free brekky is to die for.

 

[Persn]

Maybe there was an event nearby that jacked up the rates for Sunday? I remember trying to book a room in Charlotte once, oblivious to a NASCAR race going on that weekend. I asked why the rates were so high, and the guy laughed and told me, and that I was lucky they even had a room. OK, I delayed my trip a week to skip that chaos.

Boston hotels jack up the price for Boston marathon weekend. But sometimes if you check in the first few days that booking comes available, a year in advance, you can find a couple places that forgot to adjust prices, so you can get a regular rate, maybe even with a promo special. Thanks to an alert friend, I pulled that off this year. It was even cancelable, so I booked 2 rooms, starting on different days, so I could have some flexibility on travel dates. It's still about $190/night, but I think it was well over $300 later. The problem is, few hotels make this mistake twice.

You might try booking Boston Marathon rooms through Marathon Tour and Travel and Entry Info. Several years ago we were able to book the Four Seasons through them for under $300. Now it's more like $500 but still a substantial discount and possibly a worthy splurge after doing all the work to qualify for Boston.

A few weeks ago I stayed at an Embassy Suites near the finish line of the California International Marathon. I booked late so didn't get the promo rate and had to pay almost double what that would have been. Then when we got to Sacramento we decided to go to the expo first - big mistake. By the time we checked in we were stuck in a room on the second floor. It seemed ok, until we got back from dinner and realized the room was situated right over the lounge that played DJ dance music. It also faced the freeway. Oh well, I never sleep well the night before a marathon anyway...

 

[RunningBum]

I thought sure I replied to that last post. I've used Marathon Tours in Boston at least once before, but this year I did a lot better on my own. After staying in Southie the first time, I've decided to splurge and stay close to the finish line and everything else now.


On my drive this week I stayed at an America's Best Value. It was pretty old and no updates other than good Wi-Fi, but for $47 it was clean enough, far enough off the interstate to be quiet, and seemed safe with a well lit parking lot. But the bed wasn't comfortable at all. I'm kind of thinking not to go this low anymore...either just snooze in my car or pay another $20 or more to get something I'd feel more comfortable in.

 

[Sunset]

Last year we stayed overnight in Macon GA. At a nice Super 8 where you park right in front of your room door.
So as I'm getting stuff out of the car, I see a fellow traveler come out to her car, and walk back into her room with a big pistol looked like a 45 auto.
It did make me wonder if the area was safe, or this person was simply very very cautious.
Nothing happened, and the area seems quite fine and we will stop there next time when in Macon.

 

[Fiddler]

I am a hotels.com fan. I am a Gold member (more than 30 nights a year). I am going to Manhattan January..I found a room for 75 dollars a night for four nights. Adequate hotel and clean (I have been there before). I get three free stays a year. (Every 10 nights you get a free night)..To save money I travel off peak times. I rarely pay more than 100 dollars a night for a room. I don't need posh, but I do need clean. I rely on hotel reviews to guide me. (a few times I have been disappointed---good reviews but a bad hotel---, but mostly the reviews are helpful).

 

[travelover]

Last year we stayed overnight in Macon GA. At a nice Super 8 where you park right in front of your room door.
So as I'm getting stuff out of the car, I see a fellow traveler come out to her car, and walk back into her room with a big pistol looked like a 45 auto.
It did make me wonder if the area was safe, or this person was simply very very cautious.
Nothing happened, and the area seems quite fine and we will stop there next time when in Macon.

Probably saw a cockroach that needed killin'.

 

[Ologist]

When we travel I use Hotwire.com and opt for three stars or higher. Usually you get a great price for a higher end hotel. Like Priceline you select an area rather than exact location. Nowadays with GPS a small detour is not a big deal.

 

[travelover]

When we travel I use Hotwire.com and opt for three stars or higher. Usually you get a great price for a higher end hotel. Like Priceline you select an area rather than exact location. Nowadays with GPS a small detour is not a big deal.

Can you book a same day stay on Hotwire or Priceline?

 

[Corporateburnout]

When we travel I use Hotwire.com and opt for three stars or higher. Usually you get a great price for a higher end hotel. Like Priceline you select an area rather than exact location. Nowadays with GPS a small detour is not a big deal.

I used Hotwire before and for the most part I was pleased with the hotels. We stayed at a 4 stars hotel in San Diego for the price of two.

 

[Katiek]

I generally use hotels for personal travel similar to the ones I use for business travel (Hiltons, Marriott's etc). I'll check out reviews on trip advisor looking for any concerns about safety/location etc.

I tend to book directly with the hotel, but especially if I'm staying more than 1 night, I'll check the prices a few times before the trip to see if the prices have decreased.

 

[Gumby]

We have enjoyed staying in a number of the hotels on this site.

http://www.historichotels.org/?src=...wZ05sbko1K3lEaktqWHhoTVc3NHZHa0Zadm1zMnpyQyJ9

 

[Slow But Steady]

Can you book a same day stay on Hotwire or Priceline?

Yes, you can.

Recently we drove as far as we cared to drive, which happened to be Pensacola. We fired up Hotwire and got a nice suite-style room in an older but renovated place for $53.

I think it was 2.5 stars. I actually look more at the recommendations than the stars. I want to be in places that at least 80% of the people would recommend.

 

[ABQ2015]

Last year we stayed overnight in Macon GA. At a nice Super 8 where you park right in front of your room door.
So as I'm getting stuff out of the car, I see a fellow traveler come out to her car, and walk back into her room with a big pistol looked like a 45 auto.
It did make me wonder if the area was safe, or this person was simply very very cautious.
Nothing happened, and the area seems quite fine and we will stop there next time when in Macon.

I know lots of people, including family members, who will not go on a road trip or go camping without a gun. And they wouldn't want to leave it in their car overnight.