Driving down in the summer. What hotel chain???

cisco911

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jan 28, 2015
Hello All,
We are driving down to WDW this July. Spending a week at the most exhausting place on earth and then spending to weeks recovering at the beach. Usually I like to drive straight as the kids can sleep through the night and when they wake up half the trip is done. However, this year we are going to try and break it up a bit so that the kids are fresh when we get to disney. Basically leaving friday morning at 4am and stopping around 6 or 7pm and then doing the rest the next day to get WDW around noon. My question is what hotel chain should I look for or avoid at all costs on the way down. We are doing i79/i77/i26/i95/i4. We are hoping to stop at the beginning of I95 from I26. Thanks in advance for the help.
 
2 Disney trips in a row, Travelodge let us down. We will never ever stay at a Travelodge ever again - I can guarantee that. (We had 4 people, and the Travelodge only had 1 bed for us. Twice this happened! - it stinks to be looking for a different hotel at 10PM) We are going to Florida this August and are staying at Best Western hotels on our way down, and while we are in Orlando for our Waterparks getaway. I travel a lot for work and have never had a bad stay at a Best Western. Sure there may be nicer hotels out there, but I've found Best Western to be reasonably priced for the rooms and facilities. Most Best Westerns that we've stayed at have a nice breakfast included.
 
How about a Hampton Inn? Those are usually pretty reliable and they aren't super expensive. There's a Hampton Inn in Orangeburg right off of 26 a little before it intersects with 95.
 
I can't imagine why you're spending a week at an airport but who am I to judge? :)

Would agree that Hampton Inns are pretty reliable. Outside of that, do you belong to any hotel chain programs?
 


The Drury
Hampton Inn
Country Inn & Suites

These are hotel chains I’d recommend.
 
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don't really hotel much outside of going to the Caribbean. just try to figure out which hotels to completely avoid. I don't plan on booking in advance because I don't know exactly where we would stop. for instance if I stop in a town and there are 3 hotels and the first one is a comfort inn should I avoid those like the plague?
 
don't really hotel much outside of going to the Caribbean. just try to figure out which hotels to completely avoid. I don't plan on booking in advance because I don't know exactly where we would stop. for instance if I stop in a town and there are 3 hotels and the first one is a comfort inn should I avoid those like the plague?
I avoid Holiday Inn Express, Best Western and Comfort Inns. We’ve booked those hotels driving down and ended up leaving upon checking in. Just bad experiences.
 


I would do some research in the areas you think you are likely to stop (you probably have a ballpark idea of where) and make a list of the hotels you'd consider staying at. FYI avoid reading 0/1/5 star reviews as they're generally of the "everything was terrible" or "Everything is Awesome!" variety.
 
I see the poster directly above disagrees, but I always stay at Holiday Inn Express or Country Inn & Suites & ive never been disappointed.
 
It’s tough because the 95/26 area doesn’t have a lot. IExit app is great to see what they have. I’d probably do Hampton at exit 145a on 26. Easy on/off and lots of food around.

Otherwise you are probably looking at least another hour until exit 53 on 95.

We like Marriott brands but there isn’t a lot around. My parents always stay Hampton and my mom is picky.

I can never find drury’s. I won’t do motels like best western, etc.
 
It’s tough because the 95/26 area doesn’t have a lot. IExit app is great to see what they have. I’d probably do Hampton at exit 145a on 26. Easy on/off and lots of food around.

Otherwise you are probably looking at least another hour until exit 53 on 95.

We like Marriott brands but there isn’t a lot around. My parents always stay Hampton and my mom is picky.

I can never find drury’s. I won’t do motels like best western, etc.

The Drury’s are hard to come by. We try to stay at the Drury in Charlotte N.C. on our way home.
 
When you figure out where/what hotel you’re likely to stay at, go to that chain’s website and sign up for their loyalty program. Even if you have never stayed at any before, ‘members’ get slightly discounted rates at most hotels.

I lean towards anything under the Hilton brand, with our favs being Embassy Suites and Homewood Suites. Most rooms there give you a bedroom and a living room area, so you’ve got a place to bunk the kids down while mom and dad stay up a bit longer. Their breakfasts are also usually quite good.
 
I know some people will disagree but I usually go for the Best Western as my experience with them is generally good. I've also tried the Super 8 they're cheaper... and it's a toss up if you get a good one or a bad one.
 
I would suggest looking into Pooler GA just over the SC-GA line. A little bit further, but there is a cluster of hotels near the outlet mall there that are mostly newer, well maintained, and competitive; lots of options for dining there as well. We generally stay at Hampton Inn or Holiday Inn Express on the way down. All hotel chains have locations that are less than desirable, but these two have generally been pretty good for us.
 
Since we aren’t there to do anything but sleep I’m ok with a best western or similar . I also agree 100% location of where you stop is prob more significant
Go to CAA and get their old school trip tix and ask for their suggestions for a room how ever many hours you plan on driving.. maybe even have them book.
I think a lot of ppl don’t understand if you book and don’t pay and arrive late they can give away your room so leave you stuck with whatever is left example less beds . Also make sure if you book somewhere they have a 24 hour front desk. ( we learnt the hard way with rental cars reservations mean zilch If you show late even with a credit card on file .. prepay prepay prepay is only guarantee )
 
We also always stay at Hampton Inns. Sign up for HHonors Points and they often have double or triple point promotions. Last time we drove, we got enough points for two free nights!
 
Hampton Inn, Fairfield Inns, Holiday Inn Express. Super8 or Comfort Inns if they have great reviews. We avoid Holiday Inns and Best Westerns at all cost, way too many bad experiences (note however we will stay at Holiday Inn Express').

Usually also avoid Days Inn, never had a good one, some Travelodges are very good but some aren't.

My parents (80s) drive down every year for the winter and use Red Roof. Very basic consistent accommodation which is all they want, more importantly for my Dad, they back up the car in front of the door and only take out what they need for the night. They are on the road as soon as they wake up and hit up a McDonalds for egg mcmuffins after an hour and a half on the road.
 
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