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Decent lodging I-95 South Carolina; pet friendly

Decent lodging I-95 South Carolina; pet friendly

Old Apr 11th, 2009, 05:38 PM
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Decent lodging I-95 South Carolina; pet friendly

We're planning a drive from Massachusetts to Florida this summer. We will have 2 small dogs with us. We hope to drive to mid to lower South Carolina before we stop for the night (leaving very early a.m. from Mass.). Does anyone have any first hand experience with a clean, decent place to stay with our dogs for 1 short night?
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Old Apr 15th, 2009, 01:16 PM
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Anyone?
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Old Apr 15th, 2009, 01:29 PM
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I think you can google for "pet friendly SC". Look for motels around Darlington, Florence SC. You might even check with South of the Border to see if they are.
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Old Apr 15th, 2009, 02:24 PM
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We drive from lower CT to Southern FL and travel with 2 Golden Retrievers. The midway point for us is just above the NC/SC border. We stop at a pet friendly Super 8 in Lumberton. We ask for a room on the first level on the back side near the pool. You go directly into the room from the parking area. You can park directly in front of the room. There are good places to walk the dogs. It is always clean. It was brand new when we first started using it and then it was just easy with the dogs. I would go someplace more interesting if I didn't have the dogs, but it works just fine. Good luck. If you stop there, just South on the service road is a local restaurnat called John's that serves a decent prime rib and the owners are very nice. The dogs stay in the car.
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Old Apr 16th, 2009, 02:29 AM
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Thanks Gretchen and lynnesm. We are trying to get down pretty far into South Carolina, closer to Georgia. I have stayed at a Days Inn, what a dump. I know that probably the majority of places that take dogs are not great. I also want a motel with parking in front and no hallways, entering from the parking lot. I will look into the Super 8 chain. I have stayed at a motel 6 before in Canada with 1 dog. It was brand new so it was fine. It's the motels that have been there for a long time that are pretty dirty and used. I would drive straight through if I thought I (and the dogs) could take it.
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Old Apr 16th, 2009, 03:31 AM
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That's a pretty ambitious day's drive, if you are coming from eastern MA. You may have traffic in the NYC or Balto-Washington area that could significantly hold you up.

I wouldn't rely on getting beyond Florence, and you will want a reservation there because you will be a late arrival. It is, fortunately, a major lodging point with many, many choices.

With luck, you will get a good recommendation here for a specific place, though a AAA guide will list the choices and let you know if they are dog-friendly.
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Old Apr 16th, 2009, 04:20 AM
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We have done the drive before. I know that it is ambitious. We plan to leave at 3:30 or 4:00 a.m. We leave from Western Mass and head down 84 to 91 to Merrit pkwy to Tappan Zee to eventually NJTP and continue on 95. Hopefully we will miss the DC traffic, although I know there is always traffic in DC. We have stayed in Florence before at a Days Inn that was less than desireable, but with dogs it's tough to find anything decent. We hope to travel 15 to 16 hours before stopping, sleep for 7 or so hours and then arrive in Kissimmee around 1:00 p.m. next day. This is very hopeful.
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Old Apr 16th, 2009, 05:37 AM
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Then look here and find something.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...el+SC&aq=f&oq=
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Old Apr 16th, 2009, 05:49 AM
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Gretchen: I actually have been doing that type of search. I just wondered if I could get some actual first hand reviews from Fodors people. I will end up finding a place that hopefully doesn't have bedbugs to bring in the dogs and sleep for a short time before heading to Florida.
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Old Apr 16th, 2009, 06:31 AM
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i95exitguide.com is a useful tool. I drive that route quite often, having one kid in college in Savannah and one in NC, living north of Boston. It seems to be a hotel no mans land south of Virginia - with quite a few really creepy hotels long the way. I also think your time frame is very very optimistic. Ignore Mapquest time estimates - we always hit some problem somewhere in NJ/MD or DC. If you leave at 4 AM you will hit NYC metro area around rush hour, even taking the Tappan Zee Bridge. Boston-DC often takes 10-12 hours with minimal stops because of some traffic, construction or unexplainable issue.

And Mapquest lists the trip from Boston to Kissimmee as taking 21+ hours - that is driving time, with no allowances for food, dog or people bathroom breaks - in addition to the inevitable traffic I describe. And summer is peak construction time.

But, back to the question - no first hand experience with a good place to stay, several bad places to stay (mostly around Rocky Mount, NC).
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Old Apr 16th, 2009, 06:43 AM
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Can't imagine what your motivation is for such a grueling schedule, but I can help a bit. Instead of heading south on 91, stay on 84 West, then take 684 South (some miles past Danbury) to 287, and head west across the Tappan Zee Bridge.
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Old Apr 16th, 2009, 09:39 AM
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We actually do the drive to NJ quite often to visit relatives so we have taken to going down 91 and getting on the parkway there to connect up to 287 and then the Tappan Zee. We have just gotten tired of the 84 284 drive.

I know that it is very optimistic and a grueling schedule. I also know that there is a good chance that we will stop sooner, perhaps in Florence. We are meeting family in Kissimmee at a house rental and we offered to drive down the family dogs (1 is ours). We would like to get on to the same schedule once we arrive and take advantage of the house rental.

We have done the drive straight through a few times and another time we stayed in Florence SC. I think we will end up playing it by ear; probably reserving a couple of spots and cancelling when we know where we are going. I only reserve because I am thinking that the internet rate might be a bit better than the rate I would get if I just showed up. Who knows?
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Old Apr 16th, 2009, 10:40 AM
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I would stay at one of the Holiday Inns at the top of the attached list.

http://www.pets-allowed-hotels.com/u...NCE/index.html
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Old Apr 16th, 2009, 11:09 AM
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Exit 53 in Walterboro, SC has a Motel 6 that is clean, right off the interstate, safe, and pet friendly with no fee. I checked a few motels when friends were coming down and that was the best I found -- and really surprisingly good at that. I was pleased, and so was the company (their dog doesn't get on well with my two, so overnight at my house was not feasible).

I know it's a Motel 6 -- if that turns you off, there's a Microtel around the corner (but for my money, M6 was just fine). You'll be 45 minutes north of the GA border, less than 6 hours from Kissimmee. Check motel coupons at the SC rest stop.
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Old Apr 16th, 2009, 03:16 PM
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fliegel, I was actually thinking of motel 6 in walterboro. We have stayed in a motel 6 on a trip to michigan that took us through canada. The motel was new and very clean. I'll look in to that one. I'll check out the Holiday Inn website also, kathleen. Thanks everyone.
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Old Apr 27th, 2009, 02:34 PM
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I am planning a trip from the Keys to Connecticut later this spring. I have a house in Wellington, FL that I will stay at then try to make Lumberton NC and stop for the night. I have three 'large' dogs and see a listing for Quality Inn in Lumberton NC. anyone had any experience with them?
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Old Apr 28th, 2009, 04:00 AM
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I think I have seen some remarks here about motels around LUmberton being "iffy", and I know the area too. I'd see if I could find something around Florence/Darlington. Or Fayetteville, which shouldn't be too much further than Lumberton.
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Old May 3rd, 2009, 12:35 PM
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I gave up on this idea and am having my son "babysit" the dogs for a week. This wasn't a possibility when I began my motel search, but thankfully it now is. It will cost more, but in the long run flying to Orlando from Boston is 100 times less stressful than driving with 2 dogs 1300 miles. I got a good fare on Delta to Orlando. I'm booked and ready to go. Thanks for all the advice. I'll keep it in mind for future trips.
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