While I am in the Dallas area for five days at the end of September I want to stay at a moderately priced motel north of downtown--in the Garland/Richardson area. I prefer a place from which I can take a pleasant morning walk and which serves breakfast. Any suggestion will be appreciated.

There is a stunning new hotel on 190 @ Jupiter called the Homewood Suites 972-881-3339
From the outside this is a cookie cutter Homewood but once inside you realize that this property is not ordinary.
The owner went all out and it is more like a W Hotel, down to the great beds.
It's in a new commercial area and you could walk around there but there's not a lot in the immediate area.
There is a DART station adjacent, Nortel, match.com and Ericcsen (sp) are nearby. Cisco and Fujitsu are neighbors.
I just loved this property... as you can tell.
Here's the b'fast info from the property data:
HOT BREAKFAST EVERY MORNING AND AN EVENING MANAGERS RECEPTION WITH A COMPLIMENTARY LIGHT MEAL AND BEVERAGES EVERY MONDAY THRU THURSDAY

PS... the hotel was opened last year so it is new.
If you are not familiar, 190 @ Jupiter is convenient to N Garland, Richardson, Plano and the Sachse area.

TxTravelPro, Thanks for the suggestion. I like Homewood Suites having stayed at one in Chicago recently. However, do you know of anything good a little farther south--nearer to Richardson or Garland?

Travelpro, have you stayed at this hotel. Are the beds soft? I have been trying for along time to find soft bed in Dallas!! Thanks

I've found that LaQuinta hotels tend to have very soft, comfortable beds.

Jim, I would recommend the Hawthorne Suites in Richardson. (I believe it is on Municipal Way, near Collins and Campbell.) They have the breakfast and light supper buffets, and a walk around the neighborhood would be easy. Back when I worked in telecom corridor, our business travelers loved to stay there.

The Hawthorn and Homewood are in the same area. Given a choice, I would pick the much newer Homewood hands down... and you get Hilton Honors points.
Yes, I stayed one night about 6 months ago and the beds were awesome.
This hotel was better than most 4 star hotels I have stayed at in NYC and LAX.
Hotels further south?
Well this one is literally 5 minutes north of the area you refer to as south.
It would help if I knew exactly where you are going.
I have lived in this area my whole life and honestly, the junction of 190 and 75 is great, mainly because it is a snap to go any direction you need to go. There is one quick light near the hotel and the entrance ramp to 190 (east/west) and 75 (north/south)
There is little congestion around this hotel, unlike the hotels around Collins, Campbell and Galatyn Parkway.
As a travel professional who works consulting negotiated hotel programs for large corporations, I can tell you that a huge percentage of the travelers have moved from the hotels in the area mentioned above to this new hotel... so weekday availability may be an issue.
In addition, the success of the Homewood limits your ability to find significantly discounted rates.
Weekday rates hover around 120 unless you are an employee of Cisco, Nortel, Ericson, Alcatel or other company in the area.

Hi, Thanks for the helpful details. I will be in Dallas for a family meeting taking place at a home nearer to the Hawthorn Suites at 9089 Vantage Point Drive. Do you have any information about that property?

Well, the last time I toured the property was 5 years ago, so I cannot tell you much about it now.
One of the problems for hotels in this area is that Nortel and Alcatel (and the other are corp sites) cut back on travel significantly in 2000. The economic backlash was bad enough to put an Omni out of business.
So many of the hotels supported by these companies have cut back on rennovations and services for going on 5 years now. Needless to say, the quality has suffered tremendously.
The Homewood came in at a time when travelers wanted something that was not neglected... something clean, new and busy.
I would assume that the Hawthorne has suffered a tremendous economic blow in the past 4 years.
Maybe someone out there has actually stayed there recently?

One good point about the Hawthorn is that is about 75.00 a night...
And again, if you are interested in the Homewood please understand that it is less than 5 minutes from the Hawthorn...

TxTravelPro, I wish you were responding to Washington and Oregon posts. Do you have suggestions for what one must see or do while in Dallas and vicinity? I am more geared toward the arts and restaurants than to sports and bars.

jimshep-

I guess I can answer a few of the "arts" question on Dallas. For museums:
1. Nasher Sculpture Center in fabulous (and the building itself, which is designed by Renzo Piano)
2. Dallas Museum of Art (so-so IMO)
3. Tremell Crow collection of Asian Art (so-so, hey, but it's free!)
4. Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth
5. Museum of Modern Art in Fort Worth
(#4&5 are worth the drive to FW)

The Dallas symphony orchestra season kicks off this weekend. If you like orchestral music, you can probably get yourself concert tickets. Go to their website for details. They play at the Meyerson Center, designed by IM Pei, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary.

Topping jimshep... Did you lose this post?

You'll be in town during the state fair. It's a geat deal of fun, even if you never ride a ride. Lots of animals, shows, every kind of food you can think of (and a few more that no one should have ever thought of).

-
http://www.bigtex.com/
Texas State Fair, from Sept 24 to Oct 17, 2004.

Thanks for all the great ideas.