Just wanted to let my fellow Fodorites know that if you find yourself unfortunately in Tallahassee,Florida, as I did this summer, where not to go. We had to take our child to a program at FSU and so found ourselves there two weekends in a row. We expected a gracious southern capitol and were sorely dissappointed. It is a dumpy town with no charm or originality whatsoever. The two main streets are lined with non-descript commericial enterprises that range from okay to seedy. The school itself is near a bus terminal and low rent hotels. We stayed at the only major hotel near the college the Doubletree which was dirty and rundown. The carpets in our room looked like they never were cleaned and the low ceilinged bathroom had hair on the ceiling. We asked the staff for suggestions and they were clueless. Hilton should be ashamed.

cbr,
Sorry you had such an awful time but if you chose to confine yourself to downtown, you got what you deserve.

There were many good suggestions made to you last Spring. Did you go to Wakulla Springs? Did you visit Pebble Hill Plantation in Thomasville? How about Wild Adventures? Did you check to see if there were any plays or concerts going on at FSU? Did you drive down to Apalachicola or over to Seaside?

You will notice that no one suggested hanging out downtown when you asked about things to do.

Sorry to hear about that cbr. We dropped off our youngest son at FSU last year and although we did found some of the "Tallahassee charm" on some of the cycling trails in St. Marks & Tom Brown Park, we found ourselves in a nearly identical catastrophe with Doubletree. Aside from our room not being clean, the breakfast we had the next morning was cold and served on a dirty plate. I think we would have fared better at Burger King. Since that visit, we've tried a few other hotels out by the interstate and have had slightly better luck, but none worth repeating. Some encouraging news, however, is that my son was recently looking for a job and found that there are two new hotels opening downtown. One of them is a boutique-style hotel called Hotel Duval, and they will be adding a Shula's Steakhouse in October. We booked our room there for Parent's Weekend, so we'll be sure to post how things go. It would be a real relief to be able to stay downtown without the worry of bed bugs or bad service.

We stayed at the Cabot Lodge in Tallahassee for a wedding several years ago and it was very nice. Breakfast and afternoon drinks included in the price. Maybe you could stay there if you find yourself in Tallahassee again.

cbr,

Was it not enough to use your fifteen seconds of journalistic fame to slam the Doubletree? You had throw Tallahassee in there as well.

I have news for you. There is a reason Tallahassee is one of the fastest growing towns in Florida with almost 12% growth. It is the great quality of life and the even better quality of people.

In some respects I am pleased that you came and didn't enjoy. We won't have to worry about you moving here.

One less person to muck up a good thing.

I like to stay here when visiting Tallahassee -
http://hiltongardeninn.hilton.com/en...tyhocn=TLHEHGI

In reply to the above. I am not the only one with a complaint it seems... I spoke with other parents that weekend and their issues were the same. I have also spoke to my fellow Floridians and many agree about Tallahassee as I do, so you don't have to worry about us moving there. We did not spend our time only in dowtown, we went to Marianna for the caves which was nice so I should have mentioned that. I did not dissparage the people who very nice, however,my review on the town remains the same.

Like nlg,
I like the Cabot Lodge when in Tallahassee. It is near I-10 and it is several miles to the downtown area.

And here I thought Cabot Lodge was MY secret! I do enjoy a drink out on the veranda. Inside feels like somebody's house or lodge. Older place, but charming, homey and comfortable.