en route to Harrisburg, PA question
 

DH needs to be in harrisburg for a meeting and I am trying to find a hotel b/c it's a long drive from where we live. He will be driving through NJ on 287 then will be on 78 for quite a while. There is no hotel right near where he needs to be w/ availability (strange) but was thinking maybe finding somepleace about an hour away from harrisburg right off the highway so he doesn't have to drive as much on the way there at night -- his meeting is late a.m. Are there any nice towns off of 78 where he can stop for the night? any suggestions? TIA

Rt 78 travels thru rural PA countryside for most of its length, but if DH wants to get off the Interstate to Hershey PA offers many motel choices and is about 30 miles from Harrisburg.

Thank you Joe. Is Hershey before Harrisburg considering his route?

Go to freetrip.com and after listing your starting and ending locations, scroll down and check off the hotel by price selections. If they are that limited, you may want to check off all price ranges.

Allentown is on 78, about 1 1/2 hr to Harrisburgh. If you go to priceline.com, you can bid on a 3* hotel in the 'Allentown-Lehigh Valley" area (which is closer to Harrisburgh) and get a good hotel (probably Holliday Inn) for a cheap rate (~$70). ((*))

Definitely check out the hotels in Hershey. There are a lot of options and this time of year, it shouldn't be terribly crowded.

I found a good rate at the Hotel bethlehem in bethlehem. Seems right off the highway en route. Anyone know if my estimation is correct and if this hotel is ok?

What is your 'estimation'? ((*))

sorry- that bethlehem is right on the way as well. My mapquesting seemed to show that the hotel bethlehem was just a few minutes from the highway he would be on en route. Is that the case and is it a fairly decent place to stay. Would you suggest allentown over bethlehem?

I would stay in Allentown. There are much more dining options if DH wants to go out. Allentown is a small city.

Have you really tried to find a hotel in Harriburg? Have you googled Colonial Park? This is a suburb of Harrisburg. There are lots of motels right off of the Harriburg beltway.

Thingorjus

The hotels that I could find in harrisburg where beyond the point where he needed to be. He'll be driving at night almost 6 hours and with a mid morning meeting, I thought it might work best if he drove the extra hour and a half in the a.m. rather than at night.

I will look into allentown as well. thank you all for your help.

EM, Harrisburg is a small city. Your husband could drive all the way to York, PA and it would only take 45 minutes.

Driving right off of the beltway--Colonial Park, even Mechanicsburg would only take an extra 10-15 minutes depending on traffic.

Thin

Thanks Thin. I didn't realize that harrisburg was that small. Everytime I mapquest different hotels, the driving time varies significantly, so I thought it was bigger.

I think my DH is sold now on not driving the whole way that night before since his meeting time allows him plenty of time to finish the drive comfortably in the a.m. he isn't looking to dine out necessarily, but if the hotel has a good/fairly good restaurant, i think that will be fine. the hotel bethlehem looks ok, but i'd like to try to get him as set as possible re location and dinner the night before. That said, would you still recommend Allentown over another en route town (like bethlehem).