Need driving/hotel suggestions
 

Hi there,
It's not so much that I need highway hotel suggestions, but locations at various stops along the way from Toronto to Ft. Lauderdale. We've always had decent overnight stays at the Hilton chain and I wouldn't mind piling up a few more points there. We've particularly liked the Doubletrees and the Garden Inns but are open to others Hiltons (and other hotels). Normally this would be quite easy but the websites name suburbs that I don't know (eg Pittsburgh talks about Cranberry) These will just be one night stays so here's what I'm looking for:

Clean (of course)
Free parking
Decent area
Close enough to city/town/mall so that if we get there early enough we have someplace to go

Here are our stops on the way down:
Pittsburgh
Washington (don't need a hotel here -- staying with friends)
Savannah

On the way home:
Atlanta
Cincinnati

So if you could just tell me which areas of these cities are the best for travel hotels that would be great. And if you have any specific suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I'd like to keep each night in the $125 range.

Many thanks

In Savannah we have in the past used the Hampton Inn I-95 North BUT it is not really that close to anything so I would pick something closer in.

OK, thanks, Dukey. I'll make a note of it anyway.

We recently stayed just south of Pittsburgh at the Country Inn and Suites Washington and found it to be excellent for a very reasonable price too. My wife even gave them and another hotel we stayed at on this trip in October a 5 star review. Sadly, another hotel in DC only got 1 star.
Their address is 245 Meadowlands Boulevard, Washington, PA 15301

That looks good, Stevening, thanks. Free parking?

You could always look at the DeSoto (Hilton) which has been there forever (had a great piano bar back in the 1960's LOL) or the Doubletree.

You may was well stay IN town and if you have not ever been to Savannah then most definitely DO stay in town.

Dukey, I'll take a look at the DeSoto and the Doubletree. Are they both on the highway or in town?

We were just in Savannah last May (and Charleston as well). We stayed at the Cotton Sail in Savannah. It's a lovely place but needs some tweaking. I put a review on TA.

We stayed in Cranberry outside of Pittsburgh on our way to Washington DC from Detroit several years back. I remember it being a pleasant area. We had booked at the Fairfield but were walked to the Marriott which was newly opened at the time. There is a small outdoor mall nearby: http://www.thestreetsofcranberry.com/ and another larger mall http://www.cranberrymall.com/

Thanks, Pat. That would be our route exactly. How was the Fairfield?

Both of those I mentioned are located in the so-called "historic district."

Thanks, Dukey.

Use Hotel.com, id your location, and it will give you every hotel in that area. Hoteltonight (part of hotel.com) will give deep discounts after noon of each day. Have used hoteltonight all across the country and have been been disappointed. Have booked some great 5 star hotels for $99.

Thanks, fmpden. When you say 'after noon', do you mean of the day you'll need the hotel? Because I don't think I'm brave enough to wait that long.

You can book any date on hotel.com at any time. Hoteltonight lists discounted rates for that day. The best rates show up after noon on that day. We have traveled many days in high season and have always found a nice hotel that day. Best example - last year in late January we were in the Naples, Florida, area for an extra unplanned four days. Typical hotel searches on hotel, hotwire, etc. showed no availability in the Naples for those days. Looks like we would have to stay outside of that area. But around 2pm logged into Hoteltonight and picked of a 5 star hotel just two blocks from the beach for $99 and with an option (not always available) to book a second night at the same rate. Two days later waited till noon and booked the same room for two more nights. Once booked just went down to the front desk, and check out of our room and then checked back into the same room at the same rate for two more days.

We probably will get burned one of these days but for the moment we live and die with hoteltonight.

Just remember we did have one time and when it didn't work well. We were headed to Ft. Lauderdale for a cruise after Naples and routine stay (via Hotel.com) in a hotel near the port. Unfortunately a severe storm was shutting down northern airports and flights were being cancelled at the FL airport so the hotels around the airport were filling up with no deals. Finally found a vacancy about ten miles north of the airport via hoteltonight. It worked out but just not as convenient. My belief is that you will always find a hotel with hoteltonight except in extreme weather circumstances.

If it were just me, I'd consider it, but I know my SO won't go for it. He'll definitely want us to have booked rooms and that's ok with me.

Live a little on the wild side. Here is what you do. When you get to your booked hotel, use hoteltonight to see what is available in the area and especially the price. I will bet that rooms will be available at your hotel for a lesser price your paid. Give it a try.

We didn't actually stay at the Fairfield, they were overbooked and sent us off to the Marriott for the same price. It worked out well :-)

Yes, free parking and thanks again :-)

We lived on the wild side 40 years ago on our first trip to the UK. Except for a hotel for our week in London (sink in the room; toilet down the hall; I don't even want to think about what happened in that sink) we drove around England and Scotland for two weeks without one hotel reservation. Sometimes it worked out. Sometimes we checked into a hotel and checked right back out again.

We'll have the tablet with us so we can give it a try but my guess is that after a day of driving, we'll be happy to get to our reserved room.

And thanks, Steve.

But 40 years ago we didn't have the internet.

Pat_in_Michigan, do you think you could be more specific about the hotel you stayed at in Cranberry (maybe even provide a link)? There are lots of Marriotts and lots of Fairfields and one is now closed.

Many thanks

If you're an AAA or CAA member, the Home 2 Suites in Cranberry Township is usually around $120...nice place and the breakfast is actually edible. Home2 is the new Hilton version of Residence-Inn type accommodation, more apartment style than hotel (no restaurant or room service).

Thanks, Debbie, I'll look into it.

First hotel is booked!

We had stayed at a beautiful Doubletree in Rochester last year so based on that experience and good reviews and price, I booked the Doubletree in Cranberry. It has everything I want -- free parking, free wifi and a fitness centre and is well located for us. And the HUGE surprise was that it turned out I had just enough Hilton points for a free night! So yay!

Next up: Savannah. I'll look at your suggestions, Dukey, and will be happy to hear others.

Hotel #2 booked! I took your suggestion, Dukey, and booked the Hampton Inn I-95 North. It gets good reviews and the price is right. Thanks for the rec.

Now on to the trip home and those stops are Atlanta and Cincinnati.

Just a note about the hoteltonight app. You can now book several days in advance. Click on the calendar logo that says "tonight" (next to the city name) and a little timeline calendar comes up so you can pick a check-in several days in advance. You'll get a list of discounted hotels available during that time frame. I've used this feature when I knew I needed a room several days in advance and didn't want to wait until the day of.

Thanks, auntie.

Atlanta is now booked (Carlson Inn & Suites) so there's just Cincinnati to do.

I will hang on to the hoteltonight app, though, because as we drive north the chance always exists that we'll be stuck in bad weather and will need a last minute hotel.

Last one done! The Drury Inn at Sharonville, just north of Cincinnati. We stayed at a couple of Drurys on our drive down to Biloxi and liked them very much.

Well, thanks all, for your guidance and advice. And I hope anyone who's driving south finds this thread because all the research is now done!