Viking Hotel, Newport
 

Has anyone stayed in the "Shared-Shower Room" at the Viking Hotel recently? If so, can you let me know how small it REALLY is and if it's worth a $99 web rate/night for 2 nights when all the other rooms are going for $399/ngt b/c of a food festival the same weekend we need to go for a family wedding? The other thing is we will have a 2 mth old by then. If it weren't for that, it'd be no question, but we're just not sure we'll have the extra room we'll need to accomadate a 2 mth old (since this will be our first baby and we are totally clueless.)
Thanks in advance!
Amy

I've never stayed in the "shared-shower room" (nor would I), but I can tell you that my regular ($300-some dollar room) at the Viking was very small. There was no closet and no where to put the suitcase. You could walk around the bed, but that's it. The bathroom was equally small. It was also situated right next to the maid's room, which made for a lot of door slamming and other loud noises early in the morning -- not exactly conducive to a new baby.

How much room you need for baby depends on how you plan to sleep with baby. We usually use a pack 'n play (what our parents called a playpen). It is square and takes up a good bit of space.

While I usually think a hotel is better than a b&b for a baby (because they tend to be cozier and I worry about noise), it can really depend on where your room is situated. We stayed at one b&b where our room was on the end of the hall and next to a stairwell -- no worries about baby's crying disturbing other guests.

Just some food for thought.

May I suggest the Hyatt on Goat Island if you really would like to save money? I don't know when you're going but they usually have a $100 rate on the weekends in Winter.

Tell us the date of your stay

With a baby to accommodate, I'd stay farther out of town if necessary to get the right space and price.

No matter what you book now, don't overlook the possiblity of last-minute cancellations at hotels in town; many folks will book hotel rooms for an event far in advance, because of the filling-up that you noted, then cancel as the date approaches if they decide not to attend; it's a scarce-resource hoarding phenomenon.