Florence, SC?

[ducklite]

We're driving to Florida in July, and were thinking about stopping for the night in Florence.

Anyone have any info? We've got a room at the Hampton Inn and Suites on hold, it's the one by the civic center. Anyone stayed there? Is it clean, quiet, safe? Do I need to worry about my car being broken into or stolen overnight?

Is there another hotel you'd suggest instead? Cost is not a factor, I'm more than happy to spend more money to get a better place, if one is available. We'll have a 24' truck and a car, so downtown isn't really a good option if we can avoid it.

Any and all comments are appreciated! Thanks!!

Anne

 

[TINKTWINS]

I believe Florence is where we are stopping when we drive down in April. I will let you know! We have driven twice before and never had hotel problems en-route!

 

[ducklite]

Thanks TinkTwins! Anyone else?

We were thinking about the Fayetteville area, but Florence just seemed like it might be a little safer, and it's not that much farther.

Anne

 

[jel0511]

ducklite, we've driven from Nj before, and we usually stop in Savannah, GA on the way down and Fayetteville, NC on the way home. We've stopped in Florence for lunch, and it just seemed VERY zooey to me. I personally wouldn't stop there, but I don't think you'd need to worry about safety. Fayetteville is a nice place to stop, and we've stayed at the Hampton there. It was nice and clean, and we ddn't have any issues with safety there. Just find out if your hotel had interior or exterior corridors. Not all Hamptons have interior corridors, and I know that makes me feel safer when driving, having the interior corridors. There are many Hamptons off 95 that are more motel like, than others. If you want to push it to Savannah on that first day, the Clariorn Inn and Suites is beautiful. It's brand new, and I really like stopping here. We can make it to Savannah from Princeton in approx 13 hours, with a stop for breakfast and lunch, each about 45 minutes long. Fayetteville is just about the middle for us coming home, about 8 hours from WDW and 8 hours home. I'd also recommend buying the I95 guide. It lists all hotels, restaurants, etc as you're driving down, and it's an invaluable book to have while driving down. Here is the website. http://www.usastar.com/i95/homepage.htm

 

[Blondie]

We've stopped at Florence twice as it's the half way mark from here to WDW.

We've taken the exit that includes the Magnolia Mall, there are several hotels right there, one is a fairly new Fairfield Inn. We've stayed there twice, clean rooms, reasonable rates and the mall is right next door if you need to get out and walk around and kill some time.

 

[tar heel]

My advice -- watch for speed limit changes and make sure you don't go over it. I got my first ticket after 29 years of driving there two summers ago. It was on a busy four-lane road, not at all a congested downtown area, and the limit was 35. The lawyer I hired had an 800 number and I got the impression from talking with his assistant that he has a pretty good business helping out-of-state people with tickets.

 

[ducklite]

Loti--Thanks for the info! You really make it to Savannah in 13 hours?!?! We've got to tack 20% or so onto that time frame, because we'll have the truck and the car.

I'm just up the road from you in North Brunswick!

Anne

 

[jel0511]

Small World Anne!!! I'm in North Brunswick all the time!!! I love the Bed Bath and Beyond on Rt 1, it's AWESOME!!! Yep, we made it in 13 hours, but hit no traffic whatsoever. We basically were doing the speed limit + 5 mph or so, so really weren't speeding either. Have a great drive, it is a little more difficult since you'll have two cars, but just have two cell phones to stay in touch so you don't have to follow each other. Basically impossible on 95 with all the trucks!!!! Since you'll have this LARGE truck, I'm assuming you'll be moving some things into your vacation home (which is beautiful by the way)!!! We'll be down in July also, so maybe we'll bump into each other!!! Just to give you an example, we pulled out of our driveway at 3:35AM and were eating lunch in Florence around 1PM. We only stopped once, somewhere in VA around 8AM for breakfast and gas. We drive an Acura MDX, so we dont' get great gas mileage and were fine with a stop every 5 hours. Have a great trip!!!!

 

[ducklite]

LOL! I was in Bed, bath & Beyond about an hour ago!

You guessed it--we'll be taking stuff down for the house. We are having most of the furniture and appliances delivered directly there. But we have some furniture here that we want to take down as well. Also, I've been buying lots of things like linens, small appliances, kitchen stuff, etc. all on sale for the past few months, it's all splilling out of the attic, garage, and spare room right now...my house is bursting!!

Anne

 

[lynetteSC]

Originally posted by tar heel
My advice -- watch for speed limit changes and make sure you don't go over it. I got my first ticket after 29 years of driving there two summers ago. It was on a busy four-lane road, not at all a congested downtown area, and the limit was 35. The lawyer I hired had an 800 number and I got the impression from talking with his assistant that he has a pretty good business helping out-of-state people with tickets.

LOL! You must be talking about Manning, SC. It is near Florence and where we would always get a ticket when I was in college in Florence.

When I was in college, the area by the mall in Florence was pretty safe. It was where I-95 and I-20 intersect. Of course, that has been some years ago!

 

[jel0511]

Anne - that's too funny!!! I hope you have a GREAT trip, and good luck with your house!