For those who drive & stop overnight

[toystorymom]

Do you always plan exactly where you will stop and make a reservation? We're driving for the first time from the Boston area & have no idea how far we'll make it the first day. We really want to play it by ear, see how tired we are and how the kids are holding up. There are so many hotels on 95 do you think we'd have a problem getting a room without a reservation? Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[JudithM]

I would say it depends on the time of year you are going. We drive up & down I95 & hardly ever make reservations ahead of time. Be sure to stop at the state welcome centers & pick up the hotel coupon books. We have frequently found good values reading through them.

Two years ago we went at the end of April. The Saturday we left turned out to be the Saturday after Easter - very few hotel rooms to be had by the time we wanted to stop. We ended up at a Best Inn, near the south part of GA, which we renamed the WORST Inn - no hot water, no a-c, no heat. We did end up getting our money back the next mroning, but never again!

We have had good luck at the Hampton Inns in Florence, SC & Richmond Hills, GA & Clark's Inn in Santee, SC. We used to stay a lot in Hardeeville, SC, but things seemed to have changed in the area - just a gut feeling, not something I can put my finger on. SO, if you are going during a hoiday period you might want to make a reservation or perhaps stop a bit earlier to find a decent room.

Oh, the one time we did make a reservation ahead of time was Thanksgiving Saturday a couple of years ago - it rained so hard for so long that we never made it that Hampton Inn. We called & changed to another Hampton Inn.

 

[toystorymom]

Thanks for tip about the welcome centers! We are going in mid June, so I'm not sure what the hotels will be like then. It's funny, Santee, SC and Richmond Hills, GA were the 2 cities that we had been looking at, but again didn't want to commit in case we never made it or wanted to drive a little longer. I'll remember to stay away from Best Inns! Thanks again!

Anyone else?

 

[Desnik]

Hi! We drive down every year from NY, about 1hr. north of Manhattan. We usually make sure we have a hotel booked for the ride down and back. Most of the chain hotels have a cancellation policy of a call before 6pm the day of arrival and you won't be charged. If you have a ressie for one Hampton Inn, but want to keep driving, you can have that ressie switched to another Hampton without penalties, again as long as you call before 6pm the day of arrival. We use to stay at the Holiday Inn in Manning, SC, but not anymore after our visit in Nov. It has become alittle shady and we just didn't feel safe. We like Hampton Inns because they are usually nice, clean and safe and reasonably priced. This year we are staying at the Hampton Inn in Florence, SC. We usually like to do the most driving the first day. We are usually on the road by 9am and drive to SC.(we are there by 9pm). Stay over, then out the next day by 9am and drive to Disney and arrive there at about 3-4pm. We stop to eat, use the restrooms, and sometimes to just get out and stretch. We bring a ton of things for my daughter to do and this year, for the first time, we will have a tv/dvd player. This should help pass the time and keep our 4yo happy. I don't think yopu will have a problem finding a room, I'm sure you will find something, whether or not it will be where you want to stay is a different story! Try this website, it will tell you all the hotels on i95, restaurants and such. It is really helpful. http://www.usastar.com/i95/homepage.htm The speed limit is about 70mph in most spots, but let me tell you every does more than that!! So drive carefully, but if you just keep with traffic you can make good time! I always tell my DH I feel so funny driving past a state trooper doing 75mph and it's not gonna get me pulled over!!!(not that I'm telling anyone to go above the speed limit If yopu have any other questions, I'd love to help

 

[GeorgeG]

We've driven the last few times and will be doing so again later this year. Since we don't know how far we'll get before we're ready to stop, we don't make reservations and have had no problems getting a room. Once you get down into the Carolinas and Georgia, many hotels offer a variety of discounts (AAA, AARP, etc.).

 

[wdisneelvr]

Here is a link for those online coupon guides.

www.roomsavers.com