I95.. do you wing it or book ahead?

[gopherit]

We're approaching less than 50 days to our next Disney adventure. Normally, I book a hotel somewhere around the half-way pt about a month in advance. However -- this year, with our kids being a bit older, we think we can cover more gorund in the first day (so as to make Day 2 of the driving very brief). I was thinking about Brunswick or Kingsland as a stopping point. The Hampton Inn and Country Inn in those cities seemed appealing enough (decent rate, breakfast included, and a pool for the kids). So... should I book it ahead or just wing it? If we are making good time, perhaps we could put a few more miles under our belt -- maybe make it to St. Aug, for example. On the other hand -- what if we're terribly wrong and can't go quite that far in one day, as the kids are miserable? We are going in August -- will the I95 hotels like Hampton Inns book up? Are ressies along I95 imperative?

And does priceline or hotwire work for things like this or do you end up with some funky unknown hotel? What kind of savings could you get? THe prices I'm looking at now are between 70-90 bucks for the one night. I think I did see a slightly lower rate for the Country Inn but it was a largely non-refundable internet special.

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

When I've used Priceline (admittedly, not along I-95), I've ended up in a Radisson several times, and one other time I got a hotel in one of the Mariott brands (selected a lower rating, to try and save $$ ... I think the Radisson's were 3 star hotels, the mariott was a 2 star). You might want to check betterbidding.com or biddingfortravel.com to see where people have been getting placed, and what kinds of prices they've been paying.

 

[Uncleromulus]

We've done it both ways--winged it, and had reservations. A lot depends on which nite you stop--Friday and saturday are often very crowded and at least once when we winged it we had to go to 3 or 4 places before we found a vacancy. WE now always make reservations.
To assit with your timing--we live in S. Central pa., midway between baltimore and York Pa. We leave on Friday morning at 4:00AM (so as to avoid the horrible DC rush hour) and are checking in at the Hampton Inn, Brunswick ga, around 4:30 or so that afternoon. That includes a stop for a full breakfast, and a #of gas/rest stops.
Next morning we leave Brunswick at 6:00 AM and are usually checking in at OKW around 10:30 at the latest.
Note that all of the above asumes good traffic and no accidents or major construction delays along the way

 

[Carole]

We've also winged it and made reservations in advance. Popular hotels do fill up. I take along the guides for Hampton Inns and Holiday Inn Express. About 4 hours before we decide to stop, I pick out the hotel in the desired area and call to make reservations. A few times the hotel has been totally booked when we arrived so it was worth the call. Several times just winging it, we had to try several hotels and drive additional miles to find a place. Most hotels also allow you to cancel up until 6:00. A reservation can be made and cancelled if you change your mind on how far to drive.

We drove the last week in May from Maryland to Florida on I95 - traffic was not bad and we didn't hit many construction spots.

Have fun!

 

[mishoe01]

I have also done it both ways --- I think it would depend on what your dates are. I know the last time I had a ressie made somewhere, we ended up pushing ourselves to get there. There was a lot of traffic so we got there about 4 hrs later then planned. If we did not have the reservation where we did, then we could have stopped anywhere. If you have multiple drivers, then it may not be too bad to push yourselves.

Hope this helps

 

[DCSingle]

My advice is to make two reservations in the two cities you think you'd most like to stop in (one closer, one further). Make sure that they're cancellable by 6PM day of, which most are. Then just make sure you call to cancel one once you figure out how far you want to drive.

I've stopped several times in Brunswick and liked it there. Various fast food and casual sit down options as well as a Super Walmart if you realize you've forgotten something. I've stayed at the Fairfield Inn. Haven't tried Hampton or Country Inn there or in Kingsland, but I've had good luck with both of these chains along I-95.

I like to make reservations so there's no stress about where to stay. It's also worthwhile to do a bit of homework to find out about the particular hotel, as I've had some bad luck along I-95 even with some reputable chains (i.e. the Hampton Inn in Savannah/Pembroke and the Fairfield Inn in Florence, SC).

 

[JudithM]

We usually wing it - depends on when we leave, the weather, road conditions, etc. Most times southbound on I95 we stop somewhere from Florence, SC to Darien, GA including Santee, SC & Richmond Hills, GA. We usually stop at a Hampton Inn (although I would not stay again at the Hampton Inn on US 52 in Florence or the one in Lumberton, NC).

Having said we usually we wing it, we did learn a couple of lessons over the years. One year we drove down I95 the Saturday after Easter. We could not find a place to stay until we got to a Best Inn somewhere near Darien. It was the worst place we have ever stayed.

Another trip we didn't have reservations. We made it to one of our favorite Hampton Inns in Richmond Hills, GA. No rooms were available because of its proximity to the military bases in the area.

Another time we made a reservation at a Hampton Inn, but we realized we wouldn't get that far. I called their toll free number & changed the reservation to another Hampton Inn.

 

[Snowysmom]

We did make reservations last summer. I am glad we did becasue they were turning away people who were walk ins. We could have canceled the reservations by 6 pm that same day if we needed to so maybe check the policy of the hotels you want to stay at. If you can cancel that same day without penalty, it wouldn't hurt to have the reservations.

 

[gopherit]

Thanks for the responses, folks!

Well, I guess the bottom line is that I'm too chicken therefore to go with the Internet saver rate I was quoted for Country Inn. You can get your ressie for about 15 bucks cheaper (59 versus 75), but the drawback is that is you cancel, you will still pay a $25 charge, and up to as much as a full night's stay. I guess I'd rather have a little more flexibility to stop elsewhere -- either shorter or even further down the road, if we're making good time! We plan to leave home in the wee hours so as to travel (a) when it's cooler and (b) when it's quieter (kids asleep!) so we oughtto reach -- all things permitting -- the Kingsland area by mid afternoon (say 3 pm-4pm). I would hate to think that if we were making good time we couldn't advance ourselves to say, St. Augustine if a room was available. Wonder ifthey would let me hold the internet saver rate and then, if I'm on the road and willing to move the ressie and "pay up" to the the 75 dollar rate, if they would let me switch. Of course, that's all provided there is another room available further down the road.

Typically we go Hampton Inn but we've had good experiences lately with Country Inn too... My sister does the 1-800 Hampton thing from the road once she gets close to a stopping point, as many of you also do. But I would hate to chance it with 3 kids whom we promised a swim for good behavior! Guess I'd better make a ressie.

 

[Carole]

JudithM,

We've also gone to several outside entrance Hampton's that we will not stay at again. There is a restaurant in Richmond Hills called Southern Image. It is fairly inexpensive and a nice break from fast food.

 

[JudithM]

Originally posted by Carole
JudithM,

We've also gone to several outside entrance Hampton's that we will not stay at again. There is a restaurant in Richmond Hills called Southern Image. It is fairly inexpensive and a nice break from fast food.

Carole, I could have written your post ! I agree about the outside entrances, & we really enjoy Southern Images! They serve good down home cooking, & they have a nice gift shop - one December I foundsome pretty gold glittered ornaments for our Christmas decorations.

 

[NALA 24]

I also vote for making reservations along I-95, but only if they can be canceled by 6pm without penalty. Last year, we stopped at a Country Inns in Savannah North and we saw many weary travelers being turned away. We had reservations and we were glad we did.

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

We travel to Brunswick, GA and spend the night. We've used Priceline everytime. We always seem to get the Hampton Inn for about $40. It's a nice stopping point and WDW is 3 hrs from there.

 

[mom2boys]

We used to wing it - until we were forced to drive through the night to Disney Hilton Head Resort. We arrived at 6 a.m. We began looking for rooms in VA - the only thing available was only an hour from Hilton Head so we didn't bother. It was a Sat in the Summer & there had been torential downpours along I-95 - everyone decided to stop for the night.
The stress level between DH & I was pretty high. We were fortunate that our room was ready & we were allowed to check in at 6 a.m. However, the boys had slept through the night & it was our youngest's birthday. The boys were raring to go & we just wanted to sleep. We were able to convince them to watch the new video we gave DS for his birthday & sleep for 1.5 hrs before renting bikes.
Never again have we or will we travel without "just in case" reservations. As someone else suggested, we make a couple of cancelable ressies at varous points along the way. As 6 pm approaches, we make a descision as to how far we will drive & cancel the rest of the ressies.

 

[Kmygrl73]

Has anyone stayed at the Holiday Inn off I-95 in Florence, SC. I thought it might be a good stoppping point for us after driving from Boston. Maybe 13/14 hrs from Boston to Florence? Then another 7 the next morning to Orlando. I got a good Entertainment rate of $38.48 but wasn't sure how this hotel was? Any thoughts? Any other places to look into?

Thanks a lot,
Kim

 

[Carole]

We've never stayed there. But I have marked in my log book that is looked like a nice area with a new interior Holiday Inn Express. There is also a Pilot Gas in that area.

 

[kylara]

I use to wing it until the time that I hit torrential rains for hours on end and couldn't get a room no matter where I stopped...because everyone else had already stopped. I ended up having to drive through some of the worst thunderstorms ever and for about 5 hours longer than I wanted too. After that, I too have learned the advantage of multiple reservations that can be cancelled before 6pm with no penalty.