Lancaster/Strasburg, PA -Where to stay?

[palmtreegirl]

We are going to see Thomas at the Strasburg Rail road this June and need a nice place to stay for 2 nights. Any recommendations, I've been looking online but it's so hard to pick a place without reliable reviews.

TIA!

 

[buzzlady]

http://www.padutch.com/z/wvinn.htm

I have a friend who stayed here and loved it. It is a link to Willow Valley Resort. They do list Strasburg RR as a local attraction. If you click vacation specials they list a Thomas package.

 

[BWVDenise]

I think we stayed at a place called the Steamboat Inn. It was nice and had a nice restaurant in it also.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Another vote for the willow valley inn. Very nice there. My ds remarked once that their teacher from school was there. I didnt believe it, till I went in. I later found out her daughter works in reservations there. Their food is very good but our favorite place to eat is Millers smorgashboard. They can get very crowded sometimes. I think we made a reservation. Willow valley is very family oriented and they have a huge indoor pool, pond to feed the ducks etc.

 

[DoeWDW]

Willow Valley is lovely! I wouldn't hesitate to stay there. We are within a 45 minute drive and go there to eat several times a year. The public areas are very well-kept - have never stayed there so I don't know about the insides of the rooms. It has a resort feel to it, I think, rather than a cheap hotel feel.

 

[Kallison]

WVI is nice -- we always looked for a nice farm/bed-breakfast combo. I like to be off the main roads where I can watch the buggies go by.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

We stayed in Strasburg 2 years ago for a wedding. We stayed in the closest Days Inn because we were looking for clean and cheap and it was fine.

There is a motel there that is all in train cars. We live close enough that we went and looked at the motels before we booked. That one was really nice and would be fun for kids. It just was not what we wanted having to dress to be in a wedding.

Red Caboose Motel

Really, every motel we looked at was clean and safe looking. It is all a matter of taste and cost.

 

[aprilgail2]

I always stay at a place called Green Acres Farm bed and breakfast in Mt. Joy. The stemaboat place is nice too but I like the bed and breakfasts.

 

[DebbieR]

We're at the Bird-in-Hand Family Inn right now. We've stayed here and at the Amish Country Motel many times. We really like the Bird-in-Hand Corp properties. We also stayed at the Fulton Steamboat Inn in the fall. We loved it except for that it's along a main road. I like walking out the door and having an Amish farm right in front of me. Of course, we come here because it's peaceful and we can kick back and relax. We also never come during "the season". Rooms are less than half the price in the off-off season.

You are pretty safe with just about anything around here. We are traditionally "national chain" only people, but around here it doesn't seem to matter.

Debbie

 

[dcgrumpy]

Thanks for posting this question. We are going to see Thomas in either june or September at Strasburg. We usually go to CT to see him but decided on somthing different this year.

 

[dvcfamily41801]

We really enjoy Willow Valley as well. We have stayed there 2 times. They just added an indoor little I imagine water park and it is very family friendly.

We usually get up there in February, and say each time we would love to come back when there is much more for our son to do and see, like in the spring or fall, but we are usually at WDW!!

 

[palmtreegirl]

Thanks for all the ideas! I checked out Willow Valley but it said that it's 20 miles from the rail road and I'd like to be closer.

I'll have to keep checking out the other places mentioned. Thanks!

 

[piratesmate]

When DH & I both worked we took the kids to the Fulton Steamboat Inn every year over Christmas break. We also went during the summer & did school shopping at the outlets several times. The indoor pool is small, but nice. We love the place - but do not care for the restaurant there. We usually went someplace nearby. As dumb as it sounds, our kids favorite place is Tony Wang's....I know, who goes to Lancaster County & has Chinese food?? But the food is great & there's a big window where you can watch them actually making your food.

The Red Caboose Motel has always been a real hit with friends who have little boys into trains. I don't believe they have a pool, however, if that's important to you.

 

[Mish]

We did thomas last June and had a great time. We stayed at the Willow Valley Lodge. It was really nice. Have a great time. Michelle

 

[aprilgail2]

Originally posted by piratesmate


The Red Caboose Motel has always been a real hit with friends who have little boys into trains. I don't believe they have a pool, however, if that's important to you.

That was a fun place to stay! THey had barn dances on the weekends but when we were there last year it was closed down and they told us they didn't know if it was re-opening....

 

[DebbieR]

One thing to be cautious of with the Red Caboose. We were planning on staying there a few years ago, but they required full payment up front. And then if y willou had to cancel, if it was less than 72 hours, you lost your $$$. hopefully, they've changed since then. We had illness in our family at the time and any plans we made were subject to change at a moment's notice. We couldn't afford to lose the money (who can?).

But the Red Caboose is very close to the Strasburg Railroad. The Fulton Steamboat is only a few miles away. There's a nice playground there too and a small pond you can walk around with ducks and all colors of fish (koi). And there was a big ol swan that kept trying to peck at my feet. There's also a nice motel right next to Sight & Sound at Hershey Farm. It's fairly close to downtown Strasburg and all the railroad attractions.

I don't know how much you want to do while you're here, but a tour I can personally recommend is through the Mennonite Information Center. The guide will come in the car with you and take you to a bunch of of the beaten path places. You can have them as long as you want and they will cater the tour to your age and knowledge level. We took a bunch of kids a few years ago from our church and the woman was fantastic. So patient with them and all their questions. Then a couple years ago we took my 87 year old MIL. We had the same woman and the 2 of them got along great. We now ask for Ada whenever we come. She was raised Amish and then switched to Mennonite when she got married. It's best to make arrangements ahead of time if this is something you'd like to do, but they are very flexible.

Can you tell I love coming here?

Debbie