nice economical place to stay in Virginia

[poppins50]

We just decided to cancel our plane tickets and drive instead to orlando. Williamsburg or Busch Gardens area is a half way point. We've never been. Does anyone know of a good, cheap but clean place to stay?
Thanks
carol

 

[cbrfan]

You've picked a good area. We've stayed at the Quality Inn Kingsmill several times and always found it clean and reasonable priced (in the off-season). My sister used to work at the Holiday Inn 1776 and it was very nice and clean. There are a ton of chain hotels along Richmond Rd. I've see some pretty good prices on them. Do a search for lodging in Williamsburg and see what they have to offer on your dates.

 

[jk1]

If you are traveling I-95 south through Virginia, you will not be in the Williamsburg area unless you plan on making quite a detour from your route. You will however pass through Richmond. North of Richmond is an exit for Ashland, VA. This is just south of Kings Dominion. There are many good motels at this exit that are easy on the wallet.

 

[hobogary]

When Kings Dominion is closed, the Best Western there has great rates. Pick up a coupon book at a rest area. We get a postcard every year with a super rate, theres a Dennys right on premises with good deals too.

 

[disneyhottie]

You may want to try Fredricksburg.In or der to stay in Williamsburg you will have to get on interstate 64.We live in West Point Va.,which is about 15 min. from Williamsburg.You will find a lot of congestion there,you may want to avoid that,especially after such a long ride.When are you going?Have a great time!

 

[libbatexas]

Williamsburg is one of my favorite places in the whole country! We went to Bush Gardens for the first time this year and it was AWESOME. Great - no I mean amazing - rollercoasters and the different countries are represented well. Smaller scale I think than WDW but great. Hubby and daughter couldn't get enough of the coasters. There are loads of economical housing in the Williamsburg area. You may want to do some internet cruising. I saw all the chains from Comfort Inn, Hampton, Best Western, Courtyard by Marriott and more. We splurged and stayed at a regular Marriott but there is lots of affordable housing. My opinion is Fredricksburg is a little far if you want to do the things in Williamsburg.

 

[disneyhottie]

Are you only staying overnight or sightseeing?

 

[cindala]

Could you let me know where you stayed in Williamsburg? Not sure if we'll make it to WDW this summer, and this may be a good alternative.

 

[kbeverina]

We've stayed at the Holiday Inn 1776 because I let a travel agent friend book it for us. We thought it was nice, but would probably not stay there again because it was a bit expensive for Holiday Inn. I've also stayed at the Day's Inn and another Holiday Inn there. Most of the hotels are fairly close. I think next time we'll stay at Embassy Suites or try priceline. Sheraton Four Points looked nice, but I haven't stayed there. Once Busch Gardens opens, there's not too much of a break on hotel prices, but they're not unreasonable to begin with, either.

Busch Gardens is a lot of fun--great thrill rides, but fun if even if you don't like thrill rides. If you're going for a few days, there's also Water Country. In addition to the historic sites, there's a lot of outlet (the Pottery Factory is nearby) and craft shop-style shopping. We like to drive around and stop in all the little shops. They have some great Christmas shops if you're into that. Kings Dominion is only about an hour and a half or so north and there's also Jamestown and all that to the east. Definitely enough to do if you're into historic sites, theme parks and shopping!

 

[libbatexas]

We stayed at the Williamsburg Marriott. It was a nice Marriott but that also means it wasn't the least expensive hotel. I shopped it a while, and think the rate was $109 a nite. I saw a Courtyard in the same area, but at the time, the rate there was about the same (maybe even a little more) as the nicer "regular" Marriott. The Courtyard looked pretty new. I think I saw a Hampton in the same area. As I said in the other post, there were some other nice hotels that were on the other side of Williamsburg on the Richmond Highway - I remember a Springhill that looked new and a few others. Williamsburg isn't that big to me as I'm from the Dallas area.
I have to say the Marriot was great location, literally 5 - 7 minutes from Bush Gardens. Probably about 12 minutes from Colonial Williamsburg area. Nice indoor/outdoor pool. Great little shop that had bagels, milk, etc. for very reasonable price. McDonalds and BurgerKing close by. Also seafood restaurant that had a great early bird dinner.
Bush Gardens is a wonderful theme park. I don't know if they are open in the winter or what the hours are. The rides are great, the grounds are clean and we didn't have very many lines at all. We were there on Sat. and Sunday during July. Colonial Williamsburg, depending on the age of your kids is another great entertainment option with an educational slant. It's worth getting the annual pass so you have evening privileges.

 

[poppins50]

Thanks everyone. We are leaving next Friday or Saturday. If it's that too much off the route, guess I should have checked the map Noone is going to want to do it. I've also been told it's only 8 hours away I thought it was longer so now I think I'll pick something a little further. I'm thinknig 12 hours away from New York. Anyone have any ideas. Thank you for all your responses and help.