Virginia I-95 hotels

[Rosered]

We are drinving to and from WDW from NY this August. It's our second time driving. We decided to stop at Walterboro,SC on the way down. On the way up we'd like to stop somewhere between Richmond and Fredricksburg. Last year we stopped at a Sleep Inn in Richmond and were not happy with the hotel. Can anyone suggest a good hotel in one of these areas. We are a family of 4, DH, DD8, DD1 and myself. My main concern is for the hotel to be clean and well kept. We aren't interested on whether or not there is a pool although maybe breakfast would be nice.

I've looked at the I-95 guide website as well as trip advisor but I can't seem to figure out which hotels would be good for us. I think I'm just too tired to think straight from all the planning so any help with this would be so appreciated.

 

[pbharris4]

Hi! SOme suggestions for Fredericksburg area hotels:

There are some new hotels at the Massaponax exit:

Hampton Inn & Suites
Towneplace Suites (not sure of the name, but it's owned by Marriott)
Sleep Inn

There is a Cracker Barrel, Applebees, Chik-Fil-A, Bob Evans, Hooters, a REALLY good mexican place called Poncho Villa, Ruby Tuesdays, Wal Mart, Super Target will be open then and maybe Uno Chicago Grill, too. Those hotels opened within the last 6-12 months.

Wytestone Suites is there as well and is pretty decent. Those are the ONLY hotels I would recommend at that exit. They also have a HoJo, Holiday Inn, Econo Lodge, Days Inn and Hertiage Inn..I wouldn't stay at those.


Next exit up Fredericksburg and Culpeper (Route 3) exit:

There's a brand new Hilton Garden Inn which is really nice and that's my best pick for the area. It's right near Central Park Shopping area and there's a ton of places to eat and shop even if you are only staying overnight. I've stayed in Hilton Garden Inns and they are always nice and clean. Also at that exit is a Holiday Inn Express, Ramada Inn, 2 Best Westerns, Hampton Inn, Super 8, Econo Lodge...of those..I'd only recommend Holiday Inn Express or Hampton Inn and that's a maybe.


One more exit up: Fredericksburg and Warrenton exits (Route 17):

Wingate Inn would be my only pick on that road. It's only maybe 2-3 years old and we usually stay in Wingates and are always satisfied. There's also a Comfort Inn, Holiday Inn, Travelodge, Days Inn, Sleep Inn and 2-3 others that aren't that popular and can't remember the names. There's a Perkins and a Waffle House, and some Emerald Grill (which is very nasty) and some fast food places there as well.

Hope that helps. If you need directions or anything else I'd be happy to help.



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[pbharris4]

By the way...there isn't too much between Richmond and Fredericksburg and the few places there are..I wouldn't stay at.

 

[Rosered]

Thank you so much. I think I'm going to try the Sleep Inn at the first exit you mentioned. I do have another question. I've heard the traffic is pretty bad in the area. Is this true and do you thing we'd have better luck with traffic if we leave WDW on a Saturday instead of a Friday? Also, we'll be driving down to Disney on a Monday. My husband doesn't rive at night (he's the only one driving) so we will leave NY at about 4am, at approximately what time should we be arriving in Virginia and how is traffic then?

I should know the answer to these since we did drive last year but I can't seem to recall any specifics. Probably because I was sick and driving with a three month old and six other people. Not ideal circumstances for remembering details.

 

[Nedlo2]

Thank you so much. I think I'm going to try the Sleep Inn at the first exit you mentioned. I do have another question. I've heard the traffic is pretty bad in the area. Is this true and do you thing we'd have better luck with traffic if we leave WDW on a Saturday instead of a Friday? Also, we'll be driving down to Disney on a Monday. My husband doesn't rive at night (he's the only one driving) so we will leave NY at about 4am, at approximately what time should we be arriving in Virginia and how is traffic then?

I should know the answer to these since we did drive last year but I can't seem to recall any specifics. Probably because I was sick and driving with a three month old and six other people. Not ideal circumstances for remembering details.

You will be getting to DC at the end of rush hour, which is not very pretty.

On your trip to Florida I would recommend taking route 301 to bypass all the traffic in Baltimore and DC. Here is a link to the I-95 site that shows the bypass I-95 Alternatives Of course you will miss Fredericksburg going home if you used this alternate route on your return trip.

Also, traffic in the DC area can be just as bad on Saturdays and Sundays, sometimes worse than a weekday.

Good luck and have a safe trip

 

[VinnyNYC]

I stayed there last year on my way to Myrtle Beach...Nice hotel, good free continental breakfast, right off I-95...I think my rate was $90 a night. I fly to Orlando from NYC in Aug, but I am returning to Myrtle Beach again next summer and I will stay at this hotel again on the way down.

 

[pbharris4]

If you leave NYC at 4 am, as Nedlo said..you'd more than likely hit the morning rush hour on the Maryland side..once you got past the "mixing bowl" (a huge coming together of several major interstates and tons of construction) you'd be fine going south on your way down. If you could leave on a Sunday it would better. Lately, they have closed or limited to one lane roads in the Springfield, Va (mixing bowl area) to put up a huge ramp/overpass. Do a search for VDOT and mixing bowl or Springfield interchange updates for current closings.

As for your return trip..traffic isn't too bad in our area. It CAN be though. I-95 is basically a crap shoot anyway. There are accidents all the time. But it doesn't mean you'll come upon one and get stuck for a long time. It can happen like it does on any other interstate. You can always get off on Route 1 North for awhile and then get back on I-95. It's hard to say what day you should leave WDW....if it were me, I'd leave on Friday, spend the night in Fredericksburg and then head to NYC in the morning. Most of the tie ups I have seen during the summer on I-95 Northbound are mid day to early evening..but once again..you never know when an accident might occur.

I hope that helps. Hope you have a great trip.

 

[tms295]

As PBHARRIS4 mentioned... I would also recommend the Hilton Garden Inn or Holiday Inn Express at Fredericksburg/Central Park.

I have stayed at both & worked closely with each management team (I worked on the opening of the convention center next door to the Hilton.

The Hilton has just opened in Late Fall 2005. Room rates for both are very competitive with other brand hotels. There are also more than 50 restuarants and stores within LESS THAN 5 minutes of each hotel. www.centralparktoday.com

 

[Rosered]

Thank you all for your help. I was thinking maybe when we start to hit rush hour traffic we can pull over for a while and have breakfast somewhere and let the kids run off some steam. Does anyone know of a specific rest stop in the Maryland area where we can do this?

 

[pbharris4]

Rush hour runs roughly from 5-9:30am or so DH says. North of Baltimore, MD there are some nice rest areas about 2 of them that are pretty big and have a few places in them like Starbucks, etc. also...White Marsh is a nice area (I think that's just before Baltimore. You'll probably hit Baltimore rush hour too.

 

[djbleach]

Comming back from New York to Virginia we HIT the afterwork rush hour.
Trust me, You Don't Want to experience this.
It was a nightmare. We had made great time on the Turnpike. It took us 4 hours to get from the North to the South side of the "mixing bowl". We did stop at the Outback because It was driving us crazy. So that did take up an hour.
We've done the 301 alternate route, and It was fine.
That would be what I'd do, this way you want have to "worry" about if you hit the traffic our not.
I think the exit is right after Kings Dominion in Doswell. And It takes you to Delaware. Near the small airport .
Like someone wrote. 95 is a crap shoot.
The Alternate route is , I think, the same mileage. It's mostly a four lane highway.
Like I said we did it once, and it was fine.
We also take 13 Eastern Shore. Only coming from 95, this is more out of the way.Good luck

 

[monapoe]

If you're just looking for a clean place to rest your head, without bells and whistles, try the Thornburg exit, the next exit south of Massaponax. There's a place RIGHT off 95, can't remember the name but know it's one of the Choice Hotels. Plus, if you look at roomsaver, you can print out a coupon for a walk-in rate. Also, there is a McDonalds and a Burger King next door....

We are drinving to and from WDW from NY this August. It's our second time driving. We decided to stop at Walterboro,SC on the way down. On the way up we'd like to stop somewhere between Richmond and Fredricksburg. Last year we stopped at a Sleep Inn in Richmond and were not happy with the hotel. Can anyone suggest a good hotel in one of these areas. We are a family of 4, DH, DD8, DD1 and myself. My main concern is for the hotel to be clean and well kept. We aren't interested on whether or not there is a pool although maybe breakfast would be nice.

I've looked at the I-95 guide website as well as trip advisor but I can't seem to figure out which hotels would be good for us. I think I'm just too tired to think straight from all the planning so any help with this would be so appreciated.