What is your favorite city & hotel along Interstate 75 to stay at?

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

For those that take Interstate 75 to Walt Disney World, which is your favorite city to stop off at? My family & I love Valdosta, Georgia because of the shopping options & the many restaurant options. We have always stayed at the Hampton Inn off exit 18, but last month we stayed at the new Hampton Inn & Suites off exit 16, which is the nicest Hampton Inn we have ever stayed at. I have never seen a breakfast eating area that big.

So which is your favorite city along Interstate 75 to stay at & which hotel do you stay at?

 

[Hoosier Mom]

Thanks for the info. I jotted that down in case we ever drive to WDW.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

For those traveling a long distance be advised, once past Macon, Ga, there are only 3 towns between there and Gainesville, Florida. Tifton, Valdosta, and Lakeland, Fl. And they are fairly far apart. I always advise not to venture past Macon if one is at all unsure as to getting tired. Macon is about 40 minutes from the southern suburbs of Atlanta.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

For those traveling a long distance be advised, once past Macon, Ga, there are only 3 towns between there and Gainesville, Florida. Tifton, Valdosta, and Lakeland, Fl. And they are fairly far apart. I always advise not to venture past Macon if one is at all unsure as to getting tired. Macon is about 40 minutes from the southern suburbs of Atlanta.

I would like to add that it depends on where your comming from, so maybe people would like to drive past Macon. Also Valdosta is the closest city towards to Florida border, like 10 minutes away so this might want to make people stay there or drive into Florida & stay at a city there for the night.

 

[clkelley]

Heading South on I-75, I usually stop somewhere in Macon. I've stayed at a Comfort Inn on Exit 3 of I-475. In December I'm staying at a Day's Inn at exit 149 just South of I-475.

Heading North from WDW, I usually stop at Ocala. Sometimes I stay at the Super 8 in Ocala. In December I'm staying at the Days Inn near Exit 352.

When I drive to WDW, I leave North Alabama after work and try to get South of Atlanta. Get a good nights sleep, then back on the road at 6am to get to WDW by noon.

Driving home, we check out the day before our travel day, stay in the parks till closing, then drive the 2 hours North to Ocala. Then hit the road home about 8 -9 am the next morning. That gets us home at a reasonable 8pm.

When we drove and stayed at WDW the last night, we tended to take longer to get out of town and didn't get home till really late. It is much easier to leave a cheap hotel in Ocala than it is to leave WDW.

 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

There is a nice Holiday Inn Express at the SR 24 exit in Gainesville, Florida. The Best Western Gateway is at the SR 222 exit in Gainesville and is nicer than most Best Western's you've probably experienced.

 

[disneydiz]

We recently stayed at the Hampton Inn at Exit 5 in GA, while on our way to WDW. They had a big problem with snakes a the back door. Also, when I came out of my room in the morning there were a couple of homeless men sleeping in the hallway. They were gone by the time management went to investigage. Next time, we will stay at the Hampton at Exit 16 -- it sounds a lot nicer.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

We recently stayed at the Hampton Inn at Exit 5 in GA, while on our way to WDW. They had a big problem with snakes a the back door. Also, when I came out of my room in the morning there were a couple of homeless men sleeping in the hallway. They were gone by the time management went to investigage. Next time, we will stay at the Hampton at Exit 16 -- it sounds a lot nicer.

When you do stay at the Hampton Inn you will be amazed at the eating area for breakfast it's huge. Also from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM, Monday - Thursday they have happy hour with drinks & snacks & I don't know what other Hampton Inn locations have that. Also there is a busniess center with 2 computers if you need to use the Internet & it's free. All you need is to type in the access code which you can get when you check in & if they forget to give to you, just ask for it. Also if your traveling with a larage family there are some Suite rooms at this location, that's why it's called Hampton Inn & Suites.

 

[DC7800]

For those traveling a long distance be advised, once past Macon, Ga, there are only 3 towns between there and Gainesville, Florida. Tifton, Valdosta, and Lakeland, Fl. And they are fairly far apart.

There are more than just three towns along I-75 south of Macon to stop overnight: Byron, Perry, Cordele, Ashburn, Tifton, Adel, Valdosta, Lake Park, and finally Lake City, Florida. Lakeland, FL is actually located near Tampa along I-4. With the exception of Cordele, all the additions I've made above are rather small communities, but they do have decent to rather nice hotel choices.

There are also a handful of motels (few or none of which I could recommend, and many I'd never stay at - period) located at a few other I-75 exits, such as near Jasper, Florida. I actually stayed here more than twenty years ago when it was a Holiday Inn, but I'd avoid it today.