Travel tip for people travelling I-95
 

Just a heads up. We travel I-95 when coming to TV. On our way home we got so tired we just couldn't drive anymore, we first stopped at NC exit 173, stopped at Interstates Inn, deplorable room and someone pulled up to us and asked us for money. We got out of there, drove up to VA exit 4/Econolodge at Skippers. It was just awful, they had nerve to ask us for $10.00 extra for our dog. The dog is by far cleaner than anything in the room. We were so tired we couldn't go on. We slept in our clothes and got out of there at 3:30 AM.

I've gone through that before myself. I always try to stay on the outskirts of a larger city where there are several choices of nat'l chain motels and preferably on the far side so I don't have to drive through rush hour traffic in the morning. Of course if you're too tired to make a big city your at their mercy. I had one motel once tell to park up front so they could keep an eye on my car overnight.

I travel with a list of Hampton Inns that are about 100 miles apart. I have the phone numbers and exit number with directions from the exit. That way I can always call ahead and should never be more then an hour or two away from a place to stay if needed. I am thinking of expanding it to about every 50 miles so I have more options if one is sold out.

Sometimes I just drive straight though and sometimes I am just to tired to go any more. Having this option seems to work. The Hampton Inns usually are clean, in a somewhat safe location, provide an OK breakfast and a reasonable price. My every 100 mile ones are in the smaller towns where possible.

TednRobin,

Here is a great website: http://www.i95exitguide.com/lodging/index.php It will give you a list of all of the hotels at each exit. I have then chosen several of the larger towns and have gone to TripAdvisor.com to check the ratings for that area for the top 3 hotels. I keep a list of these hotels with us when we travel. Now we KNOW we'll can always find a safe, clean, reasonable hotel.

these two resources are usually found in dispensers at I95 rest areas and gas stations:

http://www.roomsaver.com/ - roadside red book

http://www.roomsaver.com/- roadside green book

i try and print out the ones i figure to use before our travel since we give ourselves a limit on the distance we plan to travel each day.

A lot of the motels off 95 are not really desirable unless you are dealing with a national chain. The area of NC you were in is a pretty poor area of the state and the biggest city around was Rocky Mount but I think you had already passed it. The area on 95 in the most southern area of Virginia is not any better.

Poor choice of hotels. For $10-15 more you can get a decent place to stay.

Thanks all for your suggestions/help, I agree a poor choice of motels, but we had stopped at Holiday Inn and Comfort Inn down the road, they didn't accept dogs. We just got desperate with these two choices. I usually have the Coupon books to look up dog friendly places but didn't have one this trip, the rest area had none. You truly get what you pay for, for sure. It didn't use to matter as we made the drive straight thru. Guess we are getting too old to do that anymore, lol.

If you travel with a GPS, many come pre-loaded with hotels/motels and their phone numbers (TomTom does, for example). Find one on the GPS close to the area you'd like to stay then call ahead to check about pet restrictions, rates, room availability, etc.

Bill

Good suggestion, we're not that advanced, the road atlas is our GPS. lol.

Now you have the excuse you need to justify getting a GPS!! :a040:

Bill :)

http://www.petswelcome.com/ We have used this website to find pet friendly motels and have been pleased. But we do make reservations in advance.

All Red Roof Inns accept pets, even our German Shepard, with no extra charge. Stop in to one and pick up a directory to keep in the car.

Not Safe Anywhere
 

Some years back my husband's elderly aunt and uncle stopped for the night at a Hampton Inn in Fayetteville, NC. Upon their return from dinner in a nearby restaurant, they discovered that they had been robbed. Their suitcases were gone. They lost clothes and all of their personal items, including her costume jewelry. This motel had exterior doors to the rooms. They felt that two men, who they saw hanging out beside the pool, probably watched them leave and then burglarized their room. Apparently, the thieves didn't like what they found in one of the aunt's suitcases. Weeks later it was found by the side of a North Carolina road, its contents of corsets, bras, and girdles intact! What I learned from this was two things: Never put your belongings in the room and then leave to go out. Eat first. Also, stay where there are interior doors to the rooms. The less anyone knows about your comings and goings, the better. I am not sure there are any "safe" motels out there. All we can do is be vigilant and be aware of our surroundings.

We've only had two experiences with a "pet friendly" motels. My guess is they reserve rooms specifically for pets, but unfortunately, those rooms sometimes smell like a kennel. We're also concerned that these pet friendly rooms could be a hotbed for fleas. In our second experience, we also stayed at a "pet friendly" motel but we neglected to say that we had a dog and that room smelled OK.