Hotels convenient to Amtrak

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Its looks like $20-$300/night is the new norm for hotels. If you are visiting Northern AZ the station at Flagstaff is only three short blocks and a 10 minute walk from the Marriott Spring Hill suites. Great accommodations but over $300/night. The only place that I know of where rates are reasonable are outside the small cities like at Harrisburg, Carlisle and Mechanicsburg, PA. During the "off season" you can stay there for $90-$125/night and in season $175-$200/night. As a rule, if you want reasonable hotel prices best to travel in fall and winter.
 
If you are going to be renting a car soon after getting off an Amtrak train it is hard to beat Galesburg IL with Enterprise within walking distance. I drove from Galesburg to Lima Ohio to a nice AirBnB. My trip this month included 6 nights in AirBnB's and one night for less than $80 in a Mansfield OH Quality that is becoming a Hilton this summer. For solo travelers to Chicago, your best bet is the HI Hostel on Congress. It is the largest HI hostel in the US and has dorm rooms for colleges on the upper floors.
 
If you are going to be renting a car soon after getting off an Amtrak train it is hard to beat Galesburg IL with Enterprise within walking distance. I drove from Galesburg to Lima Ohio to a nice AirBnB. My trip this month included 6 nights in AirBnB's and one night for less than $80 in a Mansfield OH Quality that is becoming a Hilton this summer. For solo travelers to Chicago, your best bet is the HI Hostel on Congress. It is the largest HI hostel in the US and has dorm rooms for colleges on the upper floors.
Parents accompanying their kids to Galesburg, IL who will be attending Monmouth College in nearby Monmouth, IL (a shuttle bus to campus meets the train) can stay at the Super 8 just a few blocks N of the Monmouth College campus, and next door to a County Market supermarket (handy for snacks for both parents & students). The hubby and I frequently stayed there when visiting our daughter at Monmouth College. (Galesburg should have several inexpensive chain hotels as well, although I don't know how close to the Amtrak station they are. There is a lovely coffee shop in downtown Galesburg, however; my daughter & I ate there when she was in Galesburg for a job interview.)
 
More than once I have enjoyed Lunch at the Landmark Cafe and Creperie about a block and a half from the Amtrak station in Galesburg when I've been between Southwest Chief and California Zephyr schedules.

I have always wondered, if because unforeseen train delays an overnight stay in Galesburg was necessary, what hotel options there might be there.

Would anyone know about hotels near the Amtrak station, or have hotel recommendations for Galesburg?


aA
 
More than once I have enjoyed Lunch at the Landmark Cafe and Creperie about a block and a half from the Amtrak station in Galesburg when I've been between Southwest Chief and California Zephyr schedules.

I have always wondered, if because unforeseen train delays an overnight stay in Galesburg was necessary, what hotel options there might be there.

Would anyone know about hotels near the Amtrak station, or have hotel recommendations for Galesburg?


aA
I did a quick search on Bing Travel, and it looks like the nearest place to the Amtrak station is the Great House bed & breakfast, approx. 8 blocks N of the station. The other hotels in Galesburg seem to be mostly near either I-74 (E of downtown) or possibly US 34 (N of downtown), and would probably require a taxi or Uber if one doesn't have a car. (Even that B&B might require a taxi ride if one isn't feeling spry enough to walk that far; I could have done it in my 30s, but not now, a few decades later.)
I haven't had to stay overnight in Galesburg myself, so if anyone else has personal experience of Galesburg hotels, please contribute your observations!
 
For those whose plans include driving to a location where there is an Amtrak station and parking your car during your trip, I have found a lot of success with stay, park and fly hotel deals. These usually are at airport hotels. I have used this when driving to catch a train at Baltimore or Washington - there are plenty such deals near BWI airport and there is a train station right there. These deals usually are for a one night stay, parking at the hotel during your trip (usually up to seven days, but sometimes longer), and often include shuttles to the airport (which aren’t useful for Amtrak trips other than the one I did that dropped us at the BWI Amtrak station). Generally you pay pretty close to the normal room rate and save quite a bit since you aren’t paying 30-40 per day (or more) for parking
 
I have found a lot of success with stay, park and fly hotel deals.
I've used park and fly stays several times and find they work well as intended, but I've never been able to make them work with Amtrak. Where I live Amtrak departs a $50 ride away from the nearest airport hotel in the middle of the night. Outside of commuter routes Amtrak often departs from dismal areas at off hours that could benefit greatly from a "park and ride" setup with hotels close enough to serve the station. It would be great if Amtrak created a liaison position tasked with looking for first/last mile opportunities and negotiating free/cheap shuttles when someone books through Amtrak.com.
 
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It appears that the Hotel Camino Real in El Paso has changed hands (and name) and is now the Hotel Paso Del Norte, a Marriott hotel. Has anyone stayed there under the new ownership and can post a review?

It is not right at the Amtrak station in El Paso but when I stayed there I found that it was a very reasonable walk to the station with modest-sized wheeled luggage.
 
I'll be getting into LA at 9:15 on the Coastal Starlight. My sister and I need a good and safe hotel nearby. Is there one within walking distance through a safe district. We are not averse to taking a cab, of course.
Thank you for your advice.
 
I'll be getting into LA at 9:15 on the Coastal Starlight. My sister and I need a good and safe hotel nearby. Is there one within walking distance through a safe district. We are not averse to taking a cab, of course.
Thank you for your advice.
I would echo the comment above - I would not walk to any hotels from Union Station at that time of night. Are you vacationing in LA or continuing on a train the next day?
 
I am taking transportation (Uber?) from LA to Pasadena for two days of seeing the Arts and Crafts architecture there. Anyone have a fave hotel in Pasadena?
Or suggestions for a guide to that architecture? There is a good print out map for walking on your but I prefer a guide
 
Any recommendations for sanely priced accommodations in Vancouver BC? I have a memorial service to go to shortly. Will probably drive, unless my wife can't make it. In which case I might take the train from Oregon since I have points I can use.
 
Any recommendations for sanely priced accommodations in Vancouver BC? I have a memorial service to go to shortly. Will probably drive, unless my wife can't make it. In which case I might take the train from Oregon since I have points I can use.
Last time I was in Vancouver, I stayed at the Hampton Inn. I walked from the train station to the Hotel and the next day walked from the hotel to the cruise terminal. The hotel was conveniently located. I do not remember the cost, but I have Hilton points, so I may have used them.
 
Any recommendations for sanely priced accommodations in Vancouver BC? I have a memorial service to go to shortly. Will probably drive, unless my wife can't make it. In which case I might take the train from Oregon since I have points I can use.
Last time I was in Vancouver, I stayed at the Hampton Inn. I walked from the train station to the Hotel and the next day walked from the hotel to the cruise terminal. The hotel was conveniently located. I do not remember the cost, but I have Hilton points, so I may have used them.
The Hampton Inn near BC Place, the only one downtown, is 1 mile from Pacific Central Station. A 20 minute walk on foot . It is close to the Skytrain Stadium Station, and just one stop from the Skytrain Main Street/Science World Station, which is pretty much just across a small park from Pacific Central Station.

With that said, it is still cruise season and downtown Vancouver will still be expensive. A choice downtown that is usually cheaper than most is the YWCA Hotel, which is near that Hampton Inn and is easily accessible from Pacific Central Station, a one stop ride on the Expo Line (which runs on like 3 minute headways) or a 20 minute walk.

If you drive rather than take the train, I would suggest staying in Richmond down by the airport. Hotels are significantly cheaper there than in downtown Vancouver. Of course, a lot depends on where the memorial service is. The Vancouver Metro is quite large and spread out.
 
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Downtown hotel prices in large cities in North America have basically gone through the roof over the past 10 years. I first noticed this in 2012 when I wanted to stay in Portland, Maine and couldn't find anything over $300 a night in the downtown. I ended up staying in a Super 8 out by the Turnpike, which was grossly overpriced at $150 a night. It just got worse from there, except there were some bargains during Covid in 2021. Now I consider myself lucky if I can find a room in a large city downtown at less than $300 a night. The suburbs and small markets aren't much better, they're cheaper, but still overpriced for what you get.

To think, when I started traveling for work in 1979, I stayed in the Lord Salisbury Motel in Salisbury, MD for $18 a night. It was a bit of a dump, but relatively clean and secure. I would have stayed at the Holiday Inn next door, but that was $25 a night, which exceeded our per diem allowance. As my career progressed and I started earning more money, I sometimes stayed at nicer places and paid the difference out of pocket. Also, the per diem allowance went up, and for most of my career, it was pretty adequate most of the time.
 
I am taking transportation (Uber?) from LA to Pasadena for two days of seeing the Arts and Crafts architecture there. Anyone have a fave hotel in Pasadena?
Or suggestions for a guide to that architecture? There is a good print out map for walking on your but I prefer a guide
You may want to consider using the Burbank station and take an Uber to Pasadena from there vs. Downtown LA. They are both the same drive time to Pasadena (about 20 minutes).
 
You may want to consider using the Burbank station and take an Uber to Pasadena from there vs. Downtown LA. They are both the same drive time to Pasadena (about 20 minutes).
Another option is LA County Metro's A light rail line goes directly from Union Station to Pasadena every 10-13 minutes. It is about a 25 minute ride depending on which Pasadena station.
 
Another option is LA County Metro's A light rail line goes directly from Union Station to Pasadena every 10-13 minutes. It is about a 25 minute ride depending on which Pasadena station.
I wouldn't recommend riding that at night after the Starlight gets in. Of course I've made a few choices like that and lived to tell the tale but these days Uber is so easy I'd rather not take the chance.
 
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