Guest guest Posted September 10, 2000 Report Share Posted September 10, 2000 Hi folks, Can anyone give me some recommendations on a place to stay in Durham that is close to the hospital? I've seen several places mentioned (Extended Stay, Homewood Suites)but would like to hear some advantages, disadvantages, etc of each. I'd appreciate any help. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 10, 2000 Report Share Posted September 10, 2000 > Hi folks, > Can anyone give me some recommendations on a place to stay in Durham > that is close to the hospital? I've seen several places mentioned > (Extended Stay, Homewood Suites)but would like to hear some > advantages, disadvantages, etc of each. I'd appreciate any help. > Thanks > Hi - I found this info from an old post most helpful. I will copy it in. laurie HI Friends, Well, I have been on a hotel-checking adventure for about a week now- LOL! I figure we will be in Durham for a week, so I wanted to have a comfy place to call home. My mission was to find the very best hotel for the cheapest price. I had a list of 11 possibles and then visited all the websites (most had one) before whittling it down to the " finalists. " What did I want in a hotel? First of all I had to have a true " suite. " Many of the hotels call themselves " suites " but in fact are just bigger rooms with the sofa near the beds, and a " kitchen " that's not what I call a kitchen! (Many have just a micro and mini fridge). To me this is not a suite. I wanted a bedroom with a door, so that we would have a place to " escape " as needed! lol! If it were just me and my hubby, a single room would be fine, and we could maybe even make out with just a small fridge and micro. But we have the 2 teens, and 2 of us are having the surgery, so the space is a must. So, I had to have a separate bedroom, with a door. The 4 hotels fitting this bill are the Homestead Suites, Hawthorn Suites, Homewood Suites, and Duke Towers. Next I made up a huge grid of amenities and started calling to compare. The second thing I had to have was a pool, as that was the ONLY thing 13-yr-old daughter wanted. (And I thought my hubby would appreciate it, too.) That eliminated the Homestead Suites, (NO POOL). Next on my list was age of facility. We all wanted a place that was modern, (hey this is our only family vacation this summer, lol). This eliminated Duke Towers, as it was built in the 50's, and as the lady there told me, " We are an older style hotel. " Not for us, (though I hear they have a nice pool), as we like MODERN and new. So, that left the Hawthorn Suites and the Homewood Suites. Here is what they both have: separate bedroom with king sized bed or 2 doubles, sofa sleeper in living room and chair (but no recliner-- though you can rent one locally), full kitchen (stocked, including kitchen towels, table and chairs, but no blender, you might want to bring for smoothies, etc. The kitchens have everything else--micro, fridge, cabinets, dishes...), computer data ports, 2 phone lines, personal voice mail, 2 TV's, full breakfast buffet 7 days a week, M-Th " cocktail and hors'doeurves reception, " coin-op laundry room with multiple machines, oudoor pool (both have pool towels), and shopping/restaurants within walking distance. The main differences are these:The Homewood is a top of the line hotel, built in '98. It has an exercise center, a gift shop, a lodge room, and a full business center where you can work (fax available). My hubby likes this feature. It offers free 1-800 calls and free local calls. (The Hawthorn offers free 1-800, but charges 75 cents for every local call.) Our laptop accesses the net using a 1-800#, not a local #. The hotel is in Chapel Hill, 12.4 miles from Dr R, at 3600 Mt. Moriah Rd. ph# or 1-800-CALL-HOME. The Hawthorn is an older bldg that was completely renovated in '95. It will not be as nice as the Homewood but sounds very nice. Its exercise facility is off-property, though. Other than that, they appear to be pretty " even " except for the charge for the local calls and the fact that the Homewood is more of a " I'm on vacation " hotel. The Hawthorn is 14.6 miles from Dr R, at 300 Meredith Dr. ph# (919) 361-1234 or 1-800- 527-1133. Now for price. Both quote the same basic prices, but upon digging I found out that you can get a heck of a deal at the Hawthorn if you call 1-877-MED_STAY. They can actually get you a 1-BR suite for $55 a night, or a 2-BR suite (2 BR's with doors that close and 2 baths) for $75 a night! The Homewood cannot be reserved through the Medstay# but they offer a medical stay rate of $79 a night. They say this is their absolute lowest rate to stay in their hotel. Their 2 BR suites they do not discount and they are majorly expensive at $199 a night. Bottom line, I would love to stay at the Homewood, but do I think it is worth $20 more a night to stay there? (I say $20 because I have a feeling we would make at least 4 or 5 local calls a day and the Hawthorn charges for these.) Well, we still haven't decided that! Tom is calling the manager at the Homewood today and will say, " Look, we love your hotel, but we can stay at the Hawthorn for $55 a night. We will be there on Aug 7th and will be staying for at least a week. Can you come down on your rate? " We'll see what happens. Tom says if they have a lot of availability they might just agree. (Can you tell my hubby works as a negotiator? You should be with him when he buys a car! lol! I love the savings, but am too embarrased to go with him. Haha.) So, if they come down to even $65, we will most likely stay there, as it is really beautiful. (If you pull up the Homewood on your computer you can see what all the rooms look like, as well as the rest of the hotel.) Anyway, I will post later on how he made out. Hope this helps those who are bringing families and need more room! Regards, Debbie in IL MGB 8/10 Cigna (1st appeal)--BMI 40 Daughter (age 16) MGB 8/9 Cigna (3rd appeal)--BMI 45 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 11, 2000 Report Share Posted September 11, 2000 , Probably the best thing to do is to get on something like Mapquest or Travelocity and put in the information. Then you can click on all the hotels and it will tell you alot of info about each one, then you can decide what is best for you. I will be staying at the Duke Towers, but I tried to get the Hawthorne. There are alot of good choices from what I could tell. Good Luck! ===== Kristi in AL BMI49 current 288 surgery date 9/21 __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.