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Best/Cleanest/Safest I-95 gas/rest stops
- Thread starter slappy magoo
- Start date
Thanks for the input. Aloft seems like a nice enough hotel, though it seems that they're trying to cater more to businesspeople who want to believe they're still hip more than middle-aged fogies with young kids like us
They have some kids amenities, granted, but it feels a little like visiting your single uncle's bachelor pad - lots of rooms you shoudn't go in, but an air mattress! Cool! I hope he has Count Chocula in the kitchen! And if they have suites in that hotel, it doesn't seem like they have 'em the night we'll be there. I know my wife and I would at least like the option of an hour or two after the kids are asleep to be in an adjoining room to talk or watch TV. Even if we wind up sleeping in the same room with the kids (versus their sleeping on a pullout sofa) we'd rather have some kind of living area. I was thinking either the Homewood Suites by St. John's, the Staybridge Suites on Touchton Road or the Best Western plus Cecil Field Inn & Suites on Chaffee Pt Blvd. Any experience and/or 2 cents on any of those stops? Any of them close to that same exit and Marketplace?
Thanks in advance for any insight you might be able to share.
The Homewood suites at the St. John's Town center would be my choice. You will want to take the 295 beltway vs I-95 though. You can get there either way, but 295 will be the more direct route.Thanks for the input. Aloft seems like a nice enough hotel, though it seems that they're trying to cater more to businesspeople who want to believe they're still hip more than middle-aged fogies with young kids like us
And if they have suites in that hotel, it doesn't seem like they have 'em the night we'll be there. I know my wife and I would at least like the option of an hour or two after the kids are asleep to be in an adjoining room to talk or watch TV. Even if we wind up sleeping in the same room with the kids (versus their sleeping on a pullout sofa) we'd rather have some kind of living area. I was thinking either the Homewood Suites by St. John's, the Staybridge Suites on Touchton Road or the Best Western plus Cecil Field Inn & Suites on Chaffee Pt Blvd. Any experience and/or 2 cents on any of those stops? Any of them close to that same exit and Marketplace?
Thanks in advance for any insight you might be able to share.
The St Johns Town Center is a very nice out door mall with a lot of upscale retailers. In terms of dining you will find everything from 5 Guys and McDonald's all the way to one of a kind 4 star dining as well as chains like PF Chang's and Cheesecake Factory.
The only bad thing about the St. John's Town Center is traffic. The place is huge and the layout defies all logic. It is almost as though they planned the road layouts by throwing wet linguine as a site map. To make matters worse the place is too large to simply park somewhere and walk the entire mall.
You will however be somewhat walking distance from the main center of the mall from your hotel. Baring that, there is valet parking at the Cheesecake factory that will put you right in the center. If you get there much after 11:00-12:00 it is easier to just bite the bullet and spring for valet, but I would check the map first. If where you want to go is too far from the Cheesecake factory you will have to brave the traffic.
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Honestly after the overnight drive I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't leave the hotel. Just eat in the hotel or order something to be delivered, eat in the room, and have the kids asleep by 7 and the grownups asleep by 9:30. You know, conserve energy for the days to come.
And are you implying 5 Guys ISN'T a 4 star dining experience?
It is like 12 stars in my book.Honestly after the overnight drive I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't leave the hotel. Just eat in the hotel or order something to be delivered, eat in the room, and have the kids asleep by 7 and the grownups asleep by 9:30. You know, conserve energy for the days to come.
And are you implying 5 Guys ISN'T a 4 star dining experience?
No matter what you decide on dining, you will have about 50 choices within a stones throw of your resort. I think it is one of the few places that has a restaurant density on par with Epcot.
Thanks again. Do you have any opinions on hotels along I-95 in Georgia? Savannah, Brunswick, Kingsland areas? I'm fairly certain we can get to Jacksonville but in case we hit crazy traffic at points along the way and we just decide to call it a day before then, I'm just looking for backup options. No biggie if that's out of your realm of expertise, just figured I'd ask. Thanks again.It is like 12 stars in my book.
No matter what you decide on dining, you will have about 50 choices within a stones throw of your resort. I think it is one of the few places that has a restaurant density on par with Epcot.
Unfortunately no. The state of Georgia hates me (it a long story) so I rarely go there and never stay overnight.
Sorry to dredge up bad memories.
Lucky
Well-Known Member
We usually stay at the Hampton Inn in Port Wentworth (northern end of Savannah). I think there's still a Country Inn & Suites at the same exit. For some reason the hotels in Brunswick seemed more expensive, without being any nicer.
That is OK. I have made my peace with it and Georgia and I have agreed to stay away from each other unless it is an emergency.
It's a shame, I always thought you two would be cute together.
What you gonna do? Some things just are not meant to be.
I've been using different sites to price out rooms along the way down I-95, and the prices don't seem so cray different between the Savannah Airport area (which is where we'd probably go versus going into the city) and Brunswick, mostly between the 100-160 dollar area once taxes and fees are added, and depending on if we do a regular room or some kind of suite with a separate sitting area. Most expensive room thus far seems to be the Homewood Suites by Hilton in Savannah, nearly $200 for the night and no breakfast.
But thanks for bringing up Country Inn & Suites. A few weeks ago I wrote them off because they had smoking rooms available, and I prefer to stay in total smoke-free hotels. Either I got some bad info or things have changed between my last review and now, as the hotels they run in both Savannah & Brunswick are now 100% smoke-free according to their websites.
Not that people are up nights wondering about my getting-there plans, but just in case...
My wife reminded me that our wedding reception was in a Hyatt. No, I knew THAT, I didn't have to be reminded of that, don't try to get me into trouble. But BECAUSE we got married in a Hyatt, we have a bunch of Hyatt Gold Points to be used. So we booked the Hyatt Place by the Jacksonville Airport for the night before we arrive in WDW and for the night we check out, at which point we'll stay in the WDW at least until lunch, start driving "home" while our youngest naps, but only get to Jacksonville. At which point we'll call it a night and do all the driving the next day. Which will be a pain, but at least it's a pain as we're on the way home. Who cares if we're exhausted when we get home? I was more worried about being a zombie our first day or two in WDW
My wife reminded me that our wedding reception was in a Hyatt. No, I knew THAT, I didn't have to be reminded of that, don't try to get me into trouble. But BECAUSE we got married in a Hyatt, we have a bunch of Hyatt Gold Points to be used. So we booked the Hyatt Place by the Jacksonville Airport for the night before we arrive in WDW and for the night we check out, at which point we'll stay in the WDW at least until lunch, start driving "home" while our youngest naps, but only get to Jacksonville. At which point we'll call it a night and do all the driving the next day. Which will be a pain, but at least it's a pain as we're on the way home. Who cares if we're exhausted when we get home? I was more worried about being a zombie our first day or two in WDW
We have not driven to WDW in a long time. we are taking are little one in April she thinks we are going to Washington DC. So we will be stopping there for the night. we live in old bridge NJ so the drive to DC is short. At Washington we are telling annaliese she is going to WDW. Anyway truck stops are safe they are always bissy never stop at a rest area were there is only one gas station not cool.
HollyAD
Well-Known Member
We drive from MD to Florida three times a year for vacation or to visit family. In recent years I have only come across very few sketchy gas stations. There was one in GA that we stopped at twice because there was nothing else for miles! My suggestion is to make sure they exit you are stopping at is a large one. I like to see that several businesses are advertised at that exit so if something looks odd you have something else to choose from. Also, many of the truck stops have improved over the years. A few times we have stopped at a "Flying J" and they have been clean and had a good selection of drinks and snacks. Brunswick, GA is more expensive but we have stayed there once due to traffic. There are many choices here and it is a large exit. I usually go online ahead of time and check out the hotels.com or tripadvisor ratings on the I 95 hotels near where we may stop. That way if we need to stop I have a general idea of where we should or shouldn't stay. There are many horrible hotels on I 95. However, some would surprise you with good ratings so I always check it out on tripadvisor. I also have a hotels tonight app that I use occasionally and you can find good deals on Jacksonville hotels.
We generally drive the 14 hours straight overnight. I work night shift so it's not too hard for me. It's just bad the next day because I have to sleep at some point.
We generally drive the 14 hours straight overnight. I work night shift so it's not too hard for me. It's just bad the next day because I have to sleep at some point.
I used to live not too far from Old Bridge, various towns in the Monmouth county area, Atlantic Highlands, Middletown, Asbury Park, Tinton Falls. We're not a million miles away now but we do miss being closer to the shore.
Well FWIW, there are probably easier ways to do this, but I wound up using Mapquest to plot a route and have it search for gas stations every 100-150 miles. I would then look for clusters of gas stations within a half mile of each other, assuming, for good or bad, that if a bunch of gas stations are that close to each other there's a little more pressure on the owners or managers to keep them clean and safe because otherwise people will just go to the next closest station. From there, I also looked for stations that cater more to truckers - TA, Love's, Pilot/Flying J - and worked out a series of stops for us that should put my wife at ease, but with the knowledge that at each stop there are options beyond the station I chose within seconds of driving if that one looks sketchy. The only exception is the first stop, which will be way before 9pm, an Exxon in MD, pretty much smack dab in the middle of 95 between Baltimore and D.C., figuring this would give me a chance to check out DC traffic via the Waze app and opt for 295 if 95 is a mess. Second stop is a little before Richmond so again, that will give me a chance to see if 95 is congested or if we should go around. Here's hoping for smooth driving.
Disnee4Me
Well-Known Member
One time my younger DS was 3 and on the way back home to Connecticut, he practically fell asleep all day long. Then we were also battling Hurricane Bonnie through the Carolinas as we were driving. Well we finally hit Virginia about 11 p.m. and wanted to pull over and get some rest, little Johnny was wide awake and wouldn't let me sleep. Needless to say, the next few trips were via plane and we didn't drive down again until "little Johnny" was 12.