When on our own, we usually look for 3-star or 3-diamond facilities with mid-range prices. Those are the kinds most available in most places. When making advanced reservations or even when you can see the street-appeal of a place, it is not always easy to decide which one will best meet your requirements. These comments are offered to help you make a choice if you are looking for accommodations in any of the towns listed here.

Lamar, Colorado

Best Western Cow Palace

This is a large motel built around a central multi-activity atrium. The facility has a restaurant and indoor swimming pool. When we were there the swimming pool was not in usable condition, and it looked as if it would not be in the foreseeable future. We asked around town, and the restaurant was recommended as one of Lamar's best. We had no quarrels with the food quality. The room was standard motel fare, but the a/c didn't put out enough air to do much to make the room comfortable.

The friendly maintenance man tinkered with the air vent, an outlet of a central heating and cooling system. Soon he was back with a fan, festooned with streamers left over from a recent party near the nonfunctional swimming pool. He indicated that they often had problems with the cooling system. Oddly, the complaints came from a different room each night. They offered a change to a different room, but we were on the ground floor and didn't want to haul our things to the second floor.

The price for the ground-floor outside king room was $75.60 with a AAA discount on 8/13/01.

Hot Springs, S. D.

Comfort Inn

This property is fairly new, and built next to the river. Nothing has been done to make the riverfront attractive or inviting. Like others in this chain, the motel has a swimming pool, indoor in this case, and an exercise room.

We reserved a "suite" with a large hot tub. It was relaxing after a long drive from Lamar. We had an enjoyable evening listening to the unrelenting thump, thump,thump over our heads all evening long.

Intending to complain about the people in the room upstairs, I said we must be under the gymnasium. The desk clerk agreed! And said they closed it at 10 PM. No apology was offered. The exercise room was on the second floor right over our heads! Why they put it there is beyond comprehension.

This place could be in a more attractive neighborhood. Our room was spacious and clean. If you decide to stay here, don't stay in a room on the north end of the building.

The room rate for the large suite with whirlpool bath with AAA or AARP discount was $119 on 8/14/01.

Pierre, S. D.

Comfort Inn

This property is fairly new, and built on the main highway. The building is between the highway and the railroad tracks.

We had reserved a suite which was large and comfortable, if not luxurious. It was on the 2^nd floor (no elevator) in the front of the building which was much quieter that it would have been next to the tracks.

It was time to download the pictures taken at Mt. Rushmore and Badlands N. P., and there were plenty of electrical outlets for the laptop computer and the chargers for the camera batteries.

Hotel/motel builders often don't allow for electrical needs of the guests. Often, it is difficult to find an unused outlet that isn't behind some huge piece of furniture. We've stayed in rooms that have data ports on the telephones, but no electrical outlets for the laptop. I guess they think that laptop computers never need to have their batteries charged.

This big room with king bed, sleeper sofa, recliner, desk, refrigerator and more cost $80.10 with AAA discount, plus taxes, (of course) — 8/15/01.

Fargo, N. D.

Best Western Kelly Inn

(Note: The URL listed above will take you to the Best Western Web site. You'll have to enter Fargo and North Dakota in the appropriate spaces then choose Kelly Inn in order to see the information offered for this motel.)

It wasn't easy to pick between the Best Western Kelly and the BW Doublewood. We still don't know whether we made the right choice. Kelly was rated AAA 3 diamonds and Mobil 2 stars, while Doublewood was rated AAA 2 diamonds and mobil 3 stars.

The Kelly is build around a large central out-door area with a swimming pool. However, we only saw it once as our room was on a west-facing glass corridor on the outside. We had assumed that O'Kelly's Tastes and Toddies was a full-service restaurant and bar, but it turned out to be more of a sports bar catering to the twenty-thirty somethings and serving hordeorves. We discovered an Outback Steakhouse in the neighborhood, so didn't miss the expected onsite restaurant anyway.

For security only the corner doors leading into the glass corridors that enclose three sides of the building open with your electronic key-card. So, if nobody holds open the middle fire exit door while loading and unloading luggage, those treks can be quite inconvenient if you have a lot of stuff.

We wondered if the poor location of our room with king bed had more to do with making advance reservations or that we used the AAA or AARP discount. The room rate was only $69, so I guess we shouldn't gripe about the location in the motel. 8/16/01

Bayfield, Wisconsin

Winfield Inn

Sometimes old, sometimes new depending on where your room is, where ever it might be, the feeling is homey. Our room was a standard room with two double beds. The nicest thing about it was the balcony overlooking Lake Superior.

One caveat was the parking area was unpaved. It had rained before we got there and there were a lot of muddy puddles. Some parking places made it impossible to avoid them. Fortunately, we didn't have a problem with the mud. One of these days they'll probably add the parking area to one of their beautification projects that appear to be in progress much of the time.

There is no restaurant on the premises, but it's not far to town where there are several. They recommended Maggies's to us and we enjoyed the food there, although unexplicably, they were out of white fish, a Lake Superior specialty.

I did wish the room had a desk or table for the laptop computer to sit while I downloaded pictures from the IBM micro-drive that I use for camera memory. I try to name the pictures frequently while memory is fresh enough to recall the subjects.

The room rate was $79. I made the reservation in April, and got the last room in the inn! This is a popular area for Duluth people to come for weekend getaways. 8/17 & 8/18/01

Hancock, Michigan

Ramada Inn Waterfront

The Ramada Inn Waterfront is exactly that, on the waterfront of the Keweenaw Waterway. It sits near the northwest end of the bridge that connects Hancock with Houghton and the mainland peninsula. Getting there can be confusing to say the least. After crossing the bridge take the next right and circle around under the bridge.

The facility is fairly large, and seems to popular. When we made reservations on June 28th we got the last available room! It was a room designed for the handicapped, but that only made it larger and more convenient. The ground-floor room had a large whirlpool bath and a refrigerator and overlooked the water. All corridors are indoors. There are several convenient exterior doors for access to the rooms. I don't recall having to use the room-key to open them.

It was time to do laundry, and the guest-laundry was just a few feet from our door. This made it very convenient to go back and forth to check on things occassionally. The dryer seem as if it would go on forever, so it had to be opened and checked once in a while.

The room was clean and comfortable. It had a table and enough electrical outlets for us to use the computer and charge camera batteries.

This AAA discounted room rate was $89.10 on 8/19/01.

Cheboygan, Michigan

Best Western River Terrace

Located on the Cheboygan River, this is a classic two-story motel with exterior corridors and no elevators. The 2nd-floor room was pleasant and clean with a balcony overlooking the river. Ground-floor rooms had small patios on the river side of the building.

The facility has an indoor pool, but no restaurant on the premises. They recommended a wonderful restaurant just a short drive away.

Boaters can tie-up right in front of the room! Fast food and shopping is within walking distance.

This room rate was $88 on 8/20/01.

Port Huron, Michigan

Comfort Inn

This place is conveniently located near the approach to the Blue Water Bridge. There is one restaurant nearby, but you have to cross a very busy road to get to it. The food is good, but oversalted for our taste. Don't walk, take the car.

The room was clean and attractive, but somehow, I wasn't comfortable with the place.

Perhaps the first alert was the quality of the towls and pillows in the room. A sign in the bathroom said they were for sale, at highly inflated prices, of course. There was one towel perperson, and the bath towel was too skimpy to dry the body and hair too. This implies the kind of customers attracted to this facility are those who steal the pillows and towels, and they are not worth quality appointments. Somehow the security didn't seem quite right.

The AAA or AARP room rate for this Gold Award Winner provided a room with king bed was $62.10

Niagara Falls, Ontario

Sheraton on the Falls

Descriptions of this place sound wonderful. And the view of the falls is probably the best in the world. If you are going on a guided tour, you might want to find a tour that uses this hotel for the stay in Niagara Falls. This hotel seems to specialize in catering to the tour busses.

What that means to the individual traveler is this: There is no place to park your car! There is no place to put your car while you check in and transport your luggage to the room! The hotel guests must manouver through the crowds on the side walk in front of the hotel and the casino next door to the parking garage of the Brock Hotel on the other end of the block. There often is no place for you to park near the door to check in, so you grab whatever place you can and somebody goes to the hotel to find a porter. In all this confusion somebody must stay in the car because you may be parked in a no-parking zone, and somebody must go check in and find the room. When luggage is unloaded the driver finds the parking garage of the hotel past the casino. Valet parking is available, but we carry too much to allow them to have the car keys. The casino next door is so popular that people have to wait their turn to get in the building, so they wait on the sidewalk outside.

Once we got the car parked, we left it there and took the People Mover bus service for our sightseeing. We took a cab to the Skylon Tower for dinner one night.

Only two elevators go above the 13^th floor which is the penthouse. Four elevators service the lower 13 floors, but the guests going to those floors seem to always crowd onto the two serving the upper floors. Why the two elevators don't bypass the lower floors is a mystery. The result is long waits for the elevators if your room is above the 12th floor. Curiously, the penthouse is on the 13^th floor! This is where the restaurants are. I wonder if that once was the top floor of the hotel.

When it was time to check out, we parked in front of the hotel before the busses filled the space. Then a tour guide demanded that we move the car so the bus could park there. Our bellman told her that we were guests too, and had a right to park there. Thank you, Mister Bellman!

The room was nice, but it seems they forgot to vaacuum the carpet before we checked in. You're paying for the best view in town. And on the front side of the hotel, you have it. The rooms have an exterior door with a railing. It's like a balcony without the platform outside the building. They call it an opening picture window. You can open the door for fresh air and an unobstructed view — a great idea.

Our room with 2-queen beds and unobstructed view of the falls was $257.95 CDN per night. That's about $180 USD.

Utica, New York

Best Western - Gateway Adirondack

The motel is convenient to the New York Throughway and to the highway into the Adirondacks that we were planning to take to Lake Placid. The Erie Canal runs beside the property, but we could not walk along the edge of the canal. We could walk to a small restaurant that served good food.

The room was nice, but not great. We had trouble finding outlets for the computer and battery chargers. Our room was at the end of a building, and everyone seemed to use that hallway traveling to and from the office and to get ice, etc. from the next building. That wouldn't be a problem except that the exterior door, just outside our room slammed every time some used it.

We paid $134.10 for a room with king bed.

Lake Placid, New York

Best Western Golden Arrow

We could step out of our room right onto the lawn just a few feet from the shore of Mirror Lake! This is on Main Street just across the street and down the block from the Olympic ice rink. We never moved our car while shopping or eating at the local restaurants.

The room was so-so, but quite adequate. Lake Placid is a touristy town, and can be quite congested. Rooms can be quite pricy. Ours on Saturday night was 173.25 and 133.67 on Sunday night — very reasonable for the area. We were there on August 25^th and 26^th, so New York school children were still on summer vacation.

Gorham (Shelburne), New Hampshire

Wildberry Inn

We stayed in the barn! This one had been remodeled into a small apartment, and was quite charming. The bedroom is upstairs. The kitchenette won't handle full meal preparation, but the microwave provided does well with snacks.

Located just 6 miles east of Gorham, the setting is a beautiful garden. The country location is a good setting for stretching the legs with a walk, but don't plan to walk to shopping or restaurants. Bob Corrigan, our host prepared a splended breakfasts to send us on our way for the days.

We stayed two nights and paid $95 for each of them.

St. Andrews, New Brunswick

Tara Manor Inn

Built in 1869 as a summer residence, "Belle-Vue" was part of a much larger estate. It was first owned by Sir Charles Tupper, one of Canada's Father's of Confederation. We had a suite with a balcony facing toward The Bay of Fundy. It wasn't very close however.

The room should have been nicer than it was. The electrical outlet beside the bed didn't work, so reading in bed was out of the question. Running the computer was a problem, because there was really nothing to sit it on.

We ate dinner on the premises, and the food was okay. Not something to write home about. We were anxious to be on the road early to catch the ferry, but they were in no hurry to open the office. There were no coffee facilities in the rooms, and none available until the office opened.

This is a good place for vacationers who will sleep late and not be interested in reading in bed. We paid $185 CDN for the night.

Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick

Compass Rose

This charming inn on the Fundy shore is a place to put your feet up and relax a while. The homey upstairs room had a view of the North Head Marina on the lee side of the island. We could watch the birds, the tides and the weather to our heart's content.

The on-site restaurant must have been the most popular (and available) in North Head, as it was always full. (Reservations are a must, even when you're staying there.)

The only problem was, there was no table to set the laptop. (Laptops aren't really very comfortable on the lap.) We'd definitely go back to Compass Rose if we ever get to go back to Grand Manan Island.

The price was $119 CDN per night for a large room with king bed, TV, electric fireplace, and private bath. We stayed 3 nights.

Saint John, New Brunswick

Country Inn Suites

This suite was actuall two rooms! Most suites that we've seen are really a fairly large room with a microware or a refrigerator, or something.

We used the guest laundry while we stayed there. The rooms were OK, and the price was certainly right — $99 CDN.

Hillsborough, New Brunswick

Ship's Lantern Inn

Here's another gem. Everything about this place was pleasing. The room was attractively furnished in antiques. The king bed was comfortable, and the food was outstanding. The people were most helpful.

This is a town that makes you wish you could stay a lot longer. We just have a warm feeling when we think about our experience there.

All this for the price of $105 CDN. And they gave us a memento leaded glass butterfly which we carefully tucked in a corner in the car. It made it all the way home and lives in my kitchen window to remind us of those good folks in Hillsborough, New Brunswick.

We stayed there to see the Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park, but there are other attractions to keep people there for longer stays.

Baddeck, Nova Scotia

MacNeil House

MacNeil House is a nicely renovated 19th century mansion, situated on the grounds of the Silver Dart Lodge. A suite there means a full apartment. Bedroom, living room, bathroom, and small kitchen. You could keep house there quite comfortably for a short time. We had a private balcony overlooking Bras d'Or Lake, the inland sea in the center of Cape Breton Island.

The house is on the upper part of the property that now houses the Silver Dart Lodge. We ate dinner at the lodge restaurant one night while we were there. The food was good. We had our first order of mussels, and enjoyed them.

An amusing thing was that we called for an extension cord, so that we could move a floor lamp to a more convenient location in the living room. They brought one of those orange 25' heavy duty cords! We could have set up a carpenter's shop with it.

If you want to stay at MacNeil House or the Silver Dart Lodge, reserve early. I called in February 12^th for our September 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th reservations, and couldn't get a regular room for all three nights at the Silver Dart! We felt it was a happy accident that the clerk could give us the reservation for those nights at MacNeil House.

The price was $195 CDN per night for these lovely surroundings.

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Cambridge Suites

Thankfully, we could get the SUV into their basement parking garage — many do not have sufficient ceiling height to accommodate vans and SUVs. The reservation clerk had promised that if it didn't work they had an adjacent lot where we could park safely. HA! There is limited parking in front of the hotel, and that was over flowing. They were parking cars in the NO PARKING Zones on the street with promises to move the cars as soon as legal spaces became available. Would you count on that?

No help was offered for getting the luggage from the car to the room, and that was no small chore. We were luck to find a parking spot near the elevator. You had to cart the luggage up and into an ante room to catch the elevator, then change elevators at the lobby level to go up to the room.

The room was nice. No complaints in that department. And the price was certainly low enough for the location — $159 CDN. The location in central, so that you can do most anything in central Halifax without getting the car out of the garage if you wish. You do have a pretty good climb up from the harbor to get back to the hotel. I wouldn't want to do it more than once a day.

Be forewarned, parking is a big problem in Halifax, not just at this hotel.

Bar Harbor, Maine

Best Western Inn

Bar Harbor is another touristy, pricey destination. The Best Western Inn is about 3 miles north of town on the main highway. The owner-managed motel was clean and the room was spacious and probably fairly new.

The price was only about $95 US per night for us senior citizens.

Camden, Maine

Glenmoore By The Sea

Here we had a 2 bedroom cottage, no less! We had expected one nearer the ocean. but the three-room apartment was very spacious. This was a double-master bedroom arrangement. If we had wanted to, we could each have a king bed to our selves.

It was a short drive into Camden for shopping, eating, sailing. This is another touristy area. The highway is lined with lodging of one kind or another. I don't know if we made the best deal in the area, but the cottage was $139 for the night.

Boothbay Harbor, Maine

Brown's Wharf Motel

Brown's Wharf Motel was a totally different experience. Our room was right on the marina. We could sit on the front porch (call that a private balcony on the ground floor) and watch the boats ply their way through the harbor. Some big ones were tied up on the dock just 10 or 20 feet in front of us.

The room was fine. It was comfortable and clean. The parking area was just feet from the door. But we did have to carry the luggage up a few steps from the car. They have a guest laundry which is very helpful for folks that are on the road an extended length of time.

The on premises restaurant is not open for lunch, but the lobster dinner we had there was quite good.

The room cost was $139.

Mystic, Connecticut

Comfort Inn, Mystic

There could be better choices for lodging in Mystic than the Comfort Inn. We had a suite with a jacuzzi tub which was nice. But Comfort Inns don't seem to really cater to the guests.

Our room was on the second floor, so at least, we didn't have a gym over our heads thumping and thumping like at the Comfort Inn in Hot Springs, South Dakota, but we had to trudge through an assembly of vaccuums, mops, buckets, and other paraphanalia used by the housekeeping staff every time we entered or left the building through the back door, which we were told by the reception people to use.

I told one of the cleaning people it looked like the mop closet, and she replied that it was. This was actually the hallway to the rooms from that entry. And the stuff stayed there all the time. We spent two nights there.

The room was $143.10 per night with either a senior or AAA discount.

St. Michaels, Maryland

Best Western Motor Inn

Considering that most places we found on the Internet for St. Michaels were around $300 - $350 per night, we felt the Best Western was a huge value at $88.20 (with the discount) per night during the week.

The place is at the edge of town and not within walking distance to anything. But that's not as big a problem there as in some other tourist towns.

At the motel, we could park outside our door, which is always a convenience. We stayed there two nights.

Morgantown, West Virginia

Hampton Inn

The best recollection of this place was the convoluted way we had to weave around to find the place. From the Interstate, it's just not easy to find. There's a hospital and college nearby, and that is the market it was intended to serve.

This is one of those places where you have to wag your luggage through the lobby.

Nothing is recalled about the room or the cost of it, so it was okay on both counts. We probably paid about $90 for a king room, judging their 2002 prices. The prices in that part of the country are very reasonable.

Lexington, Kentucky

Embassy Suites

This was one of those happy accidents that sometimes happen to you when you're selecting lodging in an unknown area. This is truly a first class establishment.

Our suite was truly a suite with a living room and king bedroom. The room was just a little stuffy, but otherwise comfortable.

We got a pocketful of quarters from the front dest so that we could do laundry, and to our surprise, there was no charge for using the equipment!

They served free happy hour coctails in the lobby, and a full breakfast buffet in the morning.

The price was only 143.10 for all of this! Pat would have liked to stay another night here and explore Lexington more than we did, but husband was ready to roll to get home. So we only stayed one night.

We will look for Embassy Suites when we travel next.

Bardstown, Kentucky

Hampton Inn

Like the one in Morgantown, this hotel wasn't easy to find from the main highway.

This is a two-story hotel with an elevator. We could use a size door to shorten the luggage path. This is a small town, but the hotel is still away from the center of town.

Richland Inn

This is an attractive old-fashioned motel of red brick with white trim. The rooms have outside entrances. Our second-floor room used a balcony entrance as did all the other 2^nd floor rooms. There seemed to be only one stairway per building, so some people had a bit of a hike to get to their cars. Fortunately we were on the corner near the stairway.

The room was okay, so far as I can remember.

They don't have a Web page that I could find, and if you want to go through motel reservation specialists, they say it takes up to 24 hours to make a reservation.

There is a family-style restaurant next door. The food was okay, as I recall. After a long day on the road, it's nice not to have to hunt for a restaurant.

Jackson, Mississippi

Hampton Inn

This one was close to the highway as we arrived in the city from the north Natchez Trace Parkway. The property was neat and clean, and had a security guard posted in the lobby. We could walk across the street to a popular restaurant/micro brewry. We enjoyed our meal there.

The king room was comfortable, and we paid under $75.

Vicksburg, Mississippi

Hampton Inn

This old-style motel was near Interstate 20. It had outside entrances to the rooms. This made the place feel uncomfortable and insecure. Anybody has access to the elevators (only one was working) which are on open outdoor hallways.

My notes rate the place as so-so. The price was on par with the others in this area — $75.60 with senior discount.

Longview, Texas

Hampton Inn

We have found this hotel to be convenient to the Interstate and comfortable.

The rooms have outside entrances, but you can park just outside the door. This king room also had a microwave oven. Nice to make popcorn when you don't want to go to dinner.

We probably paid $71 with an AARP or AAA discount.

Ft. Worth, Texas

Marriott Courtyard

It's okay. Could be better. We stay there because it's centrally located for our children, has a pool, and is close to restaurants and shopping. Maintenance and cleanliness could be better.

Now that the motel is getting older, prices are getting lower. Weekend rates are about $99. $109 & $129 otherwise.