motels

[geraldlanc]

For those of you who make multi-day rides, do you reserve a motel in advance(requires some advance planning) or do you "wing it"? Also, do you have a favorite motel chain to recommend?
Gerald

 

[Paul_Trike]

While I have not made long rides yet, on all our other vacations we just wing it. (Since I have the Goldwing I guess it will always be winging) Anyways, when we take trips we have a final destination in mind but don't put preasure to get there. If we see a road we think look interesting we take it so we never know where we are going to be most of time.

 

[Lucky]

IMO reservations put to many limitations on your trip.We always just wait and see where we want to stop.It has worked out for us so far.RIDE SAFE

 

[Bikerbozo]

For multi day rides I Harley it (I don' do no stinkin' wing). Either showing up in a town and seeing whats around or sometimes calling ahead 1 hr before stopping for night. I tend to go with Hampton Inns, Holiday Inn Express' or Comfort inns. Of course, I am usually using points to get free rooms. I seem to have gotten spoiled in my job. I used to look for the $17 room for the night.

 

[Blondie Gal]

We do 'big trips' often, and simply stop when we get tired, hungry, or both. We ride 10-15 hours each day, and have stayed at Best Westerns, Comfort Inns, or even Motel 6 if it's the best option. Never had any problems at any of 'em. Usually there is a good restaurant within a block or two where we can find dinner if it's before 9PM, or a Subway or McD's if we stop later . . . we've had everything from bountiful buffets (Las Vegas) to a gas station pizza (Jackson, TN - quite good!!).

 

[WILDBILLPHIN]

I did a 9,200 mile thirty day ride last spring with no reservations. I prefer the older mom and pop type of motel. They are generally clean, less expensive and I just about always find a room on the ground floor where I can park the trike in front of the room. When I say mom and pop I am refering to the older type motel, they are usually owned by a Mr. Patel....

 

[Shimpy]

Usually no reservation because I don't want to be held to a time schedule. We normally stop around 4:00. Caution, stopping after 6:00 could find you with a lot of "No Vacancys". Be aware of any holidays as getting a room could be a problem. Even then you are sometimes suprised as we were last year in Moab Utah. Middle of the week, no holidays, but hit a convention and no rooms available. Got lucky and one motel had a cancellation and charged me $220 for the night and $80 for the next night which was after the convention. Since we usually get an early start, when we check into a room, the last thing we want to do is ride to a restaurant, so we usually just have a pizza delivered to the room.

 

[mhgoldwing]

Depends on destination. If we're going to a popular area we usually make reservations since we've been caught before with no place to stay. If just traveling to sightsee away from major tourist areas we normally gamble on being able to find something. The exception is when we are going to be spending several nights and using the motel as a base camp.

 

[Keystone]

Depends on the trip. I know that had we not made reservations in Jackson, WY we would not have found a room. Same was the case in Steamboat Springs. Last summer we went to Smoky Mnts and could have done so with out reservations but we would have paid more.

 

[fred-houston]

I have been caught to many times looking for a motel. You pull in on a hot day to find out some family is having a reunion and have every room in the town booked up. Believe it or not this has happened to me on a number of occasions.

I agree with some earlier statements that it depends on the destination. I would be concerned about trying to find a room in Cody, WY after 6PM in July, as well as a number of other towns near tourist destinations.

In this day of Smart Phones, I just wait until lunch time, and by then I know about where I am going to end up. I simply pick a town, check for room availability and price, and reserve a room. I always ask about their cancellation policy, and in most cases as long as you cancel before 4 to 6 PM, (depends on the motel) you have the option to cancel if things change.

Opinions about motels are like opinions on what motor oil to use. I for one do NOT like driving around a town at the end of a day looking for a room(s). My trips are usually more pleasurable knowing that I have a room guaranteed at the end of the day.

 

[skuuter]

We do "BOTH".....sometimes book ahead, sometimes just "caution to the wind".......a few times though, the "cttw" program got "pricey" as most things were booked up. Easier to find reasonable rates in small satellite towns in case You head for some Event that's happening somewhere....ThumbUp