Hampton Inn Grand Rapids

I have just spent 3 days in Grand Rapids Michigan and while it is early October that didn't prevent the weather from being a little challenging. Snowshowers and rain greeted me on my arrival and stuck around for a couple of days. With a fierce wind and cold temps it was quite an introduction to my first visit to Michigan.

The Hampton Inn that I stayed at is on Center Street off of I-96 about 15-20 minutes away from the airport. It isn't easy to find unless you have specific directions, a gps system or are paying very close attention when you are driving on the freeway. The hotel can be spotted from I-96 but once you get off the road then you will need to know to make the first turn otherwise you will miss the hotel like I did and drive for a couple of miles before realizing something is wrong. The hotel is set so far back from the main road you can't see it and their isn't really any signage to direct you their either.

As for the location, it is very convenient to shopping and dining. Just about any store you can name is on the main road, Alpine which stretches for miles. While it may be called Grand Rapids, according to the signs the hotel is actually in Walker though only some businesses identify this as the true location. If you need to get to downtown Grand Rapids then take 131 South and follow the signs. In normal traffic this should take nor more than about 10 minutes.

I ate on the cheap for meals that weren't being covered by the meeting I was attending by choosing Old Country Buffet, Subway( in the Wal-Mart) and Taco Bell to sustain me.

As of this writing gas is cheap and getting cheaper. It was at $2.24 when I arrived and 3 days later it was at $2.15. I rented a car from Hertz for $25 a day with taxes so combined with a room rate of $84 it was a pretty economical trip.

The Hampton Inn provides a free breakfast which was good, but I thought that the one I stayed in in the New Bern area of NC this year had a better selection. Free wi-fi comes with the room, though I found having to constantly re-enter the access code a pain. I almost tossed it away after my initial login and am glad that I didn't.

A nice clean and comfortable hotel and far cheaper that anything I could find with similar amenities in downtown Grand Rapids.