Hotel advice needed!

Can anyone recommend a good place to stay near Carowinds and/or Kings Dominion? Nothing fancy, price is a key factor, pool and breakfast would be nice. Thanks!

What kind of price are you looking for? Generally, I try and stay at Marriott hotels, exclusively. There's a Fairfield (And a Towneplace Suites) in Rock Hill for $130 a night on their site, which means you can probably snag it for cheap on one of the discount sites, or find a cheaper price on a discount site, and call to book directly through Marriott or the hotel directly.

Both of those have free breakfast and WiFi. The Fairfield has a pool.

I've stayed at 6 hotels this year. One Hilton property, Three Marriotts, one Ramada, and one Cedar Point resort. The Marriotts deliver the best overall quality for the money, IMO.

That being said, a few years ago we made a pit stop at Kings Dominion and ended up staying at the La Quinta that's right in their parking lot. I wasn't sure what to expect, but there wasn't much choice. It turned out to be reasonably priced, clean, there were 3 beds in the room which was great because my mom didn't need to get a separate one, and it had a pool and hot breakfast. Plus you can leave your car there and not pay to park at KD.

kpjb- I looked at LaQuinta, we've had good luck with them in the past. But the one at KD wants $200/night and the one near Carowinds (by the airport) looks awfully old, like the old section of Breakers before the remodel.

Raven-Phile- I'll look into that Fairfield Inn.

For Kings Dominion, we had booked in advance at the Country Inn & Suites; free breakfast, wi-fi, upgraded/refreshed rooms...a really nice stay for for of us. We had a one-bedroom suite (separate room for us)...sofa bed for girls...$150.

And there is a pool as well downstairs.

It's right beside the La Quinta across the street, and frankly looked the nicest out of the properties in that little setting.

Here's a link to reviews and whatnot of that Fairfield:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g54414-d10683218-Reviews-F...olina.html

There's links to $110 rooms, too. not bad.

I think that Fairfield is on the exit with a lot of food and shopping choices too.

For Carowinds - I always stay at either the Quality Inn Carowinds or the Comfort Suites in Pineville (which is about 10 minutes away). The rooms typically will run you $85-$110 without discounts, but you'll save 10% or more if you're a AAA member or have some other promotional rate. I've stayed at both places multiple times and would recommend both.

Good, reasonably priced hotels close to Kings Dominion (say, within a 20 minute drive of the park) for some reason are very difficult to find. I'm down in that area once or twice a year, and it's to the point now where I'll include a stop at Busch Gardens just so I can stay at the better hotels located in Williamsburg.

We've stayed at the LaQuinta Inn & Suites Charlotte Airport South on Tryon Street multiple times in the Charlotte area. Nice, clean, breakfast included and usually pretty reasonable (our stays have been in September the past few times). Maybe 10 minute drive to the park. Haven't been to KD in a long time.

Our go to hotels for the past few years have been LaQuinta and Holiday Inn Express. Holiday Inn is going to get most of our business in the future because it the best in the area where our daughter will be attending college. LaQuinta has one of the best rewards programs.

kpjb said:

The Marriotts deliver the best overall quality for the money, IMO.

I book the closest Marriott property. They are always at the very least clean.

For some reason I read that last sentence three times before I saw the word "at." I was thinking you dug filthy hotel rooms.

I stayed at a Quality Inn in Rock Hill when I went to Carowinds last year. I have no complaints about it.

We stayed at the Quality Inn across from the park last month. It was very adequate. If we go back for Scarowinds this fall, I would stay again. There are plenty of hotels on and near Carowinds Blvd, so if Carowinds is all you are doing there is no reason to stay further away, IMO.

After a lot of back and forth and debating, we went with La Quinta at both Carowinds and Kings Dominion... We've had good luck with their hotels in the past. King bed and a sleeper sofa at both places, total of 4 nights between the 2 for just over $500.

Try https://www.hotels.com/ i always use it.

They were cheaper on Hotwire, even cheaper than La Quinta's website!

I stayed at a Best Western near Carowinds last year and it was very pleasant but La Quinta is cheaper so I'll do that next time - especially as I recently stayed at a La Quinta in Springfield, MA in connection with a trip to SFNE and was delighted with the service. There's a Quality Inn across the street? Within walking distance of the park? 1st time at Carowinds I stayed at an Econo Lodge that was right across the street and that was really cool b/c I didn't need to summon Uber or a taxi but it's no longer there so I ended up at the Best Western strictly by default. Will probably stay at La Quinta in Pigeon Forge as well, now that I've joined their rewards program, unless someone knows of a better place with an equivalent rate. upsdownsandupsidedown.com