Kennywood Hotel Question?

I will be making a trip to Kennywood this summer and am looking for some lodging advice. For those of you familiar with the Pittsburgh area, what are some of the better and safer areas? I don’t need anyplace fancy – I just don’t want to go into an area where I will be worrying about someone stealing my car.Thanks in advance.

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Bob M.

The Holiday Inn Parkway East is the closest hotel to Kennywood. I'm not sure about the safety but it is the one that ACE is providing for KennyKon. The phone number is (412)247-2700.

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mmm, roller coaster
(Homer Simpson)

There are very few hotels near Kennywood. I recommend you stay at the Holiday Inn. It is about 10-15 minutes to the park from there. The neighborhood is fine. Actually I cant think of a hotel in Pittsburgh that is in a bad area.

I would recommend the William Penn motel in Monroeville. With a coupon out of a magazine I picked up a travel plaza, I only paid around $40. It's only about a mile from the PA Turnpike also. It was pretty no-thrills, but it had cable TV.

By the way, a good neighborhood does not preclude your car from being broken into or stolen.
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The word "definitely" is definitely the most misspelled word on the buzz.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Intamin Fan said:
By the way, a good neighborhood does not preclude your car from being broken into or stolen.

I know, but in certain areas, there is a greater risk that your car will be stolen (or you will be mugged). That is why insurance companies charge higher rates in cities then in the subburbs.

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Bob M.

The neighborhood is fine

I'll vouch for that. Lots of nice houses nearby.

Quick directions: Head back towards I-376. Guide right around Arby's and travel about 1.5 miles with train tracks and an under construction busway on your left and make a right at the first stoplight. Go past all of these nice houses until you get out of the community. Make a left here. You'll see it on the right. If you miss the turn you'll see it on the left.

Monroeville has some nice hotels too. I can't tell you about them because I've never been in them.. Enjoy your trip.

I stayed in the Residence Inn by the airport...the roads around Pittsburgh are confusing enough, and with the construction currently going on, it took me about 30 minutes to make what should have been a 15 minute trip. With a AAA discount, it was $62, with free breakfast.

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Proud CB club member

A trip from the Pittsburgh Airport to Kennywood is long and confusing no matter what. And now that the main route from the airport to the park is under contruction it is a complete disaster, though more so on the way back to the airport. Pittsburgh Construction... ugh !!

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"Looks like you've been missing quite a bit of work lately"
"Well, I wouldn't say I've been MISSING it, Bob."

Yeah, the path FROM the airport to Kennywood isn't too bad, but getting back...ugh.

The Holiday Inn is in a pretty good area. It's not far FROM a not-quite-as-good area, but that happens inside of most major cities (within a span of a few blocks you go from good neighborhood to bad neighborhood to good to GREAT to good to... :) )

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--Greg
"Are you justified in taking life to save life?" -- The Great Debate, Dream Theater
My page

Where your car is most likely to be stolen has a lot to do with where the car thieves are targeting at that time. It can be the nicest neighborhoods if they are looking for high value cars. I've seen cases where nice suburban parking lots were noted for being targets for car thieves.

The Monroeville area is not a bad place to stay. I stayed at the Red Roof last year for about $50. Only 20 minutes to the park.

I once left my car unlocked with the keys in the ignition for several hours on Brownsville road. It was still there. I live within a 15 min. WALKING distance of said Holiday Inn. I would have NO problems parking my car outside of it, or walking around at ANY hour of the day or night at ANY time of the year. I'd run into a security guard or a police officer far before I ran into foul play.

I stayed at the Comfort Inn in West Mifflin on one of my trips there and highly recommend it. It was relatively close by and had a lot of resturants and even a mall close to it. It was also a very clean place.

Here's a link to all of the lodging near Kennywood if you haven't taken a look yet:

http://www.kennywood.com/hotels.cfm

Coasterbuf

I highly recommend the Sheraton at Station Square for the following reasons :

l. It is a short drive to Kennywood up along the river past Sandcastle, the Kennywood owned water park that you might also consider visiting in the heat of summer.

2. Station Square is on the river, and the river boat cruises dock at the other end of the parking lot.

3. Station Square is at the foot of Mt. Washington so you can walk half a mile down, ride the Duquesne Incline up the cliff, walk half a mile back along the most spectacular view of a city available anywhere in America, then take the Monongahala Incline back down the cliff to the hotel.

4. Station Square is a mall with a variety of restaurants and shops.

5. The parking lot is monitored 24 hours a day. It is safe.

6. The trolley to Library stops across the street.

7. The subway to downtown stops across the street.

8. The Golden Triangle is across the bridge.

9. The baseball stadium is a short trolley or subway ride and a short walk away, or a short water taxi ride around the Point.

All of this allows you to package a really nice visit to Pittsburgh. You can ride inclines, trolleys, subways and boats, see a Pirate game in a brand new stadium, shop, eat in good restaurants, stay in a good hotel with pool and fitness center, and top all this off with trips to Sandcastle and Kennywood. If you have time left, there's a cineplex between Sandcastle and Kennywood.

That cineplex is the Riverfront or whatever they call it, and it has loads of eateries, along with a huge Dave and Busters.

The cineplex you're thinking of is a brand-new 22 screen Loews at the Waterfront. I'm headed there tomorrow night to see Star Wars, in fact.

The Waterfront is one of the best examples I can think of of land reuse. It's a wildly successful (in my opinion since I live on one of the main roads leading to it, *too* successful ;) ) retail development on the site of a former steel mill. In addition to the Loews, it also contains Dave & Busters, Rock Bottom, PF Changs, and a host of other places to eat, and plenty of places to shop. Traffic can be a downright nightmare, though.

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--Greg
"Are you justified in taking life to save life?" -- The Great Debate, Dream Theater
My page