I’m taking my twins to visit Pitt and Carnegie Mellon. I thought we’d go to dinner in the area where students kind of hang out off campus and I’d like to get a hotel there so we don’t have to drive around. Can anybody give me some advice about that?
Hotels in downtown Pittsburgh are very nice, but also expensive as they cater to people traveling on business. If you are driving, you can save $100 or more per night staying just to the east of Pittsburgh in, say, Monroeville, and be a 15 minute drive away from the colleges up I-376.
A lot of students rent apartments in an area called the South Side (of the Monongahela River) where in addition to rentals there are a lot of restaurants and pubs.
CMU and Pitt are almost adjacent, as you probably know. There seems to be an OK selection of hotels right there, when I look at google maps. Not too pricey, $85-175 it looks like. There’s a Wyndham and a Holiday Inn almost on Pitt’s campus.
I like the Wyndham Pittsburgh University Center. You can walk to either campus, Oakland restaurants (Lulu’s Noodles etc) and museums, and they also have a shuttle service. They may have a discount if you say you are visiting CMU or Pitt. The rooms are solid, and the staff is nice. And also you are on the bus line for getting to/from the airport, if you want to do that (28X line).
Wyndham is best for location right on Pitt’s campus (and close to CMU).
I know you wanted to be on campus but a few other choices:
Springhill Suites Bakery Square or Courtyard by Marriott Shadyside - 5-10 minutes by car.
Fairmont is nice but a splurge if you stay Downtown.
Sheraton Station Square (moderate - in Station Square, Southside with a view of skyline)
We usually stayed at the Wyndam. You can walk to CMU or Pitt. For our son’s graduation they were full and we ended up at the Shadyside Inn which was fine and also within walking distance.
We stayed at the Shady Side Inn last summer when we visited both schools. It appeared to be apartments that were converted to hotel so plenty of space for family (2 bedrooms and sitting area) and easy walk to nice restaurants/shopping.
Thank you all, those sound like really good suggestions. Walking to CMU and Pitt is exactly what we’re looking for. I’m checking availability now. I’ll be happy to report back on how it goes!
We tried to stay at the Wyndam but it was booked. We stayed at the Hampton Inn and walked to both Pitt and CMU. It was nice and reasonable, and a good breakfast. Easy walk - nice place.
You can also try the Hilton Garden Inn on Forbes.
Back in the day I stayed at many different Oakland and Shadyside hotels, all at less than discounted price points. It is a great area to wander.
We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn. It was nice and convenient. I believe they have a shuttle bus to the campus, although we chose to walk in the bitter cold ( :-? )
Not sure when you are going, but a couple of random thoughts. Part of Forbes Ave (between Craig and Morewood if you look at a map) is closed for several weeks due to a water main break so avoid that area if you are driving. Also, if you decide to eat at The Porch, you may want to download the No Wait app. It lets you get on the waiting list and tells you how many parties are in front of you. I’m not sure what other restaurants in the area use the app, but we love it.
Try something like hotwire.com to get a good deal. You can select the neighborhood, but not the exact hotel.
We stay either at Shadyside Inn or Hampton Inn University Center when we visit our daughter at CMU. Hotels are expensive. Shadyside has free parking, but most other hotels you need to pay for parking.
I second the recommendation for Hotwire. I have used it to stay downtown at the Omni William Penn and the Renaissance Pittsburgh. We have also stayed at the Hyatt House on the Southside. All hotels have been nice and more often than not we have stayed for less than $100/night. We usually sort by the star rating and recommended numbers.
Of course, YMMV.