<p>I am a student of very limited means, and I need to visit Alabama in late January for a departmental scholarship interview. Unfortunately, I have no friends or family in Tuscaloosa, so I cannot couch surf with someone. </p>
<p>What are the cheapest hotels within 30 minutes of UA that are still relatively safe?</p>
<p>Thanks so much!</p>
<p>Use Priceline to place a bid. I’ve got some really good rates near the Tuscaloosa Walmart (I20 & McFaland) at places that many people wouldn’t choose to stay at - the LaQuinta and the Days Inn are both available via Priceline. There’s also the Master’s Inn there near that intersection which I’ve never stayed at, but is a very affordable location (but you can probably get just as good a price on Priceline, for a slightly better hotel/motel). The Ramada and the Microtel (Tuscaloosa location) are also nearby, but they are slightly better properties and will cost slightly more. I’ve also stayed at America’s Best Value Inn, which is not very far from that intersection, which is pretty affordable, but I don’t believe is available on Priceline. These definitely aren’t luxury properties, but are located in a retail area with lots of traffic, so are not unsafe (although at two of them I have had people approach me for handouts as I was loading/unloading my car, I just said, “no, sorry, I don’t have any money to give you” and they went on their way). You should be able to get a good price (around $30/night) unless there is a big event in Tuscaloosa that weekend.</p>
<p>If none of those are affordable, then perhaps you can arrange to stay overnight in a dorm or find a student with an apartment where you could stay.</p>
<p>The Greyston in Vance (where the Mercedes plant is located) is usually $68/night and includes a decent breakfast. We’ve stayed there a couple of times now and it is nice. You might find cheaper with some searches using expedia or kayak.</p>
<p>Be careful of the “dirt cheap” motels. They can be bedbug hosts. This is a complaint, not only in Ttown, but everywhere.</p>
<p>Are you coming alone? How much do you want to spend? Are you coming for one night or more?</p>
<p>I am coming alone for three nights in late January. My goal is to spend as little as possible, seeing as I’ll be struggling just to cover gas. I will be arriving late (as in midnight) on Sunday, and departing very early on Wednesday morning. I don’t know anyone closely enough at the university to call in a favor, unfortunately.</p>
<p>The Greystone Inn in Vance would be my recommendation too. Christian is the manager and a Hotel management Bama grad. Price includes breakfast. There’s no pool and it is not close to the campus but it is close to the Mercedes factory. The prices are reasonable if it isn’t a game weekend or graduation. It is remote… no eating establishments or gas stations nearby.</p>
<p>I’d hate to see you waste gas driving back and forth from a distance…that will defeat the “savings” of a lower rate motel. </p>
<p>Even a cheap hotel that’s out of town is going to cost you at least $60 a night (including lodging taxes). Are you going to be able to spend $180.oo in hotels? (lodging taxes are about 15%)…plus gas driving back and forth?</p>
<p>Are you even old enough that a hotel will rent to you by yourself?</p>
<p>You might want to give these a try.</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1805610?s=4114[/url]”>https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1805610?s=4114</a></p>
<p><a href=“https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1976601?s=4114[/url]”>https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1976601?s=4114</a></p>
<p>I have hotwired the Wingate twice, and I was extremely pleased. It was the highest star available, and it was relatively affordable. Don’t forget to calculate money saved from free breakfast, afternoon cookies, and Burger King value menu across the parking lot…</p>
<p>I tried to stay at the Baymont Inn & Suites, but it was too nasty and smokey. Others here tried to warn me, but I thought, how bad could it be? It was bad. I’m a person who has slept on his share of questionable surfaces, but if I thought the police would have left me alone, I would have slept in my car. (Since it was a home game weekend, I was pretty sure they wouldn’t.) As it was, I left the non-refundable room empty the second night and drove home instead.</p>
<p>Stayed at the Econo Lodge in Northport on Mcfarland for $58 through expedia. Not plush and the shower head was more like a hose, but it was pretty clean. Easy to get on Jack Warner Parkway to get on campus.</p>
<p>My kiddo is in a standard dorm room. Maybe a CC’er with a kid (of the same sex) could offer up a sofa in their suite dorm living area.</p>
<p>try travelcoupons.com/alabama</p>
<p>Master’s Inn is $39.95 plus tax; La Quinta is $49</p>
<p>call the hotel to ask if they can go ahead and book you at the coupon rate and then bring coupon at check in</p>
<p>^^
neither one of those two are acceptable places. Master’s Inn is a total flea bag motel. And, that La Quinta has bed bug issues and is in a sketchy area.</p>
<p>Yikes, don’t think that I have ever seen a 3% approval rating on TripAdvisor. </p>
<p>OP, suggest for you to use Tripadvisor.com to help determine if the red coupon hotels are within your comfort zone. </p>
<p>I don’t use priceline because I collect hotel points but this may not be important to you. </p>
<p>Otherwise, I stay in Marriott and Hilton Chain hotels. There are codes to bring down the rate as low as $79 at one of the hotels I frequent. PM me if this is in your price range and I would be happy to provide you with the code.</p>
<p>Those rooms AlbionGirl posted are perfect. He might even be able to get a better deal by actually calling and talking to the renter.</p>
<p>I agree w/ Class2012Mom that the rooms AlbionGirl posted are probably what the OP needs. However, to benefit others who may be going to Tuscaloosa, we were pleased with:
Microtel Inn
1417 Veterans Memorial Pkwy, Tuscaloosa, AL 35404(205) 553-4095</p>
<p>We stayed there 2 nights (Dec. 18 and 19). At that time, rate was $54 for 1 queen bed or $64 for 2 queen beds. We stayed in a Hampton Inn 2 wks later in a different city; price was twice that of Microtel, and the towels & beds were actually nicer at Microtel (and the hot breakfast was very, very similar). You might get your best rate by calling the hotel directly, versus using Expedia, etc. Expedia ratings were high for this Microtel; that’s what drew me to it (and the fact that it is just 5 min from campus). One word of caution: don’t wait until the last 30 minutes to get breakfast, because they do not replenish much (if at all) in the last 30-40 minutes…at least that is what we experienced. Also, as you might expect, rooms are small (but perfectly fine for 2 people). I would definitely stay at this Microtel again.</p>
<p>My suggestion would be to contact the department, the Honors College (if you’re going to be in honors), or the admissions office and have them help you find a place to stay. Academic departments book rooms for visitors all the time and the hotels, while not the cheapest, will likely make exceptions allowing you to stay. Since they’re asking you to visit campus, they’ve likely encountered similar situations before. If the department knows of a current student who might be willing to let you stay in their dorm room or apartment on an unofficial basis, you might be able to stay there. Some current students may have their apartments listed on couch surfing websites as well.</p>