<p>My wife and I will be accompanying my daughter to her freshman orientation at Swarthmore on August 23. I was wondering if anyone could advise me on the best lodging options available for parents. I don't suppose the college offers any lodging options and I would imagine with all the colleges and universities in the area, hotels might fill up quickly, so it might not be too early to make a reservation. Last year I waited a bit too long and ended up staying about 30 miles from NU for D1. I had incorrectly assumed that because of the size of Chicago, I would have no trouble-and that was not the case. Any particular suggestions would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>The closest hotel is a Day’s Inn on Baltimore Pike which is just a mile or two away from campus. We have stayed there several times. It is not fancy (think the motel’s of our youth with the outside corridors) but it is clean and we have never had a problem. There are also lots of places around King of Prussia, but that is about 20 to 30 minutes away. Congratulations to your daughter, I hope you all have a great time.</p>
<p>The hotels which are closest to campus (~10 minutes) are not the “plushest” 
although we have stayed at one of them in the interest of economics. (It’s the Days Inn in Springfield, PA.) You will find a large selection of hotels in various price ranges in the vicinity of the Philadelphia airport, which is actually only 15-20 minutes from campus. That would be my suggestion.</p>
<p>By the way, counsel, I also have a student at NU and one at Swat! :)</p>
<p>I see that I cross-posted with nursekay about the Days Inn.</p>
<p>When we brought our daughter out we stayed at the Best Western Plus Concordville Hotel & Conference Center, Route 322 & US Route 1 in Concordville, Pa. That is almost a straight shot to the college along Baltimore Pike. It was about 10 miles or 15-20 minutes. Very nice hotel with friendly staff and an outstanding hot breakfast (omelets made to order) included. We did sightseeing in the Brandywine Valley so it was a good jumping off point for checking in with our daughter and doing other things.</p>
<p>We have stayed at both the Days Inn and Rodeway Inn in Springfield, PA. They are across the street from each other on Baltimore Pike, about 5 minutes from Swarthmore’s campus. They are both basic, adequate places to stay. We are staying at the Rodeway for graduation in a couple of weeks.</p>
<p>We stayed near the airport for both freshman move-in & graduation. There are back roads you can take to get to campus from there so you don’t have to deal with highway traffic. We’ve also stayed in King of Prussia/Plymouth Meeting, but then you have to deal with the highway & traffic can be miserable depending on when you’re there.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your suggestions; they were most helpful. Since I will be flying in, it may make sense to stay near the airport. Nevertheless, I would like to explore the area a bit, so I’ll look at the local maps to identify places of interest. I see Valley Forge is nearby.</p>
<p>Nursekay, thank you for your congratulations;daughter is excited to be attending and we are more and more impressed with Swarthmore the more we read. I told my wife that except for the extreme rigor, it would have been perfect for me. Momof3sons-that’s quite a coincidence with NU and Swat. Our eldest is really enjoying Evanston and Chicago after hitting a couple of speed bumps 1st quarter. She’s studying journalism at Medill. Proud of both of them. Exciting times!</p>
<p>This is a lovely B&B across the street from campus:</p>
<p>[Purcell</a> Darrell House Bed and Breakfast - A Quick Overview](<a href=“http://www.purcelldarrellhouse.com/]Purcell”>http://www.purcelldarrellhouse.com/)</p>
<p>Accommodations near Swat are very scarce; you might also consider making your graduation reservation now. </p>
<p>For Parents’ Weekend Swat used to make rooms available in local faculty homes. I’m not sure they do that still but it’s a good deal and very convenient.</p>