Does anyone have a hotel recommend for Wecome Welcome? Looking for something nearby and reasonably priced. We’ve stayed at the Morris Inn previously but it is unavailable for the weekend.
Try Inn at Saint Marys, Hilton Garden Inn at Saint Marys or Fairfield Inn at ND.
There are several north of the toll road exit on 933. We have stayed at both the Hampton and Holiday Inn Express.
We have caught a good deal now and then at Ivy Court Inn and Suites.
Varsity inn for the whole ND experience! accross the street from the Evil Czech; an awesome microbrew/restaurant!!!
Varsity Club. I’m sitting in it now. Also Fairfield Inn across the street from campus. Book ASAP. And prepare for sticker shock. My daughter is on the WElcome weekend committee for Walsh Hall.
hey Dad, gonna be there tomorrow? I am going to pick up my son; wanna do lunch?
I highly recommend getting a Hilton CC to earn points. We earned a lot of free stays and used then when visiting our daughter the last 4 years. Our go to was the HGI @ SMC. The bar and restaurant in the hotel were nice amenities.
@lastone03 - Are you driving distance from ND? Trying to get a feel for the travel to and from Chicago for cheaper flights. I have seen train and bus options. Not sure how easy they will be for DS to navigate.
The Coach USA bus travels to campus from both O’Hare and Midway and from what I understand from my daughters’ friends is very easy to navigate. I believe the pick-up/drop-off point on campus is right outside the Eck Center, which is next to the bookstore.
@usma87 The bus is very easy. Ejcclc is correct, it picks up and drops off on campus next to the bookstore. You can buy tickets in advance and get them texted to your phone, but not for a particular departure time. Buses leave every 2 hours (I believe) so you just have to stand on line to get on the bus you want. They have more than one bus per time slot if necessary. Also, often times students will talk to their friends or other students in their dorm and arrange to share Ubers with people who are arriving or leaving around the same time. When my daughter just flew back from spring break she shared an uber from O’Hare to ND with one of her friends and 2 students that girl knew. It cost each person $35. When she flew into South Bend from Easter weekend (lots of kids stay on campus), she shared a cab from the airport with 2 other ND students she didn’t even know. That airport is only 10-15 min away from campus.
@waitingmomla - thanks. I am always skeptical of website claims of easy and convenient. My DS is NOT a world traveler-type, so momma bear has some concerns. We know its a great school, but even with a pretty good grant package, it will be the most expensive. Typical of privates, they seem to come in at EFC plus 20-30%.
@usma87, I will chime in and agree that the travel to and from the airport and ND is really very easy. My (at that time) not well traveled D managed it just fine freshman year.
I’m surprised your aid package is 20-30% over your EFC. That has not been my experience at ND. I would set up an appointment with the FA office to go over it with them. There very good about doing that.
@suzy100 - I will see if I can get an FA appointment. The challenge with twins. EFC is split 50/50. So around $12k for one. The final number with student loan and work study included is over $15k, so 25% over EFC. I realize $15k for Notre Dame is a deal, but when I also have to pay for a second, we are pushing $30k out-of-pocket.
I totally get it, @usma87. Two in college this year as well. I hope it works out for you!
Any of the big chain hotels are good. Having had two kids go through ND, I would just use Priceline, or one of those travel sites, and use “Notre Dame” as the city. Over the years we stayed at most of them, and honestly, they were all safe and fine. Personal favorite~The Varsity Club. It’s just so Notre Dame-y! Go Irish!
@usma87 no, we are in Virginia. Drove out many, many times.