<p>Wanting to try another inexpensive hotel for move in. We stayed at Sleep Inn Tues night for orientation but it was nasty. Wed night we went back to the one we stayed in during our last trip which was Country Inn and Suites and once again we were very satified. I looked at rates at La Quinta and they have good rates for move in weekend. Any body have any idea on the quality of the La Quinta? We have reservations back at Sleep Inn but will never stay there again.</p>
<p>I too am wondering about La Quinta, we just booked reservations there.</p>
<p>Change your reservation at La Quinta.</p>
<p>It’s not in a good area. It’s a bit sketchy there.</p>
<p>Try to get a good price at…</p>
<p>Hampton Inn
Holiday Inn Express
Microtel (on Veteran Memorial Hwy…aka 15th St)
or some other place.</p>
<p>That area that is at the cross streets of Skyland and McFarland (south of I-20) is sketchy…don’t book there.</p>
<p>Anything to the east, west or north of that cross section is much better.</p>
<p>Wingate is a bit of a drive, but very nice.</p>
<p>2 hotels we tried;
La Quinta bad bad bad
Wingate very good</p>
<p>I agree with m2ck and gojack. Additionally, the Ambassador Inn and HomeTowne Suites are nice, (the HomeTowne Studios section of the latter property is older and has limited services). I’ve stayed at the Ramada and Motel 6, both places in the area m2ck rightfully recommends avoiding and would not recommend them unless one knows the area. There is a Candlewood Suites next to the Ramada that looks nice though.</p>
<p>It’s far away from campus (~15 miles) but I also recommend the Greystone Inn and Suites out by the Mercedes Plant.</p>
<p>The local hotel coupon book can be found at [al</a> index](<a href=“http://travelcoupons.com/alabama/alindex.htm]al”>http://travelcoupons.com/alabama/alindex.htm).</p>
<p>The Fairfield Inn isn’t too expensive and it is clean.</p>
<p>We always stay at the Fairfield. Nice hotel, nice staff, good free breakfast, quiet and safe, and not far from campus. Join the Marriott Rewards program. There are always good specials going on for Reward members, too, where you stay twice, and get a free night. We use our free nights for either fun travel or college visits. Only drawback of Fairfield is no laundry facilities, but I think the Courtyard, which is next door, has laundry. Never had to use it, though, but that is important for some people, so I wanted to mention it.</p>
<p>^ Same experience as Montegut at the Fairfield. We recently saved big $$ using our Marriott Rewards points rather than the room rate for a game weekend.</p>
<p>We have stayed at the Wingate…agree with m2k, nice but a bit of a drive. We LOVE the country Inn and Suites! Have stayed there every time we’ve gone since first visit (we stayed at the Wingate). I think country Inn has gotten a little savvy since last year and for big weekends the prices do seem to jump a bit. They also have points and such and they do come in handy for upgrades and reduced rates.</p>
<p>I am not seeing the Tuscaloosa Ramada Inn mentioned…is it a total hole?</p>
<p>After looking at these post and looking at Trip Advisor I have cancelled the La Quinta. Also after reading reviews I have booked a room at Microtel as it was number 2 on the list and was able to get a room for $69.00. As one stated we also have enjoyed our stay at Country Inn and Suites but as stated they did adjust their rates for move in. They went up $30.00 for that weekend. In the past have usually always had good results with Choice Hotels but in past year or so that has changed. Will indeed check the others mentioned. Figure for the next 3-4 yrs can try them all</p>
<p>FWIW: We have had good luck reserving a hotel,
and then a day or two before departure
bidding on Priceline for a 3-3 1/2 star.
Saved about 40% in 3 out 4 attempts, only one time did we kept the
reservation and pay the rack rate.</p>
<p>The Ramada is hit or miss. The interior corridor rooms are fine but the outdoor entrance rooms can use a bit of work. I’ve stayed there a couple times during game weekends and never had any problems. If you get a great rate then stay there. But usually you can get a similar rate at the Ambassador Inn a mile down the road which is a nicer property.</p>
<p>As a few others have said, my property of choice is the Fairfield Inn. The hotel is always clean and the staff there is super friendly. Their normal rates are usually only $89 or 7500 rewards points a night. </p>
<p>BTW, if you don’t have any Marriott Rewards points you can buy them on their site for $125 per 10,000 points. Not worth it to do it that way for a regular night, but it can save you a ton if you’re able to get a rewards reservation for a football weekend. You can buy enough points for the 2 nights for less than it would cost you to pay cash for one night.</p>
<p>The only hotel I would absolutely not stay in would be the Master’s Inn. There’s a reason it always has availability even on football weekends. Stay Away!!</p>
<p>That one area where La Quinta is located needs some attention.</p>
<p>The section where Sams Club is located is fine…and the Books a Million corner is ok (but that crappy strip mall behind BOM is sketchy)…and that corner where La Quinta is located is just sketchy.</p>
<p>I hope the city has some kind of plans for that area to get it “up to snuff.”</p>
<p>Thankfully, there are many other areas/hotels that are very nice.</p>
<p>I just used priceline and got the Best Western Park Plaza for $45 for Augsut 10th (I bid on 2 and 2.5 star hotels). . so hope it isn’t a dive. At least you get free breakfast and internet.</p>
<p>We’re booked at the Home-Towne Suites for a great rate, $65 a night. Stayed there last time and liked it, but just figured out that this time I’m booked in the front section (the studios), instead of the back/newer section (the suites). Any input if the front section is considerably different from the back? Prices are much higher now than when I booked this.</p>
<p>If you bid on Priceline, what are the zone boundaries? Can you get stuck in a neighboring town or is it Tuscaloosa only?</p>
<p>Tuscaloosa doesn’t have any different zones, which can mean higher prices because you can’t bid on different zones. We got our Best Western for $45 and on priceline’s regular site (eg non-bidding) , it is listed for $87 . . so I guess I’m happy (Its only for one night anyway).</p>
<p>For the same trip, on our way from Calif to Tuscaloosa, we are also stopping overnight in Alburqeque ( which does have different zones), and I got a three star hotel, the Hyatt Regency, for $43 that’s nicer than the Best Western 2.5 star rating.</p>
<p>As of yesterday we were still able to book the Wingate for the weekend of Aug 13/14 for $76 on Hotwire, but it only showed up on the search if we were searching for three nights, not two. It includes breakfast so not a bad deal.</p>
<p>We’ve been happy with Courtyard Marriot and Fairfield. For some reason we booked at Wingate for my son’s move in for OA–hope it’s ok. I think both were full and/or the prices were really jacked. At the time the front desk person for Courtyard explained it was that way because graduation would be then, but I see that is not the case.</p>
<p>Rose, we usually stay at Home Towne Suites but made the mistake of booking the Studio (in the front), and never again. H and S had no issues with their Studio room, but during another visit, H and I stayed at a Studio room and although it was clean, you could tell the place badly needed to be updated and the room smelled awful. Of course, we could have just had a bad room.</p>
<p>The Suites in the back are all renovated and the ambiance, compared to the Studios in the front, is like night and day. Our Suite room was clean, updated, spacious, and a great value for the price considering you are getting a kitchenette as well.</p>