<p>My dad will go to Smith with me so that he is able to know the place where i will learn and live for the next 2 years(i'm a transfer). I have googled some inns near Smith and heard a lot of good words about the Autumn Inn. But the price of it is like $100 per night, which is a little more expensive than we had expected. I also found two other inns, which were cheaper, but never heard of any comment on this forum: a meta way inn and the historic college inn of northampton. is there anybody who know something about these two inns?
I am an international students so I have to found an inn which is within walking distance for my dad.</p>
<p>Only $100 a night for the Autumn Inn? They usually charge much more. They must lower the rates when Smith is out of session. </p>
<p>What I’m about to say is heresy on this forum because many love The Autumn Inn, but it is the trashiest expensive motel/hotel I’ve ever stayed in. I’ve stayed in it only twice - when my D had an emergency and for graduation - and both times I chose it because of the location only. It is basically a first floor motel (two double beds) or low-end, second floor hotel (one queen bed per room) that included a complimentary breakfast of do-it-yourself waffles, commercial muffins, hard-boiled eggs, and cereal. The Hampton Inn in Hadley is usually the same price, with cleaner rooms and better facilities, also with a (more expansive) complimentary breakfast. I’ve never seen either hotel get below $100. There’s a Comfort Inn on Rte. 9 in Hadley that was the cheapest we found, although I can’t remember if it went below $100. In general, the five-college area is pricey, especially if you are used to hotel prices in the South or Midwest. You might want to look into the new Holiday Inn Express in Westfield (about a 20 minute drive to campus) or hotels at least that far away for cheaper rates. Beware of Springfield because of crime issues. </p>
<p>Your best bet is to go to hotels.com or a similar site, and search for deals. You’ll get an idea of how the prices drop once you get out of the five-college area. But because this is the Northeast, you’ll have a tough time finding anything below $90 per night.</p>
<p>An addendum: The Autumn Inn is the cheapest hotel within walking distance. Although a few bed-and-breakfast inns exist in the area, but I don’t remember finding any within walking distance. </p>
<p>Sorry that I didn’t read your requirement about having something within walking distance.</p>
<p>thank you for your suggestions, momwaitingfornew.
I don’t really have an idea of the prices in Northeast. The Autumn Inn is like $109 per night for single now. I’ll try hotels.com to find if there are any other hotels. Since you said its tough to find a cheaper inn, i think i’ll end up at the autumn inn</p>
<p>There are a number of inns, bed and breakfasts, and hotels that are in the Northampton area, but there are not many that are within walking distance of campus. So if your dad is planning on renting a car, he will have a wider choice of less expensive places to stay. My parents were very big fans of the Sugar Maple Inn, which is a bed and breakfast in nearby Florence. </p>
<p>If he’s not going to rent a car, then your choices are pretty much limited to the Autumn Inn, the Hotel Northampton (much more expensive) and the Quality Inn & Suites, which is probably the cheapest option, though it is just a standard hotel. Fine, nothing fancy, and slightly further to walk than the first two, but still quite do-able.</p>
<p>Autumn Inn is the only one that I would classify as within walking distance. </p>
<p>MWFN, I must write up my “Dives I Have Stayed In” so that you may compare. I stayed at a Hampton Inn in St. Louis and the most charitable word I can come up with was “sterile.” I suspect TheHighCommand and I will be squabbling about which of two hotels to stay in when in St. Louis for a wedding later this summer, with me preferring the more expensive. We need a configuration that will take three adults so the question may be moot.</p>
<p>Ah, I went on a business trip last March where I wasn’t allowed to spend more than $75 per night in the South – unless I paid for it myself. Since the trip lasted two weeks, I had to be judicious when I ponied up my own funds. I stayed in one that could charitably be called “secure” because of the bullet-proof glass that protected the night clerk, although I stayed in another, for the same price, that came with a full hot breakfast and a really old-style Southern room (in the good sense) with a wrought iron balcony.</p>
<p>The worst hotel I ever stayed in? A literal flea bag in Paris on my honeymoon. The bite marks were a reminder for days afterward. Trust me, the Autumn Inn looks like a Grand Hotel in comparison.</p>
<p>I’ve stayed at the Clarion in Northampton, one of the most bizarre hotels I’ve ever stayed in. It can’t make up its mind what it is: vacation chalet, bargain basement motel, or luxury hotel. All it takes is one turn or one set of stairs to transform from one into another.</p>
<p>And yeah, the three adults situation creates some issues. In Japan, most hotels don’t allow it. It takes some creative searches to find one that will.</p>
<p>@TD, all three are very walkable. I stayed at the Quality Inn (back when it was the Best Western) when I arrived a day early my first year and had some nice easy walks into town. It’s the longest walk of course, but 20 minutes or so is not that bad. True, I took a cab on move-in day so that I could bring my bags to campus (I wouldn’t have rolled them all that way) but if you’re just looking for a place to sleep it’s easy. Smith students walk that far all the time to go to Diva’s. And Hotel Northampton is equally extremely walkable, you just cut down Center Street and go up Bedford Terrace and you’re there. Would be a bit silly to drive that.</p>
<p>S&P, I read between the lines of the OP’s post. A generational thing: walking from the Hotel Northampton is at the edge of what I would happily do…I do not think TheMom would care to do it at all. I do four-mile walks several times a week, she does not, and many people in their sixth and seventh decades have become quite sedentary. I fancy that I’m pretty active IRL, presenting younger than my chron age, and that on-line I can pass for a positively immature 30 unless one knows I have a D out of college, LOL.</p>
<p>In any event, Hotel Northampton is more expensive than Autumn Inn, so that seems moot. If the Quality Inn is further than Hotel Northampton, then many parental units would look askance at the walk.</p>
<p>TD and S&P, thank you so much for your information. I think i will finally choose Autum Inn, seemed that this is the best choice for me</p>
<p>@TD – Well, OK if you don’t want to walk that far, but they are within walking distance of campus and parents and students do stay there and walk from there (as do everyday folk). Not knowing anything about how much wenzheng’s father enjoys walking but just knowing about affordability issues, I thought it was worthwhile to present all the options. Some parents might look askance, but I don’t know if wenzheng’s would.</p>
<p>It is interesting that SMith doesn’t have an on campus guest house - a lot of other colleges do in alumni houses etc. When we visited Bryn Mahr we stayed in teh alumniw house and it was great and reasonable. Wenzheng you also might try googling bed and breakfasts - don’t know if there are any in walking distance though.</p>
<p>^If you’re a trustee you can stay at the President’s House when you’re in town and I have heard rumors that for very special alums there are actually rooms in the Alumnae House, though I don’t know if that’s true or not. I would guess that the cost of maintenance just wouldn’t make it worth it, with so many other options in the area, especially if you drive (and remember that the majority of Smith students do live within a reasonable driving distance of campus, so most parents are already driving out to Smith, so they can stay in the accomodations offered locally).</p>
<p>There are bedrooms in the alumnae house. I believe that they are offered to the president of the Alumnae Association (and perhaps the rising president?) during Reunion.</p>
<p>thank all of you for giving me information. My dad can walk for long distance if he has to, but I don’t think he enjoys to do so. I am now also in contact with some bed-and-breakfast inns. If they are not much cheaper, at least I can still choose Autumn Inn.</p>
<p>I just went on hotwire.com and booked a hotel in the Northampton area (on hotwire you’d don’t know the name of the hotel until you book it, just the number of stars and approximate location). After paying for the room, I found out it is the Autumn Inn. The total price I paid was $71.71. $59 for the room and the rest in taxes and fees. This includes the continental breakfast and everything else you would normally get if you booked through the Inn. The only thing with hotwire.com is that you can’t cancel it.</p>
<p>Wow! I’m impressed! And you booked it for moving-in weekend?</p>
<p>Yes, for the early check in on Monday, August 30 into Tuesday. I also checked for parent’s weekend, but it was more for that weekend. There were some other great rates for surrounding areas, though.</p>
<p>We just made reservations at the Econo Lodge in Hadley, MA @ $89 for August 30. It is about 5 1/2 miles from campus.</p>