<p>We're planning a visit in February for the College of Science Open House. This will be our first time visiting Notre Dame. Can anyone recommend a nice hotel near campus? Thanks!</p>
<p>[Ivy</a> Court Inn & Suites](<a href=“http://www.southbend-hotel.com/]Ivy”>http://www.southbend-hotel.com/) was really nice when we stayed there. It’s also within walking distance of campus. It fills up quickly for major events, though, so you’ll have to check the dates.</p>
<p>Thank you, Manorite! :)</p>
<p>There is a new Fairfield Inn on Angela Blvd, the street which runs along the bottom of campus – right in the middle of the new Eddy Street Commons retail and residential development, across the street from campus. </p>
<p>Also, I do not think you need to be affiliated with the University to stay on campus, at the Morris Inn - -the campus hotel.</p>
<p>Bring warm clothes for a January visit!</p>
<p>I agree @midwestmomofboys. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn this summer when we were dropping our son off for Notre Dame Summer Scholars. Great hotel! Right across from campus…very convenient. We had a mini-suite, very spacious with a separate living area. We could walk to the Eddy Street shops and restaurants too.</p>
<p>There is also the Inn at St. Mary’s, which is less than a mile and only a turn or two from south entrance to campus. It’s a great hotel with very nice staff. If you decide to stay there and you’re passing by the concierge desk in the afternoon, stop by and talk to an older woman who works there. She’s very intelligent and fun to chat with–just make sure you have a moment to spare!</p>
<p>The Resident’s Inn Marriott is really nice! The rooms are really spacious and nicely furnished and they have a really nice breakfast (make your own waffles, yogurt parfaits, eggs, bacon, sausage, ect). I stayed there this summer for a couple nights and really liked it. A couple of my friends have stayed there also and really enjoyed it as well.</p>
<p>I hope you are not going the weekend of Feb. 17-19…Junior Parents weekend and it’s a big deal…and rooms will be hard to come by. But I agree with above posters…Fairfield across the street is my new favorite. Have tried a few times to get into Morris Inn–unsuccessfully. The Downtown Marriott is o.k. (converting to a Doubletree soon). A few of the hotels in Mishawaka are not that far away either.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Try the Morris Inn first…it’s location on campus is worth the extra cost. We have stayed there several times and enjoyed it. We already have our room booked for move-in next summer.
If you can’t get into the Morris Inn(the University uses it for conferences, etc. so sometimes it is blocked out), try the Inn at St. Mary’s. Stayed there for freshman move in and a football weekend this year and highly recommend it.</p>
<p>TIP: If you think you are going to attend Notre Dame, make your hotel reservation for Freshman move in weekend now. You can always cancel after May 1st if you attend somewhere else. We made our reservation in January last year and were able to get into the Inn at St. Mary’s. It was very convenient to be able to be so close to campus.</p>
<p>FYI, Inn at SMC, Morris Inn, Hilton Garden,Ivy Court all sold out for freshman move in in August. Fairfield Inn has availability but honestly at $300 a night I am not surprised. Residence Inn downtown had availability as did Staybridge suites (ranked #5 on tripadvisor). At half the price of the Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn and Staybridge are more affordable options. Staying at Fairfield Inn is like paying an extra $100 bucks for parking a night at their room rates. I hate it when hotels close to campus jack their rates to ridiculous levels. Not worth it.</p>
<p>We stayed at the Microtel near campus. It was the nicest Microtel I have ever seen. Great breakfast, clean rooms, friendly staff. No pool. All the hotels in South Bend really raise their rates when something is going on in ND. You may get stuck 20 min away in Mishawaka.</p>
<p>we stayed at the Fairfield last year for the science open house and it was only $109.00 a night.</p>
<p>Just checked and the room rates for the fairfield inn are $259 and $299 a night during freshman orientation weekend. Their regular rate might be $109 but not that weekend. Typical practice as many hotels raise their rates during special event and football weekends.</p>
<p>In addition to hotels around campus hiking their rates for move in/football/special events,
rental car companies also know when something is going on at ND. If you want a minivan or SUV for move in (highly recommend), better to book it now…</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great advice! Wow, that’s crazy that so many hotels are already booked for freshman move-in weekend! Good to know!</p>
<p>Speaking of that… how long to parents usually stay when dropping off their freshman?</p>
<p>Many parents seem to stay through Sunday – there are scheduled activities all weekend.</p>
<p>Yes, thru Sunday. Besides the scheduled activities, there will be multiple trips to Target, Bed, Bath & Beyond, etc…</p>
<p>Definitely through Sunday…we made 12 trips to Bed, Bath and Beyond between Wednesday and Sunday!</p>
<p>Does freshman orientation start on Wednesday?</p>
<p>I believe move in is Friday morning</p>