Favorite Layovers

Baronman said:
Quebec City - Real French flavor (as compared to Montreal). Food is generally good, great bakeries, good restaurant variety serving real food. US Junk food chains haven't infiltrated the downtown area to such a great extent. Great people watching, pretty girls with unique styles.

Washington DC- Metro can get you all over town quickly. Plenty of museums, monuments and gov't attractions to check out. Lot's of young professionals and college co-eds, they hang out at bars.

Leon/Guanajuato Mexico (BJX)- Beautiful city surrounded by colorful houses along the mountains. Interesting underground network of streets to aleviate the traffic above ground. Nice plaza surrounded by restaurants to sit and watch either live music from within the plaza or the people passing by.

Providence RI - Cool downtown area, seems like a miniature Boston. Some college influence (Brown).

Savannah- Head down to the river for a few adult beverages. Interesting history, mild climate in the winter are all a plus.

Downtown Toronto and Ottawa - One could go on and on about the things in Toronto. There's no lack of things to do in Canada's largest city. Ottawa has a good bar scene as well as beautiful buildings to check out.
Click to expand...

You pretty much named all my fav overnights. Leon is easily one of the best, in my opinion. The food is amazing, the people there are incredibly friendly and it's not that hard to operate in/out of.

I'll also say Milwaukee is pretty decent. Good hotel, downtown, good hotel bar ($2.00 drafts for happy hour), etc. etc.

I also always had good luck with Kansas City.
 
PCL_128 said:
:yup:
Click to expand...
Let's not get into that whole discussion again (layovers are not "off" time)

Let's see, since I now live in southwest FL, it is hard to think of a better place to be in winter than home. I love to go fishing in the 80 degree weather and call my sister, who lives in northern IL and rub it in!

But hey, best overnights for us? Depends on what you like. I have favorites for the hotel, restaurants, stuff to do, etc. Our hotels change all the time, they mostly take away all the good ones that we like and replace them with others.

Best overnight hotels:

BOS Hilton - at airport, close to train into downtown, free internet, flat screen TV. They have since renegotiated with our airline and we no longer get the good discount at the restaurant and no more 24 hr. room service, but still nice.

Embassy Suites - ANY! Suite and free breakfast (with omelet guy!)

BNA - Radisson - Applebee's downstairs and close to Grand Ol' Opry and huge mall

ORF Sheraton - We stay on the bay and hotel has balcony rooms facing the sunset and water. Newly remodeled and nice!


Best overnight towns:

PWM - great bars and restaurants, shops, and waterfront activities (better in summer, obviously)

SAV - We now stay near the airport, but back in the day, it was great to be close to the River Walk

PHL - If time allows, home to mom and dad's for a home cooked meal :)

ABE - same as above (they live between the two)

CLE! - The Brown City! Very brown and ugly, but a great area to hang out is the Warehouse District! Also, R&R Hall of Fame, and summer activities by the waterfront.

BOS - Not only the hotel, but the town is great too!

ROC - Ok, Dinosaurs BBQ! Not much else, but good food!

DCA - Stay in Alexandria, VA - King Street! Also, great excercise trail and bike rental along the river!

RIC - Nice walking town

YHZ - Great in summer! Seafarer town, and great summer wx! Winter can be fun too, if you get snowed in and just hang out with a good crew!

YYZ - We had a bad hotel, close to bars and restaurants. Now we are at a nice hotel, not near anything. Free internet and HBO & Showtime. Still not sure of the new place. Expensive menu, but pizza delivery was cheap.

Many others I'm sure, but it's late and I can't think of them right now

Worst Overnights:

HSV - Hotel in airport, miles from anywhere! No food choices except subpar hotel restaurant.

JAN - nothing to do

GSO - Hotel at airport, miles from anywhere! Very expensive hotel menu, no free internet.

ORD - Great City, just that we stay near airport and hotel has very expensive restaurant and bar, no other food nearby, no free internet

MEM - Many years traveling here (actually based there in USMC years ago) and my conclusion....Beale Street, that's all there is, and that gets old too.

YUL - Sorry, not a fan. French Canadians, no free internet, no food close by...all bad.
 
BOS, SEA, SAN, SFO (long so you can visit the valley, vineyards and restaurants), DEN (downtown), BTV, PWM (some good brewpubs and restaurants), PVD (some excellent Italian restaurants and areas for jogs), PHX, ORD (downtown layover), Punta Cana was always fun.

smaller cities (back when), CMI was fun except when the temps went to -40 and the winds howled, SBN, CAK (great little restaurant nearby with super soups)
 
All of our good ones seem to have disappeared. Either that or they don't give them to the reserve guys. :)

LGA is nice since you get 23 hours, and there's a subway station about 3 blocks from the hotel.

DCA is a good one b/c you get a while and the Metro is right there. Not even sure if we do that one anymore.

BOS was good, too, but I think that one got axed as well.

AUS is good, but I think it's a highspeed now.

The last several long overnights (or layovers for the non-small airline people) I've had have been in places where there was NOTHING. Like State College, PA during Xmas break or Stewart-Newburgh.
 
You guys still stay in the hotel in State College that was like a prison? Only hotel I've ever been in that didn't have any windows to look outside.
 
PCL_128 said:
You guys still stay in the hotel in State College that was like a prison? Only hotel I've ever been in that didn't have any windows to look outside.
Click to expand...

Yep, that's the one. Took me a minute to figure out what was "off" about the room, too. Kinda weird waking up at 11 am, and it's pitch black.
 
In Canada:

1. YOW- not a fan of the hotel, but we're right downtown, walking distance to Parliament, War Memorial, Rideau Mall and Rideau Canal. Lots of pubs and restaurants all over the place. Best of all, I counted at least 4 Starbucks within walking distance from the hotel.

2. YQB- the Hilton, right downtown in Old Quebec. Walking distance to all the tourist sites. View of the Plains of Abraham from the hotel. The summers are amazing there with all the pubs, patios and musicians/street artists hanging around. Really easy to kill an entire day walking around. The winters are cold, but they have the winter festival, so there's still lots to see downtown.

3. YHZ- at the Lord Nelson, right downtown. Amazing in the summers. Lots of pubs and tourist sites. East-coast weather really bugs me though, especially in the winter.


In the USA:

1. RDU- one of the few US overnites where we're not at an airport hotel. Walking distance to the Crabtree Mall.

2. PHL- most people dont like this overnite because we're at the airport mariott, but the beds are very comfortable and you get free HBO. I also like to sit on the those rocking chairs in the terminal!
 
Domestic (long layover and downtown of course): BOS, SFO, SEA, SAV, LAS, PDX, NYC, CHS, BNA.

International: Brussels, Nice, Paris, Milan, Rome, Pisa, Amsterdam, and pretty much any where in Europe. Liberia, Costa Rica (if it is 24 hours), Aruba, and pretty much anywhere in the Caribbean if it is a long layover.
 
I'm actually pretty easy to please, so I have a long list.

US:
Atlanta - Visit friends from high school
Minneapolis/St. Paul - Visit friends from college
Kansas City - Visit my sister
New York/Newark - when I was based in IAH
Dallas-Love - when I lived in Dallas (damn, I miss it)
Rochester - to say hello to my uncle, someone mentioned the Dino BBQ :rawk:
Washington DCA - Own bed + girlfriend = Conjugal visit
Boston
Portland, ME.
El Paso
Savannah
Charleston
Colorado Springs

Canada:
Toronto
Ottawa
Quebec City
Montreal
Halifax
St. John's

Mexico:
Leon
Oaxaca
Mexico City
 
STS - Santa Rosa...in wine country, great hotel with free internet, great breakfast for the crew in the morning...used to have a 32 hour overnight which was great for wine tasting trips with the crew.

BOI - Boise...great town, walking distance to downtown/food, Boise State football games on saturday overnights.

GPI/FCA - Kalispell...this one is easy...beautiful town in the mountains...drive up to Glacier National Park.

EUG - Eugene, OR...Univeristy of Oregon, college town, free bike rentals at the hotel.

MSO - Missoula...another great Montana town...University of Montana...right in downtown...great food.
 
I think it really depends on the layover hotel location and amenities...but these are my favorites:

BOS - cool town, freedom trail, with cheap and good eats near the hotel
YVR - cool movie town, fun to explore
DEN - downtown has lots of good drinks and eats

Any layover in Hawaii:
LIH - Lihue Marriot is a great hotel
KOA - Hilton Waikaloa - expensive, but pretty, new marketplace with cheap eats nearby and of course Kona coffee beans!
HNL - Seaside Coast Hotel sucks, but right in the middle of all the action in HNL and has free internet
OGG - Maui Coast Hotel sucks also, but hey, it's Hawaii...80 degrees high, 70 degrees low all year long...snorkeling, surfing, and Molokini crater nearby
 
Ottawa- Funnest for chasing girls
Madison WI- same as above
San Diego
Monterrey
Miami- 24 hour layover at a beach hotel, can't beat that
Memphis
NYC
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top