My son’s knob year I looked at hotels.com to find an affordable hotel in the Charleston area for Matriculation Day and Parents Weekend. I had never been to Charleston and didn’t know the area. We were budget conscious, but at the same time we didn’t want to stay in a bad area of town. The first few visits we stayed at properties that were a little higher in price, but were also well-known chains.
After talking with other parents on our visits I picked up a few tips. If I had this information earlier we could have saved a good bit of money. Learning this one tip took me from the decent AAA discounts to the DEEP discounts I enjoyed for the final 3 years.
So here is The Tip: when making hotel reservations, call the hotel directly and ask if they offer a special rate for Citadel families. The following hotels are all near campus and may offer discounted rates for Citadel families, but they fill up quickly and you need to call them directly and ask if they have rooms available at the discounted rate for Citadel families. Charleston Marriott, Best Western Charleston Downtown, Courtyard Charleston Marriott, SpringHill Suites Charleston, LaQuinta Inn & Suites Charleston Riverview, Comfort Inn
A very industrious hotel general manager found our Facebook group for Georgia Parents several years ago and offered us a special rate at the Hawthorn Suites, a great property about 7 miles from campus that offers a 2 room suite with kitchen facilities, an indoor pool, and a full breakfast in the lobby each morning. They still offer discounts to all Citadel families if you call the hotel directly in advance and rooms are available.
Every hotel I’ve stayed in: the Embassy Suites in North Charleston, Best Western Charleston Downtown, SpringHill Suites Charleston, LaQuinta Inn & Suites Charleston Riverview, and the Courtyard Charleston Marriott, and the Hampton Inn & Suites Charleston/West Ashley, have laundry facilities for your cadet to use while off campus visiting with you. Be sure to have plenty of quarters and your own detergent.
Charleston is known for its wonderful restaurants, historic inns and beautiful luxury hotels. For an overview of all that Charleston has to offer, you can visit the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CACVB) website. The CACVB website is also a great place to visit if you are looking for help in booking function space for a graduation party, Ring Weekend celebration or other big event.
A few families with RV’s have found camp grounds in the area they like to frequent. A number of families like to rent homes or condos by the beach when they visit. VRBO.com is a good place to start to find a rental property.
If you have tips, or a favorite hotel or rental company you like to through, please leave a note in the comments section of this entry.
(unless of course you want to keep your special place a secret)