Alternatives to Expensive Poughkeepsie, New York Hotels

Just outside of Poughkeepsie are several hotels in small Hudson valley towns that offer lots of amenities to families and save you money over the hotels that are located in Poughkeepsie proper.

The Holiday Inn comes immediately to mind when planning a vacation with kids since they advertise that kids eat free. The closest Holiday Inn is just outside of Poughkeepsie proper in Fishkill. In addition to kids eating free at the Holiday Inn, this hotel is close to several activities for kids, including Splash Down Water Park is 5 minutes from hotel, as well as Fun Central that has miniature golf, bumper boats, batting cages, and arcade is 15 minutes from this hotel. Rates start at $113 a night for two double size bed room with advance purchase rates and for $139 there is a "Best for Breakfast Rate" that also includes a free breakfast vouchers for 2 adults per room. The kids menu can be previewed here.

Sierra Suites in Fishkill/Poughkeepsie is just a few miles outside of Poughkeepsie proper and offers the standard 2 double bedrooms as well as 1, 2, and 3 bedroom suites and a pull out couch in the living room, and a kitchen area. You get up to 850 square feet of space in your suite in these hotels. Kid friendly features are a pool and gym, an iPod Sharper Image charger and speakers, and free wireless internet. There are large screen LCD televisions in each room. There is a free breakfast with fresh ingredients like custom veggie omelets and all the standard breakfast fare. There is also a free Bistro gourmet pizza and salad and appetizer meal each day for each guest (and free premium beer and wine for adults!) While Sierra Suites is primarily geared towards business travelers, the onsite accommodations make it ideal for having plenty of room for your whole family at a reasonable rate plus providing two free kid friendly meals a day for your whole family just cannot be beat. Food wise, you are just on your own for lunch, which gives you a chance to visit local restaurants, or to eat in your room with the in room kitchen. There are several local farmers' market type stores in the local area if you care to do some cooking yourself in your room. Visit www.hotel-sierra.com for details, prices start at $133 a night for standard rooms and $144 to $153 a night for 1 bedroom suites with a pull out couch in the living room. Call for prices on suites rooms with two or three bedrooms. I was really impressed with all the amenities of this hotel, and they have many of those neat Sharper Image gadgets that I have wanted to try out like the gentle wake up alarm clocks and high quality Ipod speakers. The bathroom amenities are high quality like a 5 star hotel, and there is a very comfortable waffle cotton robe. If you are a business traveler this hotel is ideal, and if you are a family traveling around Poughkeepsie then this hotel has many perks that will make your trip enjoyable.