Country Inns & Suites

We recently headed to Florida on spring break and since we now have two young children, driving all night , making limited stops, and pretending you are Kyle Petty are no longer viable options. So, we have to do the overnight stay with many stops along the way. I don't know about you, but for us, heading to the destination is not as bad as heading home. Hmmm, on the way there we have visions of the pool, sun and sandy beaches. On the way home, it's back to work, school and reality - don't know why there'd be a difference?

Like most families, we are on a travel budget so we really don't want to spend too much of it on a fancy hotel where you only spend the night and stay a very short time the next morning. On our way down, we stayed at the Comfort Suites in Forsyth, GA. I consider this hotel a fairly moderately priced hotel since our rate was around $89.99 for one night ($100.79 with tax). The beds were actually great - very comfortable and the room was clean (my main priority). We got to the hotel in time for the girls to jump in the pool but the only disappointment was that the heater was broken and the pool was freezing. This did not deter my girls but it did deter the adults. They had a great time. In the morning, the free continental breakfast was great and my youngest daughter absolutely loved the hot, fresh waffles you can make but unfortunately their juice machine was on the fritz. Overall, I would stay at the Comfort Suites again. On a side note, my daughter left her precious Scooby Doo animal there and on our return trip home we stopped in and were reunited with Scooby. The hotel staff was nice enough to keep Scooby safe for the week. It made my daughter's day when Scooby was returned and it made my life so much easier since I didn't have to field the questions of, "where's Scooby" and "I miss Scooby". Thank you Comfort Suites staff!

Now, on our trip home, I decided to try a different hotel chain. We got one of those travel hotel magazines that you pick up at the rest areas and the ad for Country Inns & Suites in Calhoun, GA looked appealing so we called them. My impression of the hotel started off great since we were initially quoted a rate of $109 but when my husband asked if they had anything better to offer, they graciously gave us a discount and a rate of $80. Okay, sign us up. After 10 hours in the car (those potty breaks can really slow you down), we finally arrived at the hotel. Even as I groggily carried in my sleeping four-year old at 10:30 pm, I noticed the adorable front foyer - it was like a little Country Inn with a roaring fireplace, comfy chairs and couches. We passed by the pool and it looked like some families were having lots of fun. Our hotel room was great - comfortable beds, clean room with a microwave and mini-fridge. In the clean bathroom they had a list of toiletries we could request if we needed them and lo and behold my toothbrush and toothpaste were somewhere in the car and I was not about to go dig for them so I went to the front desk and got some spares. I mention this since a lot of hotels have phased this out or they don't mention that you can request these items so I thought it was nice to have it plainly listed.

In the morning, we headed down to the free continental breakfast. I felt the Country Inns & Suites went a step above for their breakfast. They had hard boiled eggs, bagels, hot, fresh Belgian waffles, cereal, juices, biscuits & gravy, yogurt and more. It was a great way to start the day. After breakfast, we let the girls swim in the indoor heated pool and they had a ball. I'll definitely try to find a Country Inns & Suites to stay at for our next adventure.