West Virginia
University
Mountaineer
Parent Club,
Northern Virginia Chapter
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Mountaineer
Parent Club,
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| Accommodations By Jim Woolwine
Finding a hotel room in Morgantown on a busy football weekend is no easy task. Fortunately, the task has become somewhat easier with the newly opened Radisson Hotel. I usually check www.expedia.com or www.orbitz.com before booking a room to see what is available and what the price range looks like for the dates we will be traveling. If accommodations are plentiful I will give www.priceline.com a try. The Radisson and Lakeview Resort are “three stars” on Priceline; the Holiday Inn and Hampton Inn are “two stars,” though the latter rarely releases rooms to Priceline. Hotel Radisson. 206 rooms. Business class hotel. Excellent in all respects. Within walking distance of downtown Morgantown. Adjacent to the rail trail. My first choice for accommodations. Rates: $79.00 - $200+ on football weekends. The Regatta Bar and Grille is excellent; I recommend the restaurant even if you do not stay in the hotel. www.radisson.com. The website “destination guide” for Morgantown is a stitch. (304) 296-1700
Clarion Hotel Morgan. 76 rooms. Classic 1920’s look belies a modern, perhaps even elegant, newly renovated hotel. Stay here at least once when you come to Morgantown. The downtown location is simply the best. The bar and restaurant on the top floor command a magnificent view of the city. Occasionally available through the Internet at $99.00. Rates are $200+ on football weekends. www.clarionhotelmorgan.com 304-292-8200 Lakeview Resort. 187 rooms. Pristine setting overlooking Cheat Lake. Surrounded by golf courses. Rooms are smallish but very comfortable. Easy access to Morgantown via I-68. The café is a lively eatery and recommended. Breakfasts in the formal dining room are excellent, but my experience with other meals has been mixed. Rates: $50.00 on Priceline to $200.00+ on football weekends. www.lakeviewresort.com (304) 594-1111 Euro-Suites (79 rooms) and the Hampton Inn (108 rooms). Good accommodations near the WVU Hospitals and Evansdale Campus. Great location for football weekends. Not as price competitive as other lodging opportunities. www.euro-suites.com 304-598-1000 www.hamptoninn.com Tel: 1-304-599-1200 Ramada Inn. 159 rooms. Comfortable accommodations. Disregard the pastiche anti-bellum plantation appearance. Good fallback when the hotels listed above are full. Ordinary bar and dining area. www.ramadainnwv.com 1-304-296-3431 Holiday Inn. 147 rooms. A Morgantown original continually expanding. Comfortable accommodations, albeit a bit tired. Often available on Priceline. www.ichotelsgroup.com 1-304-599-1680 Bed and Breakfasts. Almost Heaven B&B. www.almostheavenbedandbreakfast.com (304) 296-4007 Appelwood. 304-296-2607. Circle H B&B. www.wvcircleh.com 304-594-3505 The B&B’s are very popular and fill quickly.
For all accommodations it is best to book ahead or luck out with a last minute cancellation. I also recommend that you contact the hotel directly rather than use the 800-chain reservation line as often the chains will black-out reservations on football weekends when the hotel might actually have one or two rooms available. Also, the Ramada Inn does not require a 2-night minimum for football weekends. A comprehensive list of lodgings is on the WVU Parents’ Club website (www.wvu.edu/~parents/lodging.htm) along with links to chambers of commerce in neighboring cities if you cannot find a room in Morgantown. I suggest trying Fairmont, WV (Marion County), as it is close to Morgantown, and avoid Uniontown, PA (Fayette County) because Route 119 to Uniontown is a difficult drive at night.
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© 2008 WVU-MPC, NOVA |
