Hotwire Hotel: 2* Annapolis Best Western

[tiggy]

Having been sent to Annapolis for a training class, I did a last minute Hotwire purchase and got the Best Western. Amenity Icons listed were Airport Shuttle, Complimentary Breakfast, Pool, Fitness Center, High Speed Internet, and Laundry. Price was $43 a night with a total of $245.67 for five nights.

I am currently staying at the hotel and have been quite pleased with the purchase. The Best Western is located in a commerical area of Annapolis, not in downtown. For me, this is perfect since my class is a 3 minute drive. The waterfront is about a 10 minute drive away. There are a number of shopping plazas right near by, so you can find almost any restaurant or store you're looking for with little effort.

Overall, the Best Western is a typical motel. Amenties are on the basic side, but if you're not looking for them, the price is certainly right. The best feature of the place is its staff. They are always smiling, friendly, and working hard to ensure that you have a good stay.

When first arriving, the place was somewhat difficult to locate since it is set off the road behind several buildings. It also doesn't help that the sign is mostly obstructed by a couple of trees. After exiting 665, take a left at the first traffic light. After winding behind a Bank of America and another office building, you will see the three buildings that comprise the Best Western. The lobby is located in the second one and quite well signed. Looking at the structure, the current Best Western was probably comprised of 2 different motels at one time. Two of the buildings have exterior entrances and are set right next to one another. (The pool is in between them.) These buildings house the lobby. The third has interior enterances and is set across a small parking lot. The fitness center is in that building.)

At check-in, the receptionist set the tone of my stay so far. She was quite welcoming and there was no mention of Hotwire or a pre-paid stay. I was given a 2 double bed room in the same building as the lobby. The room is typical of every Days Inn, Comfort Inn, and similar motels I have stayed in. There's a decent TV which gets about 5 channels, a large minifridge with microwave, coffee maker, and full sized ironing board in the room. There's also a small table and two chairs. The closet area is on the small side and a part of the sink section of the room. The room is clean and housekeeping has done a good job keeping it that way. Water pressure in the shower is excellent and I've yet to run out of hot water, no matter the time of day. The beds are also of good quality, not too hard or too soft.

A continental breakfast is served from 6-10 each morning. There are several choices of cold and hot cereal, breakfast pasteries, bagels, waffles, pancakes, yogurt, fruit, juice, and coffee. Having seen the delivery truck this morning, everything appears to be Sara Lee. However, the selection is pretty good and there are a large number of tables that are cleaned as soon as someone leaves.

There is free wi-fi in the rooms. The speed is quite decent and set-up was minimal. Additionally, there is a card describing how to set up a free wired ethernet connection, but I haven't found the jack to do that. The pool closed Labor Day and I haven't made it over to the fitness center.

All in all, I have been very pleased with my stay. At $43 a night, it has been a steal. If you're looking for a basic motel not in downtown Annapolis, the Best Western is good deal. If you want something a bit more upscale or downtown, you'd be better off selecting a different hotel.

[thereuare]

Thank you for sharing your results with the board... glad to hear you're enjoying your stay.

You may want ot copy/paste some of your comments above to the Hotel Reveiw section of the board... this wil make sure more people see it as this thread moves off the first page of the forum and will also enable us to put a 'REVIEW' link next to this property in the hotel list.

Thanks again!