VA Williamsburg Crowne Plaza

[LoneStar]

Got this one for $45 for a December weekend. While that's not peak season for Williamsburg, both the hotel and the historical area were pretty busy with X-mas crowds and events, so I'm a little surprised they accepted such a low bid. Folks at the hotel seemed to be having a good time, as there were numerous parties going on, but I was pretty much using the hotel as a place to crash while sightseeing in the area.

In that regard, this is a good place to crash. It's on "hotel row," about a mile to the colonial district. The hotel claims it's "walking distance," and that's technically true, but I suspect few would want to waste their time walking past the tourist clutter to get to the "good stuff." Like many of the hotels on hotel row, you can tell this hotel started smaller and build on new wings over the years. The net effect is a sprawling, incoherent design, so you feel more like you're in a huge apartment complex than a hotel.

You can also tell that the property has been "upgraded" over the years, from a more moderate flag to the Crowne Plaza. In general, they pull it off, and the hotel is properly a 3-star. The best features seem to be the rooms. Mine was quite oversized, with nice vaguely-colonial furnishings and good beds with fancy linens (albeit doubles, as is the industry custom -- two queens would have easily fit). I didn't eat in the restaurant, but it looked OK (the free Entertainment Card SBC website has a BOGO free coupon for lunch and dinner), and not too expensive. The indoor pool looked less inviting.

For breakfast, I drove over to the Old Chicahominy House which I'd recommend for period food and colonial atmosphere (opposite side of historical area, but less than 10 minutes by car). For dinner, I looked at the offerings at Restaurant.com and picked one with good reviews (Seasons at Merchant Square was decent; Food for Thought might be better).

Bottomline is on a deep discount priceline deal you will be very happy at the Crowne Plaza, but I wouldn't pay a premium to stay here.