Hotels, Motels & Camping

[Lady Ann of Draycott]

This topic got started in the old forums just before we had to abandon ship.  I thought it was a good topic and one that people might want to refer to when planning a trip to Scarby. 

Even though the season is almost over I thought we could go ahead and get it started now so that we will have the information for next year!

So, if you have stayed in a hotel, motel or camped near Scarby please let us know how it was for you and what you thought of your stay.

I thought of some questions that other people might find helpful:

Was the staff friendly or not? 
Were they helpful or not? 
What amenities were there? 
Was there a free breakfast?  If so, what kind of food was provided?
Did you have any problems? 
Was it clean? 
How reasonable was the cost? 
How long did it take to get to the faire from there? 
Would you recommend this place to someone else?

[Lady Ann of Draycott]

The first weekend we went to Scarby this year was April 12th & 13th and we stayed at The Historic Rogers Hotel in Waxahachie.  http://www.rogershotel.com/

Was the staff friendly or not?  Strange...that's all I'm going to say... but then, it is rumored to be haunted...

Were they helpful or not?  No, not really.

What amenities were there?  None from what I could tell.

Was there a free breakfast?  Nope.  There is a restaurant in the hotel but we didn't eat there.  Tim and Dillon went down Sunday morning to see if they could get some breakfast but it was closed.

Did you have any problems?   When we arrived on Friday night we found out that the elevator was broken so we had to carry all of our stuff up three flights of stairs to our room on the 3rd floor.  I wasn't very happy about that and there was no one there to help us either.  After three trips we finally got everything hauled up.  The elevator was fixed while we were at faire on Saturday.

Was it clean?  Yes

How reasonable was the cost?  It was pretty pricey.  Rates were $99, $119 and $149.  We had to pay $149 to get a room with two beds.

How long did it take to get to the faire from there?  Less than 10 minutes.

Would you recommend this place to someone else?  No, I thought it was too expensive and I really wasn't very impressed.

[Zaubon]

Motel        Days Inn, Red Oak

Was the staff friendly or not?  Quite rude
Were they helpful or not?  Not at all
What amenities were there?  They claim cable TV, high speed internet, and contiental breakfast. It tried the TV, it wasn't cable.
Was there a free breakfast?  If so, what kind of food was provided? I was afraid to try it.
Did you have any problems?  One watchable chanel on the TV. shower that didn't drain.
Was it clean?  yes
How reasonable was the cost?  very inexpensive
How long did it take to get to the faire from there?  15 minutes
Would you recommend this place to someone else?   I canceled my reservation for Memorial Day. I won't go back, nor would I recommend it.   

[brooke]

We stayed this last weekend at the Hampton Inn - Waxahachie

Staff was friendly.
There was free breakfast that was very good.
The hotel was hard to get to (in my opinion), it is at the interchange of 35 and 287 so had to be going the right direction to get to the hotel.... took us quite awhile to get to it that evening.
Cost was as expected.  $114
Not far from faire, but took us awhile to get to the hotel once we were at the interchange.
I would recommend the hotel because it is clean and comfortable, but access is a big problem to me.

[raevyncait]

Motel: Days Inn Red Oak

I've stayed there every weekend this season except for opening weekend, and have stayed there some in years past.
Was the staff friendly or not?  Actually, they've been quite friendly to me and my friend that I stay with, greeting us by name... of course, we have been there every weekend.
Were they helpful or not?  Yep, even when we had last minute changes to our room needs, they've been very accomodating. Last weekend, we arrived about an hour before 'check in' time, and the room they'd put us in wasn't quite ready, but the one next to it was, and so they put us in there.
What amenities were there?  Wireless internet is hit or miss, but I've not had any problems with my laptop using a network cable to connect.  Cable TV was out the 1st 2 weekends of May, but HBO & Showtime were still up, and they discounted our room(s) 10% both weekends. We were so tired when we got in Pirate weekend after dinner with a large group that I have no idea as to the status of the new satellite tv because we never even turned it on.
Was there a free breakfast?  Continental; If so, what kind of food was provided? my cinnamon raisin bagel was ok, but my friends said the donuts were soggy and gross.
Did you have any problems?  Not generally, though I do take my own towel because I like a BIG towel, and the quality of the towels in the room is also hit or miss.  Season before last, we asked for non-smoking, but we were the last room before the 'smoking' section, thus the odor had seeped into our room, so last year we specified 'non-smoking, away from smoking section' and wound up in an upstairs room, on the end away from stairs, not fun when we had a bunch of baby stuff to haul up and bad knees.  This year, however, we've managed to have truly non-smoking, downstairs rooms.
Was it clean?  yes
How reasonable was the cost?  very inexpensive
How long did it take to get to the faire from there?  15 minutes
Would you recommend this place to someone else?   After last year, I might not have, but this year they've been great, so I absolutely would recommend them.

[Lady Ann of Draycott]

We stayed at the Comfort Inn in Red Oak on May 2nd & 3rd and again on May 9th and 10th.

Was the staff friendly or not?  Yes, very friendly. They even said "welcome back" when we came back on the 9th.

Were they helpful or not?  Yes, very helpful.

What amenities were there?  Microwave, refrigerator, coffee maker, hair dryer, iron & ironing board and a safe.  Cable TV with HBO, wired and wireless internet, but I didn't use it so I don't know how good it is, and there was an exercise room.

Was there a free breakfast?  Yes!  If so, what kind of food was provided?  Coffee, fruit, cereal, milk, orange juice, apple juice, muffins, donuts, bagels, toast, jam, cream cheese, cubed cheddar cheese and even belgian waffles! 

Did you have any problems?  The first time I stayed there I was overcharged for my room, but when we went back the next time I told them about it and they were very nice, appologized for the inconvenience and gave me 15% off my room for that weekend.

Was it clean?  Yes

How reasonable was the cost?  The first time I stayed there I paid $89.99 for a King bed and a Rollaway bed.  The next time we stayed there I paid $84.99 for two queen beds.

How long did it take to get to the faire from there?  About 15-20 minutes.

Would you recommend this place to someone else?  Yes, I would definately recommend this hotel.  I will probably stay there again next year.  I would stay there again this weekend except that I have reservations at a different place.

The first time we stayed there I got a room with a King bed and a Rollaway bed because it was all they had left.  I would not recommend this option though.  The room was small and with three people and the rollaway bed, it was cramped.  That room for two people would have been perfect but with three people it was too small.

[Aiacha]

Holiday Inn Express Waxahachie, intersection of 287 and 77

I've probably stayed there everytime I've gone to Scarby (minus one weekend) in the last two years.

Was the staff friendly or not?    They've always been friendly, although this weekend they are starting to recognize me!  One of the guys on a previous weekend asked me as I left if I needed arrangements for the rest of the weekends.  I thought that was nice of him.

Were they helpful or not?   I've never needed help from the staff so I can't answer this.

What amenities were there?   There is an outdoor pool which I've not used.  Cable TV, wireless internet, which I can't comment on since I don't use it.  Oh, and a little coffeemaker in the room, though never enough cream.

Was there a free breakfast?  If so, what kind of food was provided?  Yes, there is usually something hot, scrambled eggs (not bad), these little cheese omelets (which I found a little greasy), biscuts and gravy, sausage or bacon, hot cinammon rolls, plus cereal, fruit, yougurt, bagles, toast, coffee and juice.  It's a nice breakfast bar and it's part of the reason I stay there, so that I don't have to go out for breakfast.

Did you have any problems?   I had a light burn out on my last weekend but that's it. 

Was it clean?  Yes.

How reasonable was the cost?  It's about $95 a night, which I expect.  Although if you book and prepay on their website you can get a discount, however, the closer your date is, the option goes away.

How long did it take to get to the faire from there?  10-15 minutes.

Would you recommend this place to someone else?  I would and I do. 

Admittedly, it's a little pricey for a bed to sleep in, but the doors are indoors (as opposed to opening directly to the outside), and I feel comfortable and safe there.  If you don't mind spending a little extra cash, it's worth it.

[Taffy Saltwater]

Holiday Inn Express, Waxahachie. 

Friendly/Helpful:  Very - I was impressed by the front desk personnel & I was told housekeeping staff were very helpful.
.
Amenities:  I was "upgraded" to a "suite", which had a old-out sofa & coffee table.  It was obviously handicapped friendly, including lots of bars in the bath.  Microwave, fridge, coffee maker, iron, ironing board, blowdryer, internet (didn't use), tv/cable, walking distance to Carrino's, Chick-Fil-A, and Chili's (?), elevators.

Free breakfast: Pastries (tasteless - not worth the calories), juice, coffee, biscuits & gravy, sausage (but no eggs), bagels, cereal. 

Problems:  None

Clean:  Yes

Cost:  $102, which is reasonable, when you consider how much breakfast would cost for two people.

Time to get to fair:  10-15 minutes

Recommend:  Yes, indeedy!

[Captain Kilian]

Wife and I try to stay at the new Hampton Inn in Waxahachie, for a year or two now (whenever it was they built the thing. This being our first weekend to go, we will give a report if the service and accommodations are still just as wonderful as we've come to expect there.

On the issue of access that brooke brought up:
If you are headed north bound (which we always are) I thought access was easy enough, just a few right hand turns and all. Getting out wasn't too horrid either, but then I never liked the access from anywhere in that town - but maybe its just bring from san antonio, where turning around half a dozen times like a dog chasing it's tail is the norm...so I might be bias.

This weekend (memorial day) with pretty short notice they got us a king bed/suite for 134 a night...bit steep, but for the notice and the particular weekend, its about what I expected.

Wish they had a fridge in the room though...about my only gripe.

[*Teach*]

The Lovely Lady Trinn and I stayed at the super 8 in Waxahachie.
It was really great I think.
The price for two nights was $125 for a king size bed although we had gotten a group rate with the Drunken Gnomes. I heartily suggest that RFers should consider that for next year. If we can get a group of rooms for 50 a night or so it is very much worth it.
There was wireless internet that was easy to use. The speed was good on the first night, but the second night there was a problem with the satellite (they even had trouble with their credit card machine) and it was pretty slow.
Rooms were very clean and included a fridge, microwave, coffee pot, hair dryer, ironing board, cable, and a nice sized bathroom and shower.
There was a pool that we spent most of our time hanging out at doing things such as throwing Lady Bess and Lady Mum in (ok, I got pushed in as well).

*They are also tolerant of rum by the pool which pretty nice I think*

[Painted Lady]

Lu and I booked a room at the Bonny Nook B&B.  We had to bolt. Very weird atmosphere. Paid $180 for one night and didn't even stay an hour.

Something not right there. The strange man that checked us in didn't seem comfortable in his role as host. Maybe illness or tragedy has befallen. From the website it looked to be a charming historic B&B. Buyer beware!

[Tukaram]

The kids and I stayed at the America's Best Value Inn, on I-35 (right next to the Knights Inn).  Some of you took my parking space during the dinner Saturday night!

Overall I was very happy with the hotel.  It is about the same price as most highway motels.  As clean as most, actually a bit cleaner than quite a few I've seen.  You can see where they have been fixing it up (and you can see what they are still working on).

The family that runs it is very helpful and friendly.  They were very easy to work with about checking in over the phone while at the faire.  It is also one of the only hotels that actually leaves the A/C on when no one is there.  We walked into a very nice, cold, room.   The maids turn off the air when cleaning the room at most places I've stayed.

When a hotel says 'free continental breakfast' they usually mean a packaged donut'ish thing.  I must say they had one of the best breakfast around.  Four kinds of cold cereal, bagels, three kinds of fruit juice, small muffins, and a toaster to go with the frozen waffles and bread.



I would definitely stay there again.  Especially since it is like two miles from Scarborough.

[Geoffrey Wm]

The first weekend we went to Scarby this year was April 12th & 13th and we stayed at The Historic Rogers Hotel in Waxahachie.  http://www.rogershotel.com/

Was the staff friendly or not?  Strange...that's all I'm going to say... but then, it is rumored to be haunted...

Would you recommend this place to someone else?  No, I thought it was too expensive and I really wasn't very impressed.

We had originally booked at the Rogers for 02-04 May.  Upon our late arrival (after midnight) we found the place dark and empty, a small sign on the door reading 'Closed For Structural Deficiencies'.  Nobody from the hotel ever contacted us to let us know we were out on the streets (Lady Ann did say 'Strange').  Suffice to say I'm not recommending the Rogers either...

As it was graduation weekend the entire town was booked; a sympathetic night clerk at the Sleep Inn did steer us to the Comfort Inn in Red Oak and, although the Comfort was full she found us a room (Huzzahs! and eternal gratitude!) at the Days Inn.

The Days Inn was very basic but clean and safe, very inexpensive, and convenient to Faire.  Our TV also was generally inoperative, and our non-smoking room had been at one point a smoker.  The staff were pleasant and helpful, but I suspect that was in part due to their curiousity about my wife's accented english  .  We'd cheerfully stay there again, especially if we couldn't get a place in Waxahachie...