I love that there are so many fantastic suite hotel options in a variety of price levels for families these days.
This summer we stayed at a very new Country Inn and Suites in Marion, Illinois for a family reunion.
Unfortunately I don’t have any photos of the property to share– I guess I was too busy having fun and taking pictures of all the family!
You’ll just have to trust me that the hotel was extremely welcoming, super clean and amazingly accommodating. Plus, our suite had plenty of room for the five of us and all of our road trip gear. And it was very reasonably priced!
My husband handled check-in while we waited in the car, weary from a long drive and hungry for dinner. There were several dinner options very nearby. We settled on one and went to eat.
We returned to the hotel and found our room to be quite spacious, with a nice-sized living area with couch, mini kitchen-like area/bar with a sink, bathroom and bedroom with a door. The extra rollaway bed we had requested was already there, along with a hand-written note instructing us to call if we needed help of any kind in opening the bed or rearranging the furniture.
The room had two closets, one next to the bar area and one in the bedroom. There were plenty of places to stow our clothes and other items… and we had a lot! Also, the bar area had a microwave, a mini-refrigerator and shelves for stashing food.
The room was perfect for our needs for the weekend… a place to relax between reunion events. And, because it was a suite, my husband and I could stay up… and even invite others over to visit after the kids went to sleep in the bedroom. We would just move the kids after they fell asleep and we were ready to go to bed.
Right from the start the hotel had a homey feel without going over the top. There were rocking chairs out front and a fireplace in the lobby next to a well-stocked lending library.
Each morning the hotel offers a complete hot breakfast. We enjoyed yogurt, waffles, sausage gravy and biscuits, cereal, oatmeal, fresh fruit, bagels, toast, juice, milk, water and the like. Although the hotel seemed to be fully booked, there was no shortage of food. And the women who worked in the kitchen area could not have been more helpful and friendly, helping to move tables and chairs as needed without even being asked.
All the staff at that hotel from the front desk, to the cleaning angels to the maintenance gentlemen seemed to be genuinely looking out for the guests, which really impressed me.
The kids had a blast splashing in the indoor pool and I was glad to have the opportunity to work off some of that reunion comfort food in the modest, but perfect-for-me, gym.
All in all it was a great stay at a very reasonable price. I haven’t stayed at any other Country Inn and Suites locations, but after this stay I will likely look into them.
If any of you have stayed at some of the other locations (or this one) I’d love to hear your opinions as to those properties. This was certainly a pleasant discovery!
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