For my FSU peeps - Game Day Lodging (be careful)

[alaskanseminole]

As you guys know, lodging for game day in Tally SUCKS! We booked 9 months out and couldn't get anything decent w/o offering up one of our children. So, I decided to check out Airbnb and found this place off Apalachee Parkway. As you can see it looks pretty clean and came with a moderate price tag of $711 for 2 nights after all the darn fees.

However, when we got there it was pretty clear we were duped! It's an old disgusting hotel! The first room they tried sticking us in had clearly housed a family of chain smokers, so I asked to be moved. The next room didn't have the smoke, but a dozen other treats like rust on all metal fixtures, black mold in the bathroom, grime and soot in all the cracks and crevasses (our feet stuck to the floor, which was an added bonus). There were dirty towels from the previous guests and no clean towels for us. Here are a few photos.

At that point we were kinda stuck, so we left our luggage and went to our tailgate. Fortunately, we had a friend who just purchased a future short-term rental and offered it up to us for the weekend for $300. We gladly (excitedly) accepted and returned to our room to gather our belongings. To our surprise the parking lot was full of high-end vehicles (Mercedes, Audi, etc.). We spoke to a few of the folks as they were getting into their rooms and they were horrified at what they were duped into purchasing (anywhere from $700-$1K).

We were very fortunate to get the frack out of there AND Airbnb fully refunded our money. I will always think of those poor folks, but for me and my family, we dodged a bullet (possibly literally).

GO NOLES!

 

[The Tradition]

csb

 

[alaskanseminole]

csb

 

[runkpanole]

You could have stopped after saying Appalachee Parkway. Horrid shithole.

 

[OrlandNole]

Glad to see the Prince Murat motel is still going strong.

 

[SeaPA]

I wouldn't have brought my suitcase in that shithole for fear that I'd bring bugs home with me. BTW, what's the name of the place, so I don't get stuck there?

 

[alaskanseminole]

I wouldn't have brought my suitcase in that shithole for fear that I'd bring bugs home with me. BTW, what's the name of the place, so I don't get stuck there?

Casa Bella

 

[alaskanseminole]

You could have stopped after saying Appalachee Parkway. Horrid shithole.

The only time I've ever stayed in Tally was in the darn dorms. We've always stayed in towns outside of town. Now that I have a friend with a Condo, we'll be good in the future.

 

[stillh8unlv]

How realistic is it to find a place down by the ocean for game weekends?

I know if Kinnick was roughly an hour from the ocean, I'd be all over getting a little bnb or vrbo and making a nice long weekend out of it more often than I do.

 

[alaskanseminole]

How realistic is it to find a place down by the ocean for game weekends?

I know if Kinnick was roughly an hour from the ocean, I'd be all over getting a little bnb or vrbo and making a nice long weekend out of it more often than I do.

I typically fly in to Ft Walton Beach to visit our tailgating friends then drive over. That's a 2.5 hour drive. It's reasonable to just drive back after the game, unless you have a night game. Not knowing the kick-off time always makes planning tricky. And we had to factor in we were taking our son a day early to show him around campus. We stayed in Ft Walton w/ our friends Thu night, in Tally Fri & Sat, then drove back to Ft Walton Beach the next morning and showed him around the Emerald Coast before flying back to Texas. It was a great weekend.

He seriously didn't want to leave Florida.

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

That’s nasty. AirBnB should ban those places.

 

[Nole Lou]

It's really crazy how bad the Airbnb/VRBO experience has gotten. I was an early adopter and evangelist, and now I almost exclusively am back to hotels. Like 9 out of the last 10 times I've gotten rentals, there's been something pretty significantly problematic, and it's now rarely cheaper than a hotel. It's really unfortunate, especially for people traveling as a family, for which they used to really be a godsend.

 

[stillh8unlv]

I typically fly in to Ft Walton Beach to visit our tailgating friends then drive over. That's a 2.5 hour drive. It's reasonable to just drive back after the game, unless you have a night game. Not knowing the kick-off time always makes planning tricky. And we had to factor in we were taking our son a day early to show him around campus. We stayed in Ft Walton w/ our friends Thu night, in Tally Fri & Sat, then drove back to Ft Walton Beach the next morning and showed him around the Emerald Coast before flying back to Texas. It was a great weekend.

He seriously didn't want to leave Florida.

Nice, I was thinking more down by Alligator Point, but the Ft Walton/Destin/PCB areas, though more of a drive, is awesome too - especially for a college age kid I imagine.

I've been all over that state in the last few years, I know the feeling about not wanting to leave. I fully understand the snowbird migration the older I get.

In the exploratory phase now to decide where to eventually move to, Emerald coast still leading the pack.

 

[BelemNole]

Nice, I was thinking more down by Alligator Point, but the Ft Walton/Destin/PCB areas, though more of a drive, is awesome too - especially for a college age kid I imagine.

I've been all over that state in the last few years, I know the feeling about not wanting to leave. I fully understand the snowbird migration the older I get.

In the exploratory phase now to decide where to eventually move to, Emerald coast still leading the pack.

We stayed on St George island when we visited last year. Tally for a night and beach for the rest.

 

[ping72]

It's really crazy how bad the Airbnb/VRBO experience has gotten. I was an early adopter and evangelist, and now I almost exclusively am back to hotels. Like 9 out of the last 10 times I've gotten rentals, there's been something pretty significantly problematic, and it's now rarely cheaper than a hotel. It's really unfortunate, especially for people traveling as a family, for which they used to really be a godsend.

This….at least in the US. It’s almost unusable other than something like a giant cabin for 10+ people that you won’t find elsewhere.

 

[SeaPA]

You could have stopped after saying Appalachee Parkway. Horrid shithole.

Really, most of the hotels in Tally are sketchy, outside of a few that charge a grand or so for game weekends. Those out Monroe near I-10 are every bit as bad as those on Appalachee

 

[NoleATL]

About 2 months ago an old college roommate wanted us to come to the VT game with him and his wife (the newer model he just married)... I looked at hotels and declined. No freaking way am I paying that for hotels. Any of the chains were $500 and up per night. We've spent 4 times that for a hotel before but no way am I paying that for a Best Western in Tallahassee.

 

[NoleATL]

It's really crazy how bad the Airbnb/VRBO experience has gotten. I was an early adopter and evangelist, and now I almost exclusively am back to hotels. Like 9 out of the last 10 times I've gotten rentals, there's been something pretty significantly problematic, and it's now rarely cheaper than a hotel. It's really unfortunate, especially for people traveling as a family, for which they used to really be a godsend.

We like the hotel experience better. Hotel bar, people around, etc... no children so no need for multiple bedrooms. And, yes, comparing prices its just not worth it.

 

[Funky Bunch]

What did the reviews say about the place? That's probably the biggest factor in my decision for Airbnb/VRBO

 

[noleclone2]

What did the reviews say about the place? That's probably the biggest factor in my decision for Airbnb/VRBO

Same. Reviews are key. Not sure if they have changed but supposedly you have to stay there to be able to write them but not sure what power owners have to remove the bad ones as well as plant fake ones acting like a guest. I know generic short fake reviews for sure are a thing you see on Amazon and other retail sites

 

[runkpanole]

Really, most of the hotels in Tally are sketchy, outside of a few that charge a grand or so for game weekends. Those out Monroe near I-10 are every bit as bad as those on Appalachee

Agree with that as well. I’ve only stayed in one hotel in my time in Tallahassee. Would never stay along Monroe, Tennessee or the Parkway.

 

[Funky Bunch]

This place sounds like a fun time 🤣😂🤣

Google Travel

www.google.com

 

[noleclone2]

Agree with that as well. I’ve only stayed in one hotel in my time in Tallahassee. Would never stay along Monroe, Tennessee or the Parkway.

Downtown and Thomasville Road exit only good spots. Good news is more are being built both locations. It’s too bad that Lowes hotel downtown got killed off by pandemic. Tallahassee has been talking about getting a downtown large convention center worthy hotel for 40 years and has never made it happen.

 

[alaskanseminole]

It's really crazy how bad the Airbnb/VRBO experience has gotten. I was an early adopter and evangelist, and now I almost exclusively am back to hotels. Like 9 out of the last 10 times I've gotten rentals, there's been something pretty significantly problematic, and it's now rarely cheaper than a hotel. It's really unfortunate, especially for people traveling as a family, for which they used to really be a godsend.

And I'm the opposite. This is our first bad experience...the two we stayed in for our trips to Colorado were amazing.

 

[alaskanseminole]

What did the reviews say about the place? That's probably the biggest factor in my decision for Airbnb/VRBO

For the first time I didn't dig deep enough into my research...I looked at photos and booked. I'd never had a bad experience, so it lulled me into complacency. Never again.

I would have never thought someone would stage a false room (that is typically a $75 per night roach motel), list it on Airbnb, then hold it with their credit card until someone books it at $300+ per night. It's a good gig even if several of us raise hell and get our money back. I'd venture to say most who booked were trapped.

 

[alaskanseminole]

We like the hotel experience better. Hotel bar, people around, etc... no children so no need for multiple bedrooms. And, yes, comparing prices its just not worth it.

For us, traveling with a kiddo, it's so nice to have multiple rooms, kitchen, washer/dryer, etc. We spent 8 days here this summer (Glenwood Springs, CO):

Being able to sit on this porch each morning with our coffee was fantastic. We had an even nicer place in Estes Park, CO the previous summer.

 

[cfbfan23]

One of my best friends has a really nice place on the north side of town (just north of I-10). His youngest kid is a junior at FSU. They've been empty nesters for a couple of years. 6 extra bedrooms available for friends.

We stayed at his place this past weekend. I'll be staying there again in two weeks (along with 8 other guys).

 

[cjnoles9399]

We really want to take our 8 year old to her first game for north Alabama but the lodging price and quality still makes me hesitant to book in tally. Coming from Atlanta I thought about maybe looking in bainbridge since we come down 85 through Columbus/US 27. Also I have a buddy with a hunting cabin in Moultrie but I hate the I-75 ride home.

Last game I went to was Clemson in 2016 and flew in the afternoon of the game and took the 6am flight out on Sunday. A buddy and I rented a pretty gross room from a college kid basically just to use the couch, have somewhere to eat and watch tv and use the bathroom. It was a night game so by the time we got out of the stadium and grabbed a bite to eat it was 130am. Went back to the kid’s apartment and took a nap on the couch until it was time to go to the airport.

 

[alaskanseminole]

We really want to take our 8 year old to her first game for north Alabama but the lodging price and quality still makes me hesitant to book in tally. Coming from Atlanta I thought about maybe looking in bainbridge since we come down 85 through Columbus/US 27. Also I have a buddy with a hunting cabin in Moultrie but I hate the I-75 ride home.

Last game I went to was Clemson in 2016 and flew in the afternoon of the game and took the 6am flight out on Sunday. A buddy and I rented a pretty gross room from a college kid basically just to use the couch, have somewhere to eat and watch tv and use the bathroom. It was a night game so by the time we got out of the stadium and grabbed a bite to eat it was 130am. Went back to the kid’s apartment and took a nap on the couch until it was time to go to the airport.

It's probably a noon game. Just book your room 35 mil north in Thomasville, GA. Take your daughter around to the Bobby Bowden statue after the game and she'll meet tons of players coming out. This will allow for traffic to die down, then it will be smooth sailing up to Thomasville.

My son did NOT want to leave campus, so just take your time and enjoy the atmosphere. Get there early enough and you can sit in Dick Howser Stadium for the Marching Chief's pre-game Skull Session, then walk over to the Legacy Walk (get there at least 30 min early). My son was stoked when Coach Norvell came over and shook his hand.