Champaign hotels (Urbana, Lee: extended stay, cheap apartment, lease)

[LeeSmith]

I have a son that will be attending Parkland and we are looking for an extended stay motel for him to stay in. Does anyone have any suggestions of places that are affordable but not seedy?

[Drover]

How long will he be attending? If it's at least two semesters, I can recommend a safe and cheap apartment complex about 2 miles from Parkland and right on the bus line to Parkland if he doesn't have a car -- 15 to 20 minutes door to door. Even if you have to sign a full 12-month lease it will still be a hell of a lot cheaper than staying at an extended-stay hotel for an entire school year.

[LeeSmith]

He's going to stay in the hotel only a few weeks. Until we get an apartment and roommate situation worked out.

[LeeSmith]

And he does have a car.

[mollybygolly]

Value Place. I think that's the name.
Not too seedy, in a decent area of town fairly close to Parkland.

[LeeSmith]

The college recommended Value Place but I wasn't thrilled with some of the reviews I had read. But it's a decent place then?

[04JETTA]

The Holiday Inn in Urbana is a good one also

[Drover]

But does it have extended-stay suites?

As for the ratings for Value Place, I've found that online hotel ratings for anything less than a 4-star hotel tend to be overly harsh as peoples' unrealistic expectations (albeit often fueled by the hotel's own, shall we say, optimistic marketing claims) bump up against the reality of stayinga hotel designed to accommodate the proletarian traveler. A college-age kid is apt to be far better off in a hotel that receives marginal ratings from cynical travelers than living in your standard off-campus student housing complex or a crumbling old house that's been divided into 5 little roachbox apartments. And believe me, there's an abundance of both in C-U; affordable student housing that isn't completely gross and/or overrun with meatheads can be hard to find.

Fortunately, the apartment complex I referenced earlier is neither gross nor overrun with meatheads, as it's too far away from the U of I campus to attract many undergrad tenants. They have cheap 1-bedrooms if your son would rather not deal with roommates; their 2-bedrooms are only $150/mo or so more than the 1-bedrooms so one of those would be super-cheap to split with a roommate.

LeeSmith, Since there are tight restrictions on property advertising on the public forum here, I will send you a Private Message with more details.

[LeeSmith]

Thanks for the reponses. I'll check the Holiday Inn although I think it's probably more than we were planning on. And I agree about reviews. I try to read several and then weigh out good vs. bad.

[pianist1972]

Former resident- I'd suggest Extended Stay America along 74, or Candlewood Suites. Both are in safe areas with lots of shopping/dining. Beware some of the really cheap Urbana motels, don't do it! Extended Stay is also close to the Parkland campus.