Where to stay near Avondale? (Jacksonville, St. Augustine: hotels, house, live) - Florida (FL) - City-Data Forum

janetvj · 01-23-2009, 05:37 PM

I want to spend a long weekend in Jacksonville to visit family. I'd like to be in a nice but reasonably priced hotel near the Avondale area. Any suggestions? My elderly aunt lives in Avondale, and although I am welcome to stay with her, I will be traveling with my significant other. Since we are not married, and my aunt is very conservative, if we stayed at her place he would be sleeping on the couch (she only has 1 guest room). So I figured a hotel would be better.

Ryde41 · 01-23-2009, 07:06 PM

There's a Best Western on route 17 when you first get off of 295. It doesn't sound very close but to get to Avondale you travel north on route 17 (Roosevelt) and its a straight shot to Avondale. I don't know if they have one closer. That hotel is pretty much just sitting off the interstate. Nothing exciting about it but ten minutes to Avondale. This is not a great option but the only one I know of that's reasonably priced near Avondale. The downtown hotels are expensive. Hopefully someone will chime in with a better suggestion. If the hotel is not your style then if you drive a little further south Orange Park will have a few more.

mawipafl · 01-24-2009, 04:56 AM

Ryde41 is right - for affordable hotels nearest Avondale, the Hwy17/I-295 interchange area is the closest.

If you want to consider a B&B, there are a few that I know of in/near Avondale.
The Riverdale Inn | Index
House On Cherry St (Jacksonville, FL) - reviews, bed & breakfast photos, videos, special price , interative map & directions
Dickert House Bed & Breakfast (http://www.dickert-house.net/index.html - broken link)
and others
(do a google search B&B jacksonville fl for more listings)

Ryde41 · 01-24-2009, 08:32 AM

Those Bed and Breakfast places look nice!

Joe 4520832257 · 01-24-2009, 08:47 AM

I agree - the historical bed and breakfasts are your best option if they are in your "reasonable" price range. Also, you can use a site like hotwire.com. They offer amazing deals on hotels. $250 rooms for $100 ... that sort of thing. You won't know which hotel it is until you book it, but as long as you specify "downtown" you will be within easy access of Avondale.

Again, since they are offering surplus rooms, they won't tell you which hotel it is until you confirm the reservation. However, since downtown Jax has so few hotels, you can use process of elimination to pretty much figure it out. I checked for next weekend, and they were offering $72 per night for the Omni, $120 per night for the Crowne Plaza, and $104 for the Wyndam

janetvj · 01-24-2009, 11:29 AM

I checked out the B&B called the House on Cherry Street and I love it! Plus, it's only about a mile or so from my aunt's house. I left a message with them to see if they have a room available for the weekend I need. Thanks so much for the suggestion!

If they can't accomodate me, I will definitely consider some of the other suggestions. Especially the hotwire idea. I had looked at the downtown hotels already, and they are a bit more than I wanted to spend. But if I can get a downtown room for around $100 a night, I consider that a good deal.

I've already booked the flight, so one way or the other I will be in Jacksonville in a few weeks. Hope the weather is better than here in Baltimore. It's cold here!

mawipafl · 01-25-2009, 05:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by janetvj

Hope the weather is better than here in Baltimore. It's cold here!

We had our moments last week (nothing, however, that even comes close to a northern winter!) ... I do believe we're past the frigids at least for a while (70s forecast for the next week - yippeeeee!)

janetvj · 01-25-2009, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mawipafl

We had our moments last week (nothing, however, that even comes close to a northern winter!) ... I do believe we're past the frigids at least for a while (70s forecast for the next week - yippeeeee!)

70 degrees sounds wonderful! Right now it's 19, and we're looking at a high of 31. Brrrr!

Thanks again to all for the suggestions. I booked the Avondale room at the House on Cherry Street, and I'm really looking forward to my stay. My father is from Jacksonville, and we used to spend summers there when I was growing up, but I've only been back 2 or 3 times since. Although I will only be there for 5 days, on this trip, I'm hoping to get over to St. Augustine as I haven't been there for close to 40 years (unbelievable!) and I'd love to get to the zoo again. I want to check out the downtown area, too. But one day will be spent with my Dad's youngest sister, who is in her late 80's and lives in Avondale. She loves to go out to lunch, and I love to hear her recollections of growing up in Jacksonville in the 20's and 30's.

janetvj · 02-27-2009, 01:27 PM

Just wanted to follow-up and say that our stay at the House on Cherry Street B&B was wonderful! Lovely location, and the innkeepers are the most warm, interesting people. I highly recommend it!

I hope this isn't considered advertising? I don't want to break any rules...