Columbia, MO Question (crime rate, hotels, home)

[josh5629]

I will be traveling through Missouri in October and I am planning on staying over one night. I'm considering the Columbia area due to it's location to where I am going. I'm just wondering what the area is like? Is it a relatively safe area? Thank you.

[EmoryBound]

Yes, Columbia MO is safe, particularly the south side (south of I-70). It's a college town with decent restaurant and bar options. I recommend staying away from the motels. While the overall crime rate is low, two incidents of murder at motels occurred over the past couple of years. Any of the hotels should be fine. We have put up people at the Courtyard Marriott and they had no complaints.

[cyrano]

Use the sort of common sense I'm sure you'd use anywhere else. If you can possibly afford to stay at a (more) upscale hotel (I'm talking Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn-- we don't have any Intercontinentals or Four Seasons here), do so-- there's some pretty nasty motels north of the Providence exit off I-70, and the motels on Business Loop 70 (left exit 128 westbound) look a little shady, but I don't know if there's any problems there...but the Business Loop just looks a little run-down and seedy anyway.

October will mean lots of college kids downtown, especially on weekends. Your biggest problem won't be crime but drunken frat boys and the like. That said, you wouldn't want to be wandering off the beaten path at 4 am. That's the common sense I'm talking about.

Make sure you're not coming into town without a reservation on a football weekend, i.e., when MU is playing a home game. The hotels will fill up quickly, and in advance.