Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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We also stayed at the La Quinta and found it worked just fine for us.
Just so you know, there's a SuperTarget just up 15/501 to the east, in case you need some snacks for the room. When we were staying at the La Quinta, the drink machines were always out of order, but the ice machines worked.
The only unfortunate thing about that particular hotel is that it's on the access road, and it's a bit hard to get on to 15/501 going east. You'll figure it out pretty quickly though. I think it's a great choice if you're going to be exploring Durham because you've got quick access to both the downtown and university areas, and then you can jump on I-40 and get off at Fayetteville and do the whole Southpoint thing.
Back to the map, I wouldn't want to be without my UniversalMap brand laminated Durahm & Chapel Hill flipmap deluxe. I've looked at lots of laminated maps and not found another one that's as much to my liking as this one. It's never let me down.
We moved here in August '07 - I'd never been to NC before. Just drove right in, bought the map at a gas station and boy, am I glad I got this one. I think it might have been a BP, now that I think of it. I use this map all the time, even now, because I'm always discovering new areas of Durham and CH.
I would suggesting going on hotels.com. You can get deals there - you can pick the ammenities and location you want and you get customer reviews that are pretty spot on from what I have experienced.
If your goal is to look primarily at Chapel Hill and Durham, by all means stay in SW Durham. But, if your goal is to look at the entire Triangle's options, SW Durham is way too far west. If I were looking to be geographically central to the area, I'd try to stay near RDU International and I-40. There simply is much more of the Triangle on its east side than its west side. If you were looking for the population center of the Triangle, you'd have to go even further east. More people means many more options to explore to the east of RTP than the west.
There are inexpensive options near the airport. The only problem with staying there is that, while it's centrally located, it's not in a very exciting place. Everything will have to be accessed by car. But, then again, to see all the Triangle has to offer will require a car anyway.
I happen to be a hotel sales manager and we have hotels in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. Feel free to e-mail me at satlas@shgltd.com with specifics and I can give you more info depending on your arrival, length of stay, etc.
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