Hotels in Charlottesville Virginia?

March 8, 2005 8:55 AM

I will be visiting Charlottesville, Virginia for a conference at UVA and I am looking for a hotel within walking distance of campus and downtown that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Does anyone have any helpful suggestions or am I better off staying at a cheap motel further out of town?
posted by fancypants to travel & transportation (17 comments total)

It's been a while since I've been there, but there are some decent options around campus, or, "grounds" if you want to fit in. The Cavalier Inn is at the corner of University Ave. and Emmit St at the northwest corner of the main campus, and is generally pretty cheap. It's associated with Best Western. Right across the street is an Econo-Lodge which my family and I have stayed at, and it's not too bad. There are some bed-and-breakfasts and boutique-y hotels closer to The Lawn, but those are more expensive. There are a number of other options further north on Rte. 29, but then you're getting out of walking distance. Note that the school is already about a mile from downtown, and there's not much between the two for hotels, so you're going to be some distance from one or the other.
posted by LionIndex at 9:12 AM on March 8, 2005

I don't have any specific reccomendations on hotels, but I would suggest that you stay close to campus. It's beautiful there.
posted by trbrts at 9:25 AM on March 8, 2005

Red Roof Inn, right across the street.
posted by mbd1mbd1 at 9:30 AM on March 8, 2005

Note that Charlottesville can book up pretty quickly even for a conference or event that seems small.

If you end up having to look outside of town, you might check out the Inn at Afton Mountain, formerly a Holiday Inn -- if ya gotta drive in, ya might as well be on the crest of the Blue Ridge!

Otherwise, you'd want to be on US29, US250, or at an I-64 exit for convenience.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:14 AM on March 8, 2005

Bear in mind that UVa is pretty massive. If you really want to walk you might also want to figure out exactly where/in what building the conference is being held.
posted by selfnoise at 10:21 AM on March 8, 2005

Second the Red Roof Inn suggestion. It's right on the Corner, which is a lively restaurant/bar/shop district right across the street from Grounds (the pretentious name for campus).

Alternatively, when I was in school my parents always stayed at the Omni Charlottesville, which is a little further from campus, but right on the Downtown Mall. The Mall is a bricked pedestrian area that could be considered the heart of downtown C-Ville.
posted by killdevil at 10:22 AM on March 8, 2005

Also: LionIndex is right in pointing out that UVa's campus and downtown Charlottesville are only marginally within walking distance of each other. And last time I lived in Cville the area between the two was, like, the ghetto. I can't recall any hotels that really straddle the two.

The Omni can be expensive but is definitely the place to go if you are going to be staying downtown.
posted by selfnoise at 10:23 AM on March 8, 2005

The stretch between UVa and downtown, at least along Main Street is just fine. "Ghetto" is relative. Cville is a great little town; I miss it.
posted by mbd1mbd1 at 10:40 AM on March 8, 2005

selfnoise is correct in noting both the ghettoness of the area between UVA and downtown, and the general size of UVA itself. If your conference is at the Law or Business schools, we're talking a whole different ballgame than if it's on Central Grounds. However, I'd like to say that although there is a "ghetto" area, this is Charlottesville...it ain't that bad. I used to walk from school to downtown all the time with no problems, and even ventured off of Main St. into the neighborhoods for some school projects. Main St. itself is pretty well developed, and the areas that weren't so nice were starting to pick up. The old train station was a giant visual blight on the area, and that's being redeveloped.

How many wahoos do we have in here anyway? Does anyone know if Bodo's is open yet?

On preview:mbd1mbd1 concurs.
posted by LionIndex at 10:47 AM on March 8, 2005

selfnoise's knowledge is years out of date: West Main Street is a lovely walk. There are two major hotels along the way, the Hampton Inn and the Courtyard Marriott, in addition to The Omni on the Downtown Mall. Traveling from downtown to the Rotunda requires about 15 minutes on foot, precisely 9 minutes if your stride is as big as my 6'4" frame provides me with. Note that we have a free trolley that runs between the Downtown Mall and UVa every 30 minutes, which travels around the bulk of the perimeter of UVa.

I've never stayed in a Charlottesville hotel, what with the living here, but I often direct people to stay at The Omni, and nobody's complained yet. Remember that you can bargain with any hotel -- you can knock a good 40% off of the rate if they've got a bunch of empty rooms.

LionIndex, Brian is now hiring for the new Bodo's location, FWIW.
posted by waldo at 11:04 AM on March 8, 2005

I'll believe the Corner Bodo's is open when I see it.
posted by mbd1mbd1 at 11:44 AM on March 8, 2005

How many wahoos do we have in here anyway?

*raises hand sheepishly* CLAS 92. Haven't been back since 02.

Does anyone know if Bodo's is open yet?

Bodo's, hell. Is Big Jim's still running? Is the Tavern still where students, tourists, and townspeople meet? Is College Inn (Hello, College Inn, rape your daughter) still serving up yum, and does Pizza Rick still deliver for them?
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:48 AM on March 8, 2005

Bodo's on the Corner is not open yet - at least as of last summer when my sis graduated. CLAS 99, moi.
posted by killdevil at 1:20 PM on March 8, 2005

The Tavern has always and will always be there. Big Jim's hasn't gone anywhere. The College Inn is as tasty as ever.

I'm not a UVa student. Just a local.
posted by waldo at 1:44 PM on March 8, 2005

Crap. I hijacked the thread in my nostalgic enthusiasm. Sorry, fancypants.
posted by LionIndex at 2:01 PM on March 8, 2005

The Bodos on the corner still isn't open? Good lord. I haven't lived in Cville for about 8 years, and I seem to recall that he started working on it before I left. How did he afford the rent? Is it a portal into the Cubed Meat dimension?

Sorry if my ghetto info was out of date. I was actually mugged along that stretch once, although the thieves were too drug-addled to follow through with the taking of my stuff.

I used to take classes at the Inner Stairway, which was off that stretch on Cherry Avenue, and later worked at the Charlottesville Housing Authority Renter's Office (don't ask). God, what was the epicenter of drug trafficking, Dice Street? All of that was a fair ways from Maine Street, though.

I know who Waldo is (our tenures at WAHS overlapped slightly) and he is almost certainly more of an authority on the area than I am. I left Charlottesville as it became clear in my circle of friends that those choices were A: leave town, or B: do a lot of drugs and end up selling beads on the Downtown Mall.
posted by selfnoise at 5:39 PM on March 8, 2005

Sorry if my ghetto info was out of date. I was actually mugged along that stretch once, although the thieves were too drug-addled to follow through with the taking of my stuff.

Oh, that sucks. I could certainly see that having happened 8 years ago. Even 4 years ago, West Main hadn't developed a whole lot. But it's come a long way. There's the market of my dreams around 5th, a few restaurants, the hotels. Trax has closed, for better or for worse. It's now a routine walk -- you see students walking to the Mall, commuters walking from their downtown homes to their UVa jobs, etc. It's a great improvement. (The usual caveats about gentrification apply, of course.)

I'm just naturally defensive of Charlottesville. :)


I used to take classes at the Inner Stairway, which was off that stretch on Cherry Avenue

The owner ended up committing suicide, after it became known that he was secretly videotaping his students as they changed clothes. Lord, I hope I'm not remembering the wrong karate place. :)


I know who Waldo is (our tenures at WAHS overlapped slightly)

Of course! You were a freshman when I was a sophomore. (And then I dropped out. :) Have poked through your blog just now, it's plain you're well and happy. I'm glad.


I left Charlottesville as it became clear in my circle of friends that those choices were A: leave town, or B: do a lot of drugs and end up selling beads on the Downtown Mall.

Ah. I know the bead sellers. You have chosen...wisely. :)
posted by waldo at 8:47 AM on March 9, 2005