Bed, Breakfast, and a Parking Spot Next to DFW Airport...
Written: Jan 05 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Reasonable rates, park and fly services to DFW airport
Cons: Limited amenities, close to DFW, no restaurant/bar on site
The Bottom Line: If you're looking for a room for the night CLOSE to DFW airport, this Hampton Inn is reliably clean with good service and good prices.
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| mrkstvns's Full Review: Hampton Inn Dallas/Fort Worth Airport South |
I wouldn't normally spend a weekend in an airport area hotel --- not around any airport, but most especially not one around Dallas's DFW Airport. But spend the weekend here I did.
Not my fault though. I blame Epinions management. They're the ones who decided to host the Dallas Meet N Greet in the outlying frozen tundra of the touristic Siberia that my obnoxiously opinionated self thinks describes Grapevine, aka, the north side of DFW airport.
Being a proud southerner, and an ornery one at that, I naturally chose to stay on the south side of DFW airport. (Alright, alright, so the real reason I stayed there is because I managed to score a $50 rate with my AAA discount at the Hampton Inn, and Lord knows, when saving a few bucks is at stake, I can take it on the chin enough to hop in the car for the 5-minute drive through the airport to get to Grapevine.) And so, circumstances conspire to give me some personal experience with the Hampton Inn DFW South...not a bad airport hotel, as it turns out, and definitely more bang than I paid bucks...
Step Into My Room, Please...
Form follows function, or so the saying goes. It's certainly true of the rooms at this Hampton Inn, which are long on practical functionality but short on aesthetic niceties. It's comfy. It's clean. It's warm. It's quiet. It's got ample space. It's got the "right" perks and features for a "I'm just staying the night" kind of traveler. And that's okay...and this is an "okay" room.
The exposed brick wall does give it something of a suburban homey feel...especially if your home happens to have the kind of industrial grade carpeting that you'd normally find in an office building, and even more especially if your home is a very budget conscious home that doesn't have dollars for furnishings that can't be obtained for a Wal-Mart Rollback price.
Not a day goes by that I don't thank the creator for giving me a job so I don't have to shop at Wal-Mart with food stamps and coupons. I'm reminded to give particular thanks when I stay in hotel rooms that were furnished on similar budgets.
The furniture was ugly, no doubt about it, and the "natural" grain of the wood looked suspicously like it was printed on offset presses. Not that there's anything wrong with that low-budget, Wal-Mart livin' approach, mind you. I'll spare you my high-falutin' comparisons of Wal-Mart furniture to cardboard boxes. Just don't spill your coffee and you won't have to wipe it up, revealing the words "This End Up" on the table top...
Business travelers will probably like the free wi-fi internet connections --- even in the lobby and breakfast area. Business travelers might not like the dinky little dinette-sized table with its two rickety little chairs, but what's a little "coziness" between friends, eh?
I like having a genuine Mr.Coffee coffee maker in the room, and I got quite a laugh out of the "new and improved, easier-to-use clock radio" --- not so much that such things exist, as that they have five buttons arrayed across the top for "pop", "jazz", "classical", "country" and "latin" music. Odd. I never knew that simply scanning the dial for local stations was such a tough concept. Ah well, at least I'm grateful that, in spite of being physically in the Dallas area, the choices weren't "country" "western" "hellfire" and "damnation". I'm sure it's only a matter of time...
The bathroom is surprisingly spacious, and actually quite nice, in an antiseptic monochromatic kind of way. The Basics brand toiletries are fine by me, I like having four hefty weight bath towels, and I don't even mind the "natural marble" look (damn! that's funny!) of the Corian countertop (another "fine" product of the DuPont Corporation).
Services and Facilities at this Hampton Inn...
I like the lobby area on this hotel, with its high ceilings, big glass windows, and its glass elevator that gives you unparalleled vistas of the 183 Airport Expressway. The lobby itself isn't huge, but it's attractively clean, and has several modern stuffed easy chairs for your waiting around pleasure. The front desk staff are attentive and pleasant, and since the front desk is the major amenity of this hotel, they're probably the only folks you'll likely encounter. There is a meeting room, but it's small and unobtrusive.
For the most part though, this is an airport hotel, and it does well at things that are important to airport travelers. It has a free shuttle to drop you off or pick you up from flights and it has plenty of free parking. The hotel will do park-n-ride if you're looking for a place where you can leave the car for a couple days while at the same time grabbing some shut-eye just before a departing flight.
Hampton Inns usually have small exercise rooms, but I didn't see a real exercise room here --- just a note in the room that guests were invited to use the exercise room inside the neighboring Drury Inn. I'm a little surprised because they do have a fairly decent swimming pool. At least it looked inviting. Unfortunately, November isn't usually a month when I indulge myself with outdoor swimming activities, so I'll just have to tell you that the pool is of moderately good size with a wide deck filled with lounge chairs and a couple tables, located off to the rear of the hotel.
The hotel claims to offer complimentary newspapers in the morning, but I never saw any newspapers. Just a stack of USA Today copies by the front desk.
Eats and Drinks...
Bring your own food & drinks. There's no restaurant on site, and no bar on site. There's no mini-bar in the room and no room service.
The only food is the complimentary breakfast buffet in the morning.
Breakfast consists of biscuits, egg-like substance shaped into mini hockey pucks, and sausage patties overcooked to the consistency of mini hockey pucks. There were french toast sticks, donuts and muffins, fresh fruits, cereal served from a dial-a-matic device that automatically crushed the cereal into your bowl for you, yogurts, and juice. Three flavors of hot coffee were also served: wimpy decaf, wimpy regular, and a "hearty robust dark" coffee that was just a few yards short of what I'd consider an acceptable strength regular coffee.
It's not high dining, but it is calories on the free and it is fast and grabbable. Mrkstvns Junior says it's the best restaurant we dined in on this trip. (Mrkstvns Junior is also 6 years old and believes firmly that white table sugar is an entree.)
If you want other eats or a brewski in the evening, stroll across the parking lot to the adjacent Bennigans. The selection goes downhill from there --- most close-by food and drink options are low-market chain eateries and fast food grease pits.
On Location...
The hotel is located on the south end of DFW airport --- an area filled with overnight airport hotel properties, long-term parking lots, etc. By the map, it's pretty much right where routes 183 and 360 come together, dumping into the big airport access road. Coming from the Dallas side, get off 183 at the exit for Esters, then cross over the expressway and cut through the McDonalds parking lot into the Hampton Inn parking lot. (It's easier than trying to figure out how to loop around, IMHO.)
I don't like the location because it's out in the middle of nowhere-but-airport-ville and there's nothing of any merit to see, do, or visit within walking distance and there's no public transit to speak of. (Actually, American Airlines has a company museum called the Smith Museum that's pretty close by, plus there's Grapevine Mills for the folks who think shopping centers qualify as "things to do and see".)
In my opinion though, this Hampton Inn is really only convenient for DFW passengers (and the occasional Epinions event attendee with his own car).
Bottom Line...
The Hampton Inn DFW South isn't a fancy schmancy hotel. It's not luxurious. It doesn't have much in the way of amenitites. But the rates are low, the pillows are soft, the rooms are clean, and those low rates still include free parking and a square breakfast.
Good deal, but I probably won't stay here again though --- mostly because I'm a city-center kind of guy and this hotel has a mediocre location far from the center of anything really interesting. But for the price, it's a good deal, and if you really DO want to be around the DFW Airport --- like for some big important event like an Epinions Meet N Greet (and what kind of person wouldn't want to be seen with all the glittering celebrities at an event like that??) --- it will fit the bill.
Until next time, see you on the road. As always, look for me in the cheap yet comfy seats.
More Dallas Area Hotels?
Looking for a hotel in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex?? Here are a few other reviews of Dallas area hotels that might be of interest...
* Wyndham Garden Inn Park Central
* Marriott Courtyard Las Colinas
* Marriott Courtyard DFW
* Holiday Inn Market Center
* Wyndham Anatole
* Hyatt Regency Dallas Reunion
* Radisson Hotel and Suites Market Center
* Radisson Plaza Fort Worth
Recommended:
Yes
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