Fairfield Inn Las Vegas Review!

 

I always like sharing family friendly places that are affordable to stay when we travel, because if you are like us you want to get the most out of your trip budget. When looking for a hotel to stay at while traveling, I like to look for hotels with decent reviews that are clean, include breakfast and have other amenities like a pool or convenient parking along with being semi-close to what we are doing in that specific city. We recently took a family vacation to Las Vegas, Nevada and the hotel I ended up finding and booking for our stay was the Fairfield Inn at their south airport location. It wasn't too far away from most of the activities we wanted to visit, it included breakfast, had plenty of on property parking and looked like a nice hotel. There is more than one Fairfield Inn's in Las Vegas, we stayed at the "Airport South" location which is located at 355 E. Warm Springs Rd Las Vegas, NV 89119. 

I was happy with the choice of staying here, the location was convenient & quiet. After spending time on the strip or on Freemont Street you will probably want to get a quiet and good night's sleep, so this is just the spot away from the hustle & bustle of the busy part of Vegas while still being a short drive away from all of the fun. This hotel offered a small convenient store inside with items like frozen pizzas, ice cream and snacks if you didn't want to leave the hotel for something to snack on. There was also a bar, a gym, a pool area with grills you could use and a nice working front area where you could set up your laptop to work if you didn't want to be in your room. It is right next door to a gas station which only takes about two minutes to walk to if you want something the hotel does not offer or want something slightly cheaper than what they have in their little convenient store. 

Our hotel room was quite comfortable & offered the four of us plenty of space in our room. My mom & stepdad enjoyed their room as well which was directly across the hall from our room. Our room had a large bathroom, mini fridge, microwave, coffee pot plus a nice seating area along with the two queen sized beds. The A/C unit worked well and helped keep the room nice and chilly to escape the heat outside. Everything inside of the room was clean & felt welcoming. We didn't run into any issues with our stay & would stay here again. 

For breakfast they had a continental breakfast which included a nice assortment of options from fresh fruit to make your own waffles. They even had an oatmeal option with a bar set up with an assortment of toppings, you could also use the toppings on your waffles. They had a good amount of seating & you were able to take your food back to your room if you wished. Inside of the seating area was a small walk up stand that offered coffee along with hot water so you could use one of their tea packets or hot chocolate packets to make a drink. This small stand was available all day long & staff would periodically come out to swap out empty dispensers and bring out fresh coffee. If you are a family traveling together being able to book a hotel that includes breakfast can be a huge way to save money and cut back on your travel budget. If you are a family of four like us, even stopping at a fast-food place can be a little pricey depending on what you order it can be anywhere from $20-$40+ for breakfast so if we can find a hotel that is comparable in price to another that doesn't include free breakfast then why not book it? 

What kind of hotels do you like looking for when traveling?

🎲 I will be sharing some other family friendly spots around Las Vegas including other FREE things to do, so if you want to check them out keep an eye out for more posts or type in "Things to do in Las Vegas" in the search bar of my blog. I also have posts on some great places to check out in California & Arizona. 

DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Tucson - Williams Center Review!

When traveling it is always nice to find a hotel that is close to where you are visiting, looks nice outside & inside the rooms while not cost an arm & a leg just to stay the night at their location. During December we took a trip to Tucson & while we were there, we stayed at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Tucson - specifically the Williams Center location. The rooms were stayed in were suites that had a living room area with a sofa that had a pull-out bed, a tiny kitchen nook, a working area, TV & coffee tables/an extra chair. Connected to it was a back bedroom that had two queen sized beds, a second TV, storage areas and the bathroom. It was big enough to comfortable sleep six people. 

I selected this hotel as it was within 10 to 35 minutes of all of the locations, we planned on stopping at during our trip, however it also had great reviews & from the photos other guests had posted it looked cozy + clean. As everyone knows sometimes looks can be deceiving what you see or read online isn't always what you are guaranteed to get & not all hotel experiences will be the same. Luckily, everything was exactly as described, and we were very pleased with our stay at the hotel. Upon check in we were all offered a complimentary warm cookie, if you've never had them before they are amazing! They are walnut + chocolate. 

Our room was clean & had plenty of space for the four of us to stretch out, relax after a long day of walking & the sofa + beds were comfortable. Our family just a few rooms down enjoyed their room as well. The carpet did make me laugh though, it reminded me of the carpet in the Shinning. There was already a bag in the hotel closet that had extra bedding & pillows for the pull-out sofa, so it was nice not having to walk down to request any. If you felt like having a little snack or wanted a drink that the bar doesn't offer, they have a snack room near the front desk where you can buy a number of different items. The pool area was also quite nice, however we went when it was a little chilly & we didn't really have any time to go for a swim, so we didn't visit the pool during our visit. 

Near the pool they had a hotel bar + grill, where we ended up grabbing dinner once we got back from our last stop of the day. The pizza was way better than I had expected it to be! The hostess at the bar was also very chatty & friendly, we enjoyed talking with her while we were waiting for our food to be done. You can eat at inside the grill, or you can take your food back to your room, we ended up taking our pizzas back to the room as we had ordered not too long before closing time. The bar + grill is also the location where they serve the complimentary breakfast that comes with your stay.  

Breakfast was fantastic! They had a wide range of options to choose from baked goods like muffins, bagels & breads to fresh cooked eggs, bacon/sausage and biscuits & gravy along with a fresh fruit, yogurts and even a cereal bar. If you were feeling thirsty, they had a whole drink area with a juices, coffee, water and milk. If you didn't want to eat near the other guests, you can take the food up to your room. Over-all it was a great stay & I would stay at this hotel again if we are back in the area. With taxes & fees the room was about $115 per night which isn't bad especially considering breakfast is included and if we were to go out to eat somewhere it would easily be $40+ just for breakfast for four of us. 

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. (Click on the name or locate it on the right-hand side of my page).

Hotel Amarano in Burbank, California

 

We went on vacation recently & wanted to stay at a hotel that was near everything we were going to be visiting on our trip. As with most families it was important to us to find something that was affordable & wasn't run down while still being in a close proximity to our destination. During my search & comparing hotels we landed on staying at Hotel Amarano in Burbank. Price wise, it was in the middle price range, it wasn't cheap however it also wasn't the most expensive hotel in the area. Aside from the location the two things that drew me to the hotel was that they had on-site parking & offered breakfast as part of their daily amenity fee. You are not able to self-park so you will need to pull up to the front of the hotel so the valet can park your car for you in their parking located under the hotel. Overall, it was a good stay, there was a small downside or two, but that is almost expected when traveling. 

There was a bit of confusion when we first arrived as we had booked two rooms through a booking site & were not aware the booking site had put the reservations under two of our names since the confirmation only showed one name with "2 rooms" under it. It took a few minutes, but they were able to get us into two rooms, although they did end up overcharging our credit card so we had to come back down so they could fix it. Thankfully they realized the mistake right away. We liked that it was right across the street from a small shopping center that had restaurants, a grocery store, Starbucks & more to make it continent to walk over and grab anything you might need. It was also located close to the freeway & several tourist type attractions which was the biggest draw for this hotel, was that it was close to everything we had planned on doing during our trip.

The hotel lobby & bar area were nice. I enjoyed looking at the art and décor they had on display & they had a few different styles of seating available. You could order both drinks & food at the bar and it is also where they placed the continental breakfast in the morning. Our party was a little surprised at the breakfast though, we've stayed in hotels that were much cheaper that had a breakfast spread better suited to multiple appetites which included cereal, eggs, pancakes or even make your own waffles. For the price per night for this hotel you would think they would have something similar. The first morning they had three flavors of bagels, yogurt, a bowl of granola bars, some fresh fruits, mini muffins/pastry and coffee. The second morning they had plain bagels, mini yogurts, mini muffins, half the fruit they had the morning prior and coffee. There were no drink options for non-coffee drinkers or young children, nor were there a lot of non-bread options for non-gluten eaters. One of the families that was getting breakfast at the same time we were had asked if they could get some milk for their small children & were told it would be an extra charge to their room. I know it might sound whinny to be a little judgmental of the breakfast offering, but some people like to book hotels specifically for the included breakfast to help cut down on travel cost when traveling with their families. In a way the hotel felt like more of a spot to stay if you are traveling on business or just in town to see family verses being more family friendly for those visiting Universal, Disney, etc. 

Our hotel room was nice & cozy, there were plenty of space for the four of us in the room we had & the rest of our party was in the room across the hallway. The sofa they had in the rooms were decent & offered plenty of support, they were relaxing to sit down on & watch TV after a long day of exploring and walking around. There was plenty of space for everyone to store their luggage off of the ground. My favorite feature of the room was hands down the bathroom because of the shower, there was a shower head + handheld shower head at each end of the shower. They aim to be eco-friendly in the bathroom so you will not find travel sized shampoo/conditioner instead they have it mounted on the wall in the bathroom. Our room also had a small, enclosed patio attached to it; however, we didn't spend much time outside as the patio could have used a cleaning & we didn't spend enough time in the room to hang out on the patio. 

**This is not a sponsored or hosted post, we paid for this hotel on our own while on vacation. I like sharing fun spots we visit, restaurants to eat at & lodging that we stay at to help others who may be traveling to the area & are looking for recommendations. **

Cabin Rentals at Roper Lake State Park - A Review.

Right now the weather is perfect for exploring Arizona on the weekends (or during the week if you have time). While my family and I enjoy camping sometimes we don't feel like setting up the tents and camping gear after a long drive to our designation, yet we want to remain in nature so the cabins that the Arizona State Parks Department offers at many of their state parks is the perfect solution. If you've been following my blog for a while you will remember that I recently posted a review of the Roper Lake State Park located in Safford,Arizona. This post will cover information on their cabin rentals.

The cabin rentals they offer are cute and cozy, each one has it's own theme which will help you designate which cabin is yours. We stayed in the Hummingbird cabin, to go with the theme they had a metal Hummingbird hung up at the front of the cabin and inside of the cabin you'll find a small set of curtains on the door that have a hummingbird print. The cabin is one big room split by a half wall (Doesn't go all the way to the celling) and a door for privacy so you can change. Inside are two bunk beds, a queen sized bed, along with two shelves.

This cabin is one step above camping, it will help keep you safe from the elements, it has electricity and heat/ AC and beds to sleep in. Outside you'll find a Barbeque to cook on and a sink where you can clean any fish you've caught in the lake that day, no cooking is permitted inside of the cabin so there is no mini fridge or microwave so you'll need to prepare before you arrive packing enough ice and food for your stay. 

We were aware that we needed to bring our own sheets and blankets so we got everything packed up before our trip, we always make sure to pack a trash bag or two, cleaning wipes, etc because you never know what you are going to need. I am happy we packed trash bags because I was surprised to find there was no trash can of any type inside of the cabin or out (understandable to due nightly visits from animals). There is no seating aside from the beds themselves so if you are looking for a place to sit down and eat there is a cute picnic bench on the porch where you can sit and enjoy the view. 

Speaking of the view there is also a swing on the porch which my kids and I loved sitting on and just enjoying the nice weather, plus is was a lovely spot to star view from. It gets absolutely pitch dark at this park because it is on the outskirts of Safford where there isn't a ton of city lights to drown out the natural lighting from the stars, which makes the sky gorgeous during the night.

There are a few changes I would make to the rental experience a little more comfortable for families staying in the park. Firstly I would add a small trash can inside of the cabin, not all families remember to bring trash bags with them which can make it difficult to dispose of garbage properly. Second, as you may have noticed there is no bathroom in this cabin so you'll need to walk to the bathrooms which isn't a biggie. There are two toilets directly in the middle of all the cabins, they are vault toilets which are basically stationary port-o-potties, there is a small sink outside to wash your hands, but there is no lighting to help you see at night. I think an addition of a solar powered light for inside each bathroom would be lovely. A secondary bathroom with a shower is located behind a row of the cabins, we didn't go check out this specific bathroom as we didn't see a trail leading up to it and didn't want to cut in-between other families cabins to get back to it. 

The lake itself is quite lovely, they offer a beach area where you and your family can swim, a "island" where you can relax and picnic, along with hiking trails and fishing this little lake offers quite a bit. They also have a small shop inside of the ranger station where you can pick up things like puzzles, hats, souvenirs and more. The park is easy to reach from the interstate and it is close to town so you are close to shopping, restaurants and more. If you forgot something like a toothbrush or just want to pick up some more drinks/snacks there is a Dollar General just three minutes away from where the park is located. You can find more information on their cabin rentals and rates by visiting their website.

 Disclaimer- A two night cabin rental mentioned above were provided by The Arizona State Parks Department for a review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase