My husband and I recently had occasion to be back in our hometown area for an overnight stay. Because I'm from Louisa and Mike is from Pikeville, we feel "at home" either place or anywhere in between.
So, a few days before our trip, I went online to hotel shop for our overnight stay.
The first place I looked was the hotels in Louisa... well, as small of a town as Louisa is, both of their hotels best prices were ridiculous when compared to other offerings. You would think that rates in a small town would be more competitive but it's just the opposite.
As an example, Best Western Plus on 23 across from McDonalds and the birdhouse - best rate for a king non smoking regular room was 130.00 plus tax.
Instead, I booked a king suite in Comfort Suites by the MAC in Prestonsburg for 109.00 plus tax. This was not just their king room, it was a suite, so we got a lot more relaxing space, a couch, coffee table and such.
Not only that, but I asked for early check in so we could get settled and catch our breath before heading to our event. They kindly obliged and we checked in at 12:10 instead of the customary 3:00 pm that most hotels hold you to.
The hotel was clean, the staff cordial, the room was clean, comfortable, and everything was in good working order like it was supposed to be. The stay was quiet so we got good rest. The Door Dash delivery was fast and direct to us with the pizza still almost too hot to eat! Kudos to Door Dash in the Prestonsburg area.
The hotel has a gym, an indoor pool, ample parking, and complimentary breakfast, and the room has all the usuals like microwave and mini fridge, working desk and free Wi-Fi, cable flat screen tv, usb phone and laptop charging hookups and hair dryers etc.
I don't know why little towns like Louisa have to charge so much more for a stay with many less features... but it would seem if they want to draw tourism, they would make their rates more competitive.
My personal guess as to the reason they keep their rates so high is because corporations book their workers who are onsite for extended stays into the hotel and by keeping the rates so high they make more from these companies. That is just a guess on my part and I have no data to back that up.
In the recent past, Mike and I have stayed at Best Western Plus in Louisa; we've stayed at the Carriage House in Paintsville and the hotel south of Pikeville there on 23 and now Comfort Suites in Prestonsburg, so I can make a fair comparison.
Comfort Suites by the MAC in Prestonsburg wins hands down across the board. Not only are their room rates the best, The hotel is very comfortable, ascetically pleasing, good location, multiple amenities, very nice staff, able to handle special requests without extra charge and room rates that are very good even for weekend stays. Oh and they have a generous cancellation policy and you aren't pre charged.
And had the stay been on a week day and not a weekend - our same King Suite here at Comfort Suites would be 85.00 plus tax.
Just passing on the info for folks who come to visit in the area, and to the tourism folks in Lawrence County... competively priced accomodations might go a long way to helping pull people into your area where, like us, they would spend extra money during their stay.
Just food for thought. read more