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My family recently enjoyed a wonderful vacation in Williamsburg, Virginia. We love visiting Colonial Williamsburg at Christmas and visiting Christmas Town at Busch Gardens theme park.
We chose a brand new hotel that we had never stayed at before. That hotel is Rodeway Inn Historic.
Today, I want to review the hotel. I will go over the positives and negatives of the hotel. Luckily (spoiler alert) I can already tell you the positives do outweigh the negatives.
But you’ll have to read the full review to find out the positives and negatives. And afterward, I can tell you how to save money on your hotel rates.
Positives
Location
Rodeway Inn Historic had been a hotel I had been wanting to stay for. The main reason is its proximity to Colonial Williamsburg. It is actually within walking distance of Colonial Williamsburg, and a very short drive, too. It’s also about a fifteen-minute drive from Busch Gardens, too. It is also right next door to a really good pancake house, Colonial Pancake House.
Layout
Now, a lot of the hotels around Colonial Williamsburg do not have elevators, which I do not like. And that is one of the things I like about Rodeway Inn Historic. It is all on one floor.
Therefore, there is no need for an elevator and it is handicap accessible.
It also is honestly a lot easier when it comes to unloading your car. And the Rodeway Inn’s motel type set-up means you can park your car right in front of your room. So you can easily pack and unpack your car.
Rooms
Another big positive of this hotel to me is the rooms. I was surprised by how spacious they were.
The room I stayed in had two queen beds, rather than double beds, which I really liked.
I loved the color scheme of the hotel. I also loved the drapes, comforter, pillows, wallpaper, and artwork. The room was just pretty, and that puts me in a better mood during a vacation.
Hotel Look & Atmosphere
I also like the look of Rodeway Inn. It has a great historic feel to it, which adds to a Colonial Williamsburg trip.
The lobby is also really cute and has a nice historic feel to it. It was decorated for Christmas when I went and the decorations were really pretty.
The seats were comfortable, too.
Pricing
One of the main reasons I really like this hotel is the pricing. For a hotel that is so close to Colonial Williamsburg and convenient to Busch Gardens as well, it is incredibly reasonable. Staying here means you’ll have enough money in your budget for other Williamsburg activities!
Negatives
Service
The main negative of my stay here would have to be the service. I had gotten there early and thought I would see if there was a room ready. Usually, when I come early to a hotel I go ahead and check in. Sometimes a room is available and sometimes it is not, it depends.
But I’ve never had anyone be rude to me when I come early. The guy behind the front desk was incredibly rude, laughed at me, and told me to come back at 3:00 PM. Even though the check-in time clearly stated 2:00 PM. And when I did come back at 3:00 PM, there was no employee there even in the lobby and I had to wait around to check-in. So yeah, not the best experience.
Lobby
So as I said before, the lobby was really cute. But it was a bit on the small side. And they had no bathroom in the lobby. Which really is a pain if you are there early since they won’t let you in your room. So I think that is something to keep in mind if you stay here.
Rooms
As I said earlier, I really loved the rooms. But if I had anything negative to say about them, it would be that the bathrooms were a bit on the small side. Additionally, the TV was not that large. These wouldn’t be reasons enough for me to not stay here, but I thought it should be stated.
Breakfast
One negative of the experience, too, would be the breakfast. The hotel advertises that they have a continental breakfast.
But it really isn’t a continental breakfast. They just had coffee, juice, and some fruit.
The reason given was COVID-19.
But I really don’t think that is the reason because lots of other hotels are at the very least providing grab-and-go breakfasts. It really appears to be just a measure by the hotel to be cheap.
Now, this wouldn’t deter me from going. I just think it’s something you need to know when you are budgeting.
And if you do end up staying here, you can always go to one of the many great pancake houses in Williamsburg. The most convenient is the Colonial Pancake House. It is conveniently located right next to the hotel so you can just walk there. And there are other pancake houses that are really close, like Capitol Pancake House.
Conclusion
The main negatives of this hotel would be poor service and the promise of a continental breakfast that just wasn’t there.
But the positives, to me, far outweigh those negatives. The location is great (within walking distance of Colonial Williamsburg and near Busch Gardens). The rooms are spacious and attractive with queen beds. It is all one floor so unlike other Historic Williamsburg hotels, it is handicap-accessible. And the rates are really reasonable.
So if you are looking for an affordable hotel in a great location in Williamsburg, then I think Rodeway Inn is a great choice.
Click here to get started booking your stay.
