After an abysmal failure of a hotel stay in Laughlin, NV, we were looking forward to moving on. We found Drury Inn & Suites while googling for Flagstaff, Arizona hotels, and it looked wonderful. We wanted to be sure to be somewhere comfortable since we would be staying for two nights, so we booked a suite and made the trek.
The living area of the suite was comfortable and inviting. After a bit of nursing to reconnect after a long day in the car, Anneliese made herself at home at the desk area, drawing pictures on the hotel’s pad of paper. Joseph ran around and explored, giggling and grinning.
There is a small kitchen area with a microwave, coffee maker, sink, and mini fridge. Nothing too fancy, but useful basics. We set up our pack and play in the bedroom for Joseph, and Anneliese had her own Queen bed. The bathroom is equipped with a water conserving toilet which uses grey (reclaimed) water, which is important in the desert.
At breakfast, we were happy to see Real Food, not just the typical cereal and danish setup like at a lot of hotels. We enjoyed the sausage, potatoes, scrambled eggs, cheese, and bananas.
There was also make-your-own-waffles, biscuits and gravy, cereal, low-fat yogurt, and apples. I was sad to see that the butter wasn’t actually butter, but “buttery spread,” and the syrup wasn’t real either. Low-fat yogurt always makes me sad, but this was even sadder becuase it was “diet” low-fat yogurt, sweetened with aspartame. I skipped it of course, but I know a lot of people wouldn’t care or notice.
The staff I’ve come across has all been wonderful and friendly during our stay, and quite cheerful. The hotel manager, Jeff Theiss chatted with me a bit about how students from the local university are always taking photographs and interviewing him for class projects. The hotel also employs many university students, some of whom are studying in the hospitality field.
Our second evening at Drury Inn, we had the opportunity to check out some of their other perks, which include hot food and cold beverages each evening. We were relieved to not have to search for a restaurant to take the kids to, after a long day exploring the Grand Canyon together (post to follow). The food was simple but that’s all we needed. We enjoyed salads, raw vegetables, hot dogs, soup, and meatballs.
There were also baked potatoes, pasta, and some other things we skipped. The Guy and I had gin & tonics and the lady who made the drinks also made Anneliese a special drink – water with a bit of orange juice, ice, a lime, and a cherry. Anneliese mostly drank her water, but she was thrilled to have a “special” drink like Mom and Dad had.
Other included perks are popcorn and soft drinks in the lobby 24/7 (we didn’t partake, but you might), 24 hour coffee, and included wifi without any annoying password to log in with or account to sign up with.
Since we’re several days into our trip by this point, we had some laundry to do, and were able to get that done in the hotel too. Joseph helped, of course. Laundry is his favorite chore.
We will absolutely look for Drury Inns from now on, hoping to find them in the cities and towns where we need to stop along our trip. We had never heard of Drury hotels before this road trip, so in case you hadn’t either, I thought I’d write this up. Rarely has a hotel stay been so pleasant!
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I don’t know if you’ll be heading through Nebraska or not, but there’s a great hotel in Omaha that has a full kitchen in every room! It’s called Element 🙂 Safe travels!