# How close is a hotel to your house? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 11, 2026, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364 "2026-03-11T12:17:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/61 "2026-03-11T18:08:07Z")
Two probably within a mile. I’ve walked past the entryway to them, and they are down the street from the gas station I usually go to. They are close to a freeway exit, and both are reasonably good brands, though I’ve never stayed there. There are probably well over a dozen within 10 miles from my house, mostly along the freeway. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/62 "2026-03-11T18:15:41Z")
There are a bunch of nice but not super fancy hotels around three miles away. I just looked and there’s an Airbnb just around the corner. Santa Barbara has a five day minimum stay law so it will set you back $4500 for the minimum length. I saw the pictures. It’s the same floor plan as mine and mine is much more updated. Well over 300 guests have left ratings. I had no idea. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/63 "2026-03-11T18:28:43Z")
Eight Airbnbs within a half mile . The closest hotel I can think of is about 1.5 miles away. I live within five miles of one airport and ten miles of another (in the opposite direction) so lots of hotels very close by. I really have no room for guests (other than my children and grandchildren, who can sleep in hte living room if necessary) We have our bedroom and one other bedroom with a twin bed. Plus the only people who are likely to want to stay are the ones who asked my daughter why we never invite them to stay and there are reasons for that. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/64 "2026-03-11T18:56:43Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > why we never invite them to stay and there are reasons for that. I imagine we all know people like them… ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/65 "2026-03-11T18:59:00Z")
When visiting a close friend or relatives you get along with for 3 days or so: _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/65))_ ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/66 "2026-03-11T19:06:39Z")
It’s highly dependent on the state of their home and on the specific people. As an example, there’s a couple who are good friends of mine from the live music scene but had never been to where I live. One of them had business in my town and they were going to stay for an extra couple of days. I offered my house for the after business trip part and they said something about how they prefer hotels and politely declined. They did come over to the house before dinner one night and after sitting on the couch briefly they looked at each other and smiled and one of them said, “we’ll stay with you next time”. It turned out that a few months earlier they stayed at a different friend’s house and it was a hoarder nightmare with fleas. They didn’t want a repeat experience. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/67 "2026-03-11T19:09:53Z")
There’s a recently-revamped Holiday Inn Express 1.6 miles from my house. Conveniently located near the interstate exit. I walk by it occasionally on my daily walk. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/68 "2026-03-11T19:10:26Z")
I can offer a beautiful view of the Columbia River, and easy access to Portland via bus and/or light rail. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/69 "2026-03-11T19:16:29Z")
There are two hotels just a few hundred yards from my apartment. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/70 "2026-03-11T19:27:35Z")
Very nice AirBnB across the street, plus others in town. The closest name brand hotel is a Holiday Inn, but it’s inconvenient to get there from here, because it’s on the freeway and it’s not possible to get to it on surface roads, unless you walk. Which also means it’s not convenient for public transportation. Speaking of public transportation, I’m only 15 minutes from the center of Luzern. And there are hotels there. A lot of them, in every price range. After my parents visited a few years ago, we decided to stop dedicating space to infrequent guests. So any guests would probably prefer to go to a hotel, rather than sleep on the floor. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/71 "2026-03-11T19:29:29Z")
4.4 miles (according to Google Maps) to a really crappy motel that I would not stay in, or 6.7 (again, according to Google Maps) miles to someplace that I would actually recommend. If you want the “reasonable, non-creepy” option (per the OP), you’re going the full 6.7 miles. I live in a small town so 6.7 miles is basically all the way on the other side of town. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/72 "2026-03-11T20:53:39Z")
Literally a 10-minute walk from where I live. It’s across the street from one of the entrances to the Barrandov film studio in Prague (this studio participated in the filming of _Amadeus_), which may have something to do with its location. I haven’t seen the rooms but looks to be three-star. I sometimes eat lunch in the restaurant, which however is open for breakfast (for guests) and for lunch (for the public) and works more like a bar in the evening. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/73 "2026-03-11T21:39:24Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > we decided to stop dedicating space to infrequent guests. **FCD** ’s late parents were the only guests we had stay with us for ages. Once a SIL came for a few days, and she preferred the futon in the basement. One of Daughter’s friends stayed with us because Daughter has a 2-BR house, 2 kids, 2 cats, and a dog - no room for sleep-over company. The only reason we keep a guest room now is for when the grands sleep over - I expect when they get older and less “scared” they’ll opt for the basement with its big TV and less grandparental oversight. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![motu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/motu/32/259_2.png) [@motu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/motu)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/74 "2026-03-11T22:54:25Z")
I live less than two miles north of a major interstate highway. 3.5-4.0 miles east and west of me are highway interchanges with multiple hotel options. The second next highway interchanges east and west of me have casinos with hotels maybe eight miles-ish away from me. To the north, I have two AirBnBs about a mile away in a historical district. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/75 "2026-03-11T23:05:29Z")
I’m near UCCS (University of Colorado, Colorado Springs) and roughly 2 miles east from the interstate, so there a 3-5 reasonable places (and two more questionable places) that someone could stay within 2.5 miles of the house. And a metric ton of smaller scale options in the general location, though many of these are booked around major on-campus occasions. The lower reviewed to acceptable options include Super 8 (newer), La Quinta, and Quality Inns, up to a much nicer Hyatt and Marriot. Add another half dozen decent places if I go out to 3.5 miles. We aren’t _close_ to anything other than UCCS, but we’re pretty central, being not too far from _anything_. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/76 "2026-03-11T23:07:54Z")
Hm, I just Googled for “hotels near me”. It gives me a small map with pushpins on it, but it’s too small, hard to read. There’s a button on the map that says “view larger map”, and so I clicked that. Which gave me something that wasn’t a map at all, just a listing of a bunch of hotels and their rates. In fact, nothing I do on any of those hotel listings can give me a map. That said, I was able to find an address for one of them, which appears to be about three blocks away. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/77 "2026-03-11T23:31:09Z")
There are a Marriot and a Sheraton (a block apart) about a mile away. There is a bus that stops in front of one them that stops around a 1/4 mile from my place. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/78 "2026-03-11T23:33:11Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > In fact, nothing I do on any of those hotel listings can give me a map. Go to Google Maps, go to the area where you’re looking for hotels, and just search for “hotels” on the map. It should show you the locations of all the hotels in that area, and you can scroll, zoom, or whatever you need to do to see them all. That’s actually how I typically search for hotels nowadays, since most of the time location is the most important factor to me. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/79 "2026-03-11T23:48:28Z")
I live near an onsen (hot springs) area so there are some really nice onsen hotels that are pricey. There are some guest houses and some less expensive onsen hotels. This area is about 5 km away so 10 miles by car. Our apartment is typically Japanese style and while we’ve had a couple of homestay exchange students stay for a couple of months at a time, and some of our kids’ friends stay (one at a time) it’s much better to stay at a hotel. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2026, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-is-a-hotel-to-your-house/1028364/80 "2026-03-11T23:54:16Z")
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