First time Ironman this year down in Louisville, looking to secure my hotel rooms soon. Suggestions and opinions from people who have done this race before. Reasonable price and proximity to race biggest concerns to think about. Thank you ahead of time ST
I found the Clarion across the river in Clarksville to be cheap, clean, and closeby. link
We’ve stayed at the Hampton Inn in downtown Louisville a couple of times. It’s nice, includes parking, they have fridges and microwaves in the room, and is just a couple of blocks from the finish line. There is also a convenience store right across the street.
http://www.hotels.com/hotel/details.html?hotelId=108031&tab=description
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I’ve stayed at the Hyatt on 4th Street for IM Louisville 2x. Literally, right at the finish line. It is closer to the finish line than the med tent!!!
This may not meet your “reasonable price” requirement, but I will stay at the Hyatt if (when) I go back.
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Until PF derailed my plans for IMKY last year, I had a reservation at the Residence Inn downtown. Very close to the start line and has a kitchenette, so meals are easy and cheap. Seemed like the perfect option.
“reasonable” is a qualification that only you can answer…
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Very true, to clarify “reasonable”, I would love to be around or below $100 per night, definitely can’t go over $150 a night. Thanks again everyone for contributing.
I know some folks think I’m crazy, but I’ll be staying at the Hawthorn Suites, which lies a little over 9 miles out from the race site, by the intersections of I-64 and I-264. Great quality, great price (123.75/night for 4 nights), in a nice part of town, and near a commercial center with lots of good food choice, movies, and shopping.
One, I like being a bit away from all the action and energy of the central city and the IM. Nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there. Did the same for Florida, and it worked for me.
Second, my girlfriend will be with me, so I’ll have good support. Not sure I would do it this way if she were not going to be with me.
Anyhoo, that’s my story.
Good luck with the race!
I stayed at the Hyatt too and highly recommend it. The location was fantastic and compared to the Galt House race hotel there were no lines and the location next to the finish line was great post-race. Great race and overall experience.
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I can’t stay anywhere near the race hotel. Just too much stupid triathlon Ironman tension lunacy going on. I too have stayed across the river. Much cheaper and more relaxing.
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The galt house is the host hotel. It’s nothing special but you can’t beat the location
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Has anyone stayed at the Hilton? Looks to be a little cheaper then the Hyatt and still close to the finish.
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I stayed at the Courtyard Marriott. I thought it had really good proximity to everything - around .5 miles to the swim exit and about the same to the Galt House. They also had a breakfast buffet for the athletes around 4am with coffee, bagels, and bananas.
If you’re going solo, I’d recommend staying somewhere close to transition. They have shuttles from the finish line to transition, so you won’t have to lug your gear very far. If you have support with you, I’d stay at the Hyatt. It’s literally on the finish line.
Also, book directly through the hotel you’re staying at. Last February, I booked (and fully paid) through Expedia for a room at the Residence Inn, and got a call the week before the race saying the Residence Inn was full.
I stayed at the Galt house for Ironman in 2012 and it was ok but as previously mentioned the elevators are a challenge all the time and the thing that really bothered me was there was no breakfast for the athletes on race day. They couldn’t even have the forward thinking of opening their restaurants early on Sunday, not to mention they would have made a killing…
Ditto the Hampton Inn. Clean hotel. Walking distance to start, finish and restaurants. They even opened up breakfast early on race day.
I stayed across the river from Transition last year. Jeffersonville, Indiana is technically the city. Can’t remember the hotel but it was apart of the Marriott chain. Great room and was away from the “mess”…just as easy to get to the race site or anywhere else for that matter as it would be staying at the Gait House. Fairfield Inn…that was it…haha
I’m with ya on this. Just transitioned from CDA to Louisville so am a bit late jumping on the hotel. Can you share where you stayed across the river? Will have the wife and toddler with me so it’s important to us to stay away from the general craziness…
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there are pros and cons with the host hotel (including the busy/crowded elevators) but the location to the start/finish line and the expo far outweigh the negatives for me.
We stayed at the Holiday Inn (i think) just across the river. I think it was one of the older ones, but it was fine. There are several hotels right there.
+1 on the Hyatt. Literally right outside the finish chute. Best thing ever after a hot and nasty day to be able to walk 50 feet and be in the hotel lobby. Walk is a little longer in the morning that the galt house, but it’s only a couple of extra blocks.
Ramada Inn North on Zorn Ave. this hotel is just off River Rd on Zorn Ave less then 3 miles from transition. The bike course goes right past the hotel literally on your way out of town from transition.
Reasonably priced. Pool. Hot breakfast.
Not sure what their rates are for Ironman but nice accommodations. Good location and a great hotel to stay at if you’re going to LV for a training weekend.