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| - After arriving in Phoenix and discovering that the hotel we booked didn't have our reservation (thanks, Extended Stay America!), we had to scramble to find a place for the night. Being that it was the day of the BCS National Championship, every hotel was booked solid throughout the greater Phoenix area.
As we drove from the airport to the game, I got on the horn and called everywhere I could... and sure enough, this Holiday Inn Express just had a cancellation. It was a smoking room, and we didn't smoke, but we jumped on it. But gosh, it was expensive. It came out to about $260 for one night. Brutal. But we needed to sleep somewhere, and the rental car wasn't very spacious.
The guy at the desk was surprisingly speedy and friendly. We were in our room within minutes of arrival, The room was in great shape and you could barely tell it was a smoking room... much better than some hotels I've stayed at lately that are non-smoking.
Overall, it was a great experience. It's maybe 10 minutes from the University of Phoenix Stadium, although it's a good 35-40 minutes to the airport. And the biggest strike against them is that hefty price tag. But it's a fine place to stay.
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