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I'm from Halifax and I plan to take my niece to the Magnetic Hill Zoo sometime in August. I was looking at the HI Express and Hampton Inn (I've stayed at the Hampton Inn in Dartmouth before I started living there and it is my favourite hotel) and they both look like nice places, but they are a bit pricey. Are there any other hotels as nice as the HI or Hampton that are more affordable? I'd love to know :)
There are many good hotels in Moncton are:
- Hotel Moncton
- Rodd Moncton
- Atlantic Motel
- Colonial Inn Moncton
- Etc ...
Halong cruise-Vietnam travel-Bai Tho cruise
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The trouble with asking locals is that they don't usually stay at hotels that are local.
I'm currently staying at the Holiday Inn Express, it's pretty good and VERY handy to the zoo and Magic Mountain. You can find discounts through CAA I think, and government discounts too.
The first night we were in a suite which was AWESOME when you have young kids, you can put them to bed at a reasonable time, close the door and still stay up with the adults in your party. Unfortunately the second night we weren't able to score that same room when we booked later (a hockey tournament? In July?), and the room we ended up with is less than stellar. We were able to check in this morning once we got our stuff out of the suite, that was a plus since check in time is normally at 4, we were able to take a break from Magic Mountain activities and get some lunch to take back to the hotel. The bad part is, it's on the second floor, no elevator, I suspect this is an older part of the hotel. But still has a fridge, a microwave and a coffemaker as the suite did. I wouldn't highly recommend this part of the hotel, it's a bit older I think.
The pool is mediocre; my kid enjoyed it, but I strongly suspect that it hasn't been cleaned or had the water changed in some time, it doesn't look clear. The hot tub smells very strongly of chlorine, which suggests the chlorine has broken down due to what's happening in there, I would not recommend it.
Hot breakfast is a nice feature. Coffee, eggs, sausage patties, oatmeal, biscuits, bagels, toast, yogurt and a pancake machine (never saw that kind of machine before!). It's not gourmet, no bacon, it's served on paper plates with plastic forks, but it's included.
Something good they don't advertise, there's barbeques and picnic tables apparently available to guests out in the courtyard near the pool, we saw them today. If I'd known, I would have brought cooking tools and grilled supper the last two nights. Grocery store is close by, less than ten minutes. It's tricky to turn left onto Mountain Road though, it's a busy street.
In both rooms though, the walls are thin, the doors slam if you let them (including the bathroom door in the suite), and some people are inconsiderate and still think they're at their house a mile from anyone when they carry on. Last night around 11, I heard someone knocking on the door across the hall and telling them that they were too loud and could they please tone it down, and the loud folks were in their room (we heard them too). Tonight at 8:30, there were kids yelling at their parents through closed doors that they were going to the pool, not considering that those of us with kids six and under already in bed and didn't really appreciate the yelling.
Wow, barbeques?! That's really convenient. But I'm not sure if I like the idea of the walls being thin. And the pool sounds yucky. We might just stick with the Hampton Inn off the highway because we know they are a spotless hotel and very friendly staff. Thanks for the review, Zonny! :)
FYI, if you have CAA you can get a discount at the zoo.
i'm not sure about hotels here but you might want to consider taking your niece to centeniel park. they have a beach you can swim in for a fee (i think its 3 or 4$ per person.) they also have a free splash pad but thats mostly for smaller kids and there is also a lot of playground equipment to play on. they do have paddle boat and canoe rentals but i'm not sure how much they cost. it might give you something to do while youre here and would be probably be cheaper than magic mountain. (not saying you shouldnt go to magic mountain it is also a lot of fun just a suggestion if you are looking for something to do one day that doesnt cost quite as much.)