Columbus, Ohio..recommendations
 

I have never been to the Midwest except airports and Chicago. I have booked a *gasp* mileage run to CMH and plan to be there May 6-7 a little less than 20 hours. I'm thinking Priceline for hotel, and will probably rent a car. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

Linda

Drive to Dayton? I think there are a lot of aviation related things there.
(No slam to Columbus intended.)

I used priceline and received the Hyatt Regency Columbus. This hotel was very convenient. Some people have received the Hyatt on Capital Square. The Hyatts are both 3* in the downtown zone. There are many free rebidding opportunities for 3* in Columbus, so make sure you bid wisely.

Public transportation is pretty good in Columbus. Upon arrival at Port Columbus, take the escalator down from baggage claim level and follow the signs for ground transportation down the hallway and go up to the street level. The city bus service operates an express bus to downtown hotels. One of the first stops is in front of the Hyatt. I think the bus is $4 or 5. Taxis are about $15-20.

An Ohio State Capitol tour can be interesting. I enjoyed walking around Ohio State University, also. Definitely visit the Columbus Convention & Visitors Bureau website and order their information packet or view it online. It contains many helpful suggestions and a coupon book.

When you are returning for your flight home, if you are flying Northwest, America West, American, or United their is a priority security line for Elite frequent flyers and First Class passengers. This is very convenient, as morning and early evenings can mean very long lines at Port Columbus. This concourse contains an America West Club. If you are an America West Club, Northwest WorldClub, or Continental President's Club member you can use the lounge. If you are flying on the concourse of USAirways, Midwest Express, and Continental, I've found the lines are usually not bad.

Dayton is a wasteland (although if you like aviation stuff, WPAFB is kinda fun).

I like the CMH airport -- convenient and uncrowded. Definitely get a car. They can be had for under $20/day on weekends.

In columbus, I recommend:

-short north area, on high street (this is a large main street; everyone knows where it is) just north of downtown, south of osu campus. great for walking, a lot of stuff like cafes and art galleries... see the wexner center, a modern art exhibition space funded by the guy behind the "the limited" brands, and almost always empty. http://www.wexarts.org/
http://www.shortnorth.org

-german village area, like katzinger's deli (compares favorably even with nyc delis) and the book loft bookstore. kind of difficult to find, but very close to downtown. http://www.katzingers.com/ http://www.germanvillage.org/
http://www.bookloft.com/

-grandview ave and the grandview district. stauf's coffee and some decent restaurants and stuff. on west side of downtown, take sr315; a bit difficult to find.
http://www.staufs.com/

-easton mall, huuuge outdoor mall that tries to do a fake recreation of a small town. close to airport, i-270, east side of town just north of airport, has own exit.
http://www.eastontowncenter.com/

-polaris shopping center, just built, has a saks fifth avenue. a bit north of town, i-71 to polaris exit. this area was empty a couple of years ago.
http://www.polarispreview.com/

any other questions, just ask.

[This message has been edited by grandmasterflash (edited 05-04-2002).]

Comicwoman: Dayton? Didn't even know where Columbus was located in the state until 2 days ago. One city at a time.

TransWorldOne: I have looked at the various sites for hotel rates; the Hyatts have no vacancies and there seems to be a good percentage of nonavailability among the major hotels. Wonder if there's a convention in town. Will try Priceline for the next hour. THANK YOU for the information about the security lines and the airport lounges. I do have WorldClub membership, and elite status on NW and UA.

grandmasterflash: Wow. Thanks for the links! The German village looks interesting. Don't know what I'll be in the mood for tomorrow, but maybe I'll find a good weinerschitzel(sp?) somewhere. I've discovered Columbus has 113 restaurants in Idine. 112 more than Eugene. This will be great for the FFF2 promotion from NW.

Still debating whether to rent a car or not. The traffic is probably doable like Oregon, but I checked the weather (T-storms??). Perhaps I may sleep all day.

Linda

Having grown up in Dayton, OH I can completely agree that Dayton is a wasteland. There isn't much you can find in Dayton that you can't find in Columbus so save yourself the hour long drive, and don't go! http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/wink.gif (The Air Force Museum is kindof interesting though if you like museums.)

The Polaris Shopping Center is an upscale mall, nice for the area, but nothing spectacular if you have been to other upscale malls. However, the Easton Mall is quite an interesting place. The owner developed the property himself and even paid to have the highway exit installed. A great place to grab a meal, people watch and go out for an evening. (There's an Irish Pub right next to the Barnes and Noble that gets rowdy during European Football games.)

As for the whole priceline experience...pick a 3 or 4 star hotel. Don't go walking about if you are unfamiliar with the area; like any city Columbus has its bad parts. But, on a mileage run, the idea is to maximize the mileage per dollar right?

I lived in Columbus for many years and agree with [b]grandmasterflash[/].

Also, make sure you eat some Graeter's ice cream. You can find one on E. Main in the eastern suburb of Bexley, which is a pretty (and brief) drive from downtown.

I go to Columbus, OH every so often (I'm spending more time in Ohio than in Pennsylvania, ugh) and a few places I go to kill time

Garden Ridge & Dave & Buster's -- Across the way from each other on I-270 on the west side of town. My wife looks at craft stuff at Garden Ridge, I play games at D&B.

Easton Town Center -- A good mall to kill some time. Some nice restaurants.

Longaberger -- An hour east in Newark, OH ... A massive store with all sorts of stuff. Longaberger makes baskets. Another chick thing, I guess. The store is impressive though. Near Longaberger is Dresden, OH with lotsa craft places.

If you don't want a car, then I guess you can kill the time downtown. There's a mall there. That's all I saw, and then I left. Cars are pretty cheap so unless you really don't want to drive I'd say get one. The Pricleine hotels I usually try for are Dublin 3* (Wyndham or Marriott) and OSU 3* (Sheraton Suites).

PS: I spent six hours at the Dayton Air Force museum and still didn't finish. But I am fascinated by these things. My wife was done in 3 hours http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif