Room Service: Red Roof Inn Harrisburg North (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)

Red Roof Inn Harrisburg North
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

The capital city of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, is conveniently surrounded by a series of expressways that form a ring around the most important districts and attractions, while along some of the exits on this sometimes confusing loop are hotels and motels of different pricing points and styles. The Red Roof Inn Harrisburg North is a property that seems to have a balance between cozy, comfortable modern rooms with prices that won't scare your budget. In my research before staying here, there are quite a few properties in this city that failed that formula.

This is a hybrid building, with rooms connected on the first floor with outdoor entrances, while the carpeted indoor second floor is made up of rooms connected by hallways and several stairwells. Whether or not you choose to stay on the first or second floor, the decor is most definitely up to date and first glances were nice and neat during this stay, from the placement of pebbles to the choice of paint on the walls upstairs. It's many steps up from the creepy motels that advise you to "leave the light on" if you ask me.

Check in was a royal coronation, with staff at front counter ready to process us with much efficiency and ease. It's almost as if I had a fun time at reception, since some of the more pointless parts of the procedure like reiterating the type of room we booked (it's a pet peeve of mine to hear some properties cover their backsides if they set us up with the wrong type of room) were sped up in some way or another. Some days, a weary traveller like I would prefer to get the room key in the shortest time possible and this time around, I was in my room in no time at all.

The accommodations here combine some creature comforts in the most meticulous of details. My room has a couch (a plus at this room rate that matches the slightly chic mirrors that have artistic spots on the frame, and my work space was laid out neatly on a simple desk that provided both space for my laptop, electronic gadgetry, and something to write in.

I got the biggest kick from the forward thinking designs that were thought up, with the aim of putting power outlets almost everywhere in the room. Not just a couple of spare outlets for a laptop and phone charger, but three on the desk and four more below the night stand beside my bed. A simple detail like that, usually foregone by properties from all sides of the spectrum has been solved so simply here, making the room as productive and convenient as you want it to be. The room's complete with a flat screen TV and a bathroom that looks a little older around the light switches, but it works out well.

What's missing here is a couple of other useful appliances that some hotels provide as standard. I'd appreciate a swimming pool or a fitness centre, and an ironing board and hair dryer without making a specific request to front desk. But the stay in general was convenient, productive, comfortable, clean and without a doubt one that has brought smiles and hopefully repeat visitors.