Carbondale Hotel Accommodation

Carbondale Hotels

Kayak across the glassy waters of expansive lakes, cheer with the crowd at raucous baseball games, and get lost in the breathtaking beauty of forest-covered parklands when you visit the tranquil town of Carbondale in Illinois. This charming southern town has it all. Landscaped public areas adorned with swathes of colorful flowers, charming stores with an old-world feel, and an impressive backdrop of rolling hills and calm blue lakes that tempt visitors to leave the streets behind and explore the wilderness on their doorstep.

Things to see

The unusual Rent One Park is home to the Southern Illinois Miners, a large and modern baseball field that dispenses with the traditional red brick look favored by ball fields across the States. On game days, crowds of people pour into the stadium to overlook the diamond and cheer their team on to victory. Even the lush lawns outside are packed with spectators, admiring the action on sky high screens as they feast on picnics, while children run amok in the play area provided. It’s a similar story over at the Benton Civic Center when popular events come to this enormous convention hall. Audiences pack into the halls to listen to musical extravaganzas, laugh at comedy shows, and marvel at flamboyant dramatic productions. Not far away, the Illinois Centre Mall attracts shoppers with the flashy window displays of over 50 stores and restaurants. It’s a single level mall that boasts 3 major US department stores, and a collection of tempting boutiques and designer outlets that sell everything from trendy fashion to homeware staples.

Hotels in Carbondale

Hotels in Carbondale are the ideal base for exploring the lower reaches of Illinois, where State Parks and sparkling lakes make up much of the landscape. It has a homely feel, and you won’t find streets dominated by towering, modern accommodation. Instead, this university town has plenty of comfortable motels, and discount hotels, where you can enjoy the laidback feel of this quiet southern municipality. Wherever you decide to stay you can expect spacious bedrooms, often with 2 queen beds, televisions, en-suite bathrooms, and air conditioning, and since most hotels in Carbondale have complimentary parking for guests, bringing a hire car is a convenient option.

Where to stay

Carbondale is laid back and spacious, vast expanses of green parks merged between red brick buildings and quaint stone-built churches. There’s a relaxed approach to life here, where the broad main avenues are lined with colonial-era buildings and independent stores that take shade beneath colorful awnings. Most hotels in Carbondale are located on the main routes that bisect the town, away from the sleepy residential neighborhoods, but still close to the flower-filled central plaza and cozy cafés.

How to get to Carbondale

This part of Illinois is littered with regional and local airports, but many of them don’t accept international flights. One of the easiest entry points is via the Louisville International Airport in the east, although it’s a good 3.5 hour drive from there. There are interstate buses that make the journey, but it’s worth hiring a car just to enjoy the startlingly beautiful scenery of the Mineral Mounds State Park, or the Cave-In-Rock State Park along the way.