where to stay for aquarium stop on way to Florida?

We are planning on making a 2 night stop, on the way to Florida, to visit the aquarium.

I%26#39;ve been trying to get familiar with the neighbourhoods but I%26#39;m not sure where it is best that we stay.

I don%26#39;t want to pay the hefty prices for the downtown hotels, but would like easy access to the aquarium, and the 1-75, and something that might have shopping and restaurants around.

We are planning on leaving Monday am for Florida, if that makes a difference.

Any advice to get me on the right track?

where to stay for aquarium stop on way to Florida?

There are plenty of reasonably priced hotels in both the Cumberland Mall area near the I-75/I-285 interchange just south of Marietta, and in the Perimeter Center area near I-285 and GA Hwy 400. Both are close enough to downtown to allow for a reasonably easy drive, have lots of restaurants (albeit mostly chain/family places rather than fine dining) and shopping on offer, and are reasonably safe, nice areas. Personally, I%26#39;d tend to prefer the Perimeter Center area, as it%26#39;s a bit safer/nicer and has three MARTA rail stations nearby to allow you to get to Buckhead, Midtown, and Downtown without driving if you choose, but Cumberland has the advantage of being immediately on your route, instead of requiring a bit of a detour to the east once you hit I-285. Either should be fine, and hotel rates for Embassy Suites/Homewood Suites/Hyatt Place/Residence Inn class hotels are often under $100/night for weekend stays.

Of course, on weekends, you can often get rooms in Buckhead or even Midtown for not a lot more than that, and you%26#39;d be that much closer in.

The drawback for either would be that you%26#39;d potentially have to deal with rush hour traffic getting through or around downtown if you leave early on a Monday morning. Best bets would be to plan to leave very early Monday morning (before 7 am at least) or wait until 9 or 9:30 before hitting the road.

Unfortunately, there aren%26#39;t a lot of areas south of downtown that would be as easy to use as a base for your time in Atlanta, or that would offer the same combination of value and safety as Cumberland or Perimeter.

where to stay for aquarium stop on way to Florida?

thanks for the info :)

benefit