Only 7 minutes by car, using the back door route, from the rent-a-car lots and near the fight path of Charlotte Airport, this is a good overnight hotel. Located right next to I-85and Little Rock Rd. it’s easy to get to and had enough amenities that should take of the business or couples travelers [with a rental car] who have a morning departure or late evening arrival.
The rooms are quite large, the bed comfortable [although our king bed was shove very close to the wall & A/C unit], lighting was a little dim for the room size, microwave, a fair sized refrigerator, an average good sized bath and an A/C that can grow icicles on the walls [always a plus for me as this makes for better sleeping than a toss and turn warm room]. The pool is really a way over sized very warm Jacuzzi with strong jets and there is a small exercise room, with enough equipment to burn off a few calories.
Speaking of calories, you may not have too worry getting to many of them, unless you’re into carry out and fast-food. Get the list of nearby “restaurants” from the front desk, but nearby fine dining is not one of the strong points of this location [hopefully a good sit down restaurant will move into the area]. We ended up driving the local region and then the 15 minutes, via Wilkinson Blvd., into downtown Charlotte finally ending up on the south side of I-277 [where we found two restaurants between South Tyrone and South College crossed by East Bland St.] dining at the "Greek Isle" which I would highly recommend [they also have outdoor tables near the light rail tracks which was fun without the heavy rail freight car noise].
Other positives for the Wingate are:
• A very close gas station for final fill up’s before returning the rental car.
• A free business center to get your boarding passes and other needs
• A good inclusive breakfast, with a “Make your own waffles” station”, they provide the batter in a cup – you pour it in the griddle, flip it over and a couple of minutes later – voila – a fresh warm breakfast, better than a toaster.
Best to request a room in the back of the building as there is a tree line and rear door to the parking lot, it also puts you away from the nearby overpass/highway. Of note: You will get the occasional jet passing right over head of the hotel, but we only notice this a couple of times in our top floor room and that was on the odd path where I could see the plane looking up & out the window.
Note: “Map location”, as of this review, puts the hotel on the wrong side of the highway. The Wingate is on the north side of the I-85 on Business Center Drive.