Harrisonburg isn't exactly awash with upscale places and when choosing between Marriott Courtyards, Motel 6 and other equivalent brands it was pretty easy to let my Hilton HHonors Gold status sway me and pick the Hampton Inn for $115+tax for a Saturday night.

The hotel is situated a short drive from Interstate 81 and the middle of the town itself. Your usual chain restaurant suspects were nearby; Outback, IHOP etc, not my cup of tea but there if you need it. My wife went to James Madison University and knew better places in the city itself.

I had checked in online the day before and had been offered an upgraded room (With 'Larger Living Area'), and judging by the map on the door of the room there was only one room of this size on each floor (148, 248, 348, 448).

The welcome was warm and friendly unlike other Hamptons I've stayed at where you get the impression those on the front desk were 'just doing their job'. We were reminded the clocks go back tonight and to enjoy our extra hour of sleep! I got a chance to see the reception area which included a PC with free internet access. This was good for someone like me who doesn't travel with a laptop and if you do then Hamptons offer free wireless internet...

The room itself was spacious enough, certainly the biggest non-Suite room I've had at a Hampton Inn. Imagine taking the bathroom out of the standard room layout and that was the living area. (For posterity's sake the bathroom turned the room into an 'L' shape, it wasn't completely missing!) Hopefully the pictures I'll add later will make sense! Either way if you get offered the upgrade to the X48 rooms then take it!

The room had a largish couch, fridge, microwave even a fax machine. The bed as usual with Hilton Family hotels was pretty comfortable. Plenty of channels to keep you occupied too...

Breakfast the following morning (6am-10am on Sunday) was quite comprehensive. Not the biggest spread I've seen at a Hampton but a range of pastries, yoghurts, cereals, bagels, coffee and a small hot food selection (just sausage and eggs). I found the sausage with hot sauce was actually quite tasty! The lobby/breakfast area seemed recently refurbished and was quite pleasant.

Overall I'd say the Hampton wasn't bad at all, in fact as Hamptons go it was pretty good especially with the nice upgrade to the bigger room. I'd certainly return.