MAM Virginia Beach show -- hotel recommendations?

[K5DH]

I'm thinking about attending the MAM air show in May. There are oodles of hotels in the Norfolk and Va. Beach areas, but there doesn't seem to be much within at least 15 miles of the Museum's airfield. I'm not interested in deLuxe accommodations to make my wife happy. I'll be there alone. I'm looking for recommendations -- from people who have "been there, done that" -- for a decent room, at a decent price, free of 4/6/8-legged vermin, in a location where I won't have to be afraid of two-legged vermin if I walk outside in the dark. Your opinions on "yea" or "nay", and why? Any other tips for making the most of this show?

Anyone? Buehler?

Last edited by K5DH on Sat Feb 09, 2013 5:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[ripcard]

Subscribed.

[pjpahs]

I have vacation time for that week and plan on going to Udvar Hazy, then Washington D.C. then Virginia Beach. There are a 122+ hotels around there and I'm having the same problem. I want to stay on the beach and I've looked at Tripadvisor.com , the reviews are current,not reading what happened 2-3 years ago. The first week of April I will be in Ft.Worth Tx. visiting relatives and plan on visiting Cavanaugh, V.F.M. , and going down to Fredricksburg to the Nimitz Museum. I know where I will stay in TX., but Virginia Beach I need a little advice,or trust the reviews.

[wgrosz]

I know that the museum has a special with the Cavalier which they open the old hotel early just for the airshow. The entertainers stay there during the show but from looking the rooms are 120 a night. the info can be found http://www.militaryaviationmuseum.org/a ... -and-hotel
the one benefit is the museum runs the double decker bus to and from the hotel so you dont have to worry about parking. since I live here I dont stay in the hotels around here so I really can't make any recommendations other than the one the museum puts up.

[pjpahs]

Just reserved 4 nites on the beach at the Surfside Oceanfront hotel, thought about the Cavalier but wanted to be on the beach ,or thats where my wife wanted me to be. The shuttle from the Cavalier to the airshow would be an advantage, same as at the Lincoln Hotel in Reading for the WW2 Weekend which I used on 2011. Will be at the show after visiting Udvar Hazy and D.C. I got to find if I can visit the ME 262 , I think it's at Suffolk, paved runway, don't want to ingest grass. Now to get my tickets.

[Liza]

The ME-262 is in Suffolk.

Last year during the Suffolk Fly-in (which is first weekend in May this year), the hangar was open for people to view the items still in storage there.

[pjpahs]

Just got my tickets in the mail for the weekend plus the steak dinner. Can't wait

[mh53eflyguy]

I used to live in that area up until 2009, but I still have to go back there to visit the "out-laws" so they can see their grandchildren. You likely will not find anything super close to VA42/MAM, since Pungo is really in the middle of nowhere. Liza can back me up on that.

If you can get base access, Dam Neck is probably the closest base with lodging. You can stop by and grab some Malbon Bros. BBQ before and after the show!
Other than that, the beach strip has hundreds of rooms. I personally stay away from places with numbers in their names. Two hotels and I can definitely say "Don't do it!" is the Econolodge near 9th street (I forget exactly which street its near). I had the hardest bed, the smelliest room, and there was a dead rat in a spring rat trap. The woman at the front desk was smoking a cigarette while on O2, and would not give us a refund nor change our rooms.

Enjoy the show! I haven't been to one since its inception in 2009, but it was a fantastic show! You're in for a real treat!

[kalamazookid]

I'm at the Motel 6 on Euclid, simply because it's cheap and I'm on a tight budget. I'll be arriving late Friday and will be at the show Saturday. Not sure about Sunday yet- will have to see how my budget's going. Looking forward to an awesome show. Look for me- I'll probably be the only one there in a Detroit Red Wings shirt.

[Liza]

Another option for those coming - sorry for being last minute - is in the Greenbrier Mall area. They have many hotel options without having to pay beach prices. One would come across on Indian River Road to Pungo and then turn south on Princess Anne Road.

[EBvette]

Time has come, leaving Loudoun County, VA to drive across state to Virginia Beach, we chose to stay at Cavalier Hotel, as this is our first time down at that corner of VA....see you all tomorrow.