"Unchained"

I spend a fair amount of time on the road around New York and as of late I've decided to "unchain" myself. That is, to stop staying at the "chain" hotels and motels and find the quality local places that often get ignored by the travel-dot-coms. Some of these are really unique (that can mean a lot of things..) or are real lost treasures, known only to the locals or folks that have been going there for years.

If you don't find them readily on the web there may be a reason for that; word of mouth is better than a ton of advertising. Some owners would rather have return clientele they can count on and and avoid the occasional passer-by.

About a year ago I was in Scio, near Wellsville along the Rte 17/86 southern tier trail. One of the local folks I know suggested the Long Vue Motel as a spot to stay. I booked it and found it to be clean, quiet and while not exactly modern, they had WI-FI and the info on where to get the best eats. When you're there venture into Wellsville to the Beef Haus and get a "weck" off of the menu, awesome.

Recently I found another really nice "unchained" place in Lockport about 20 minutes outside Niagara Falls. The Lockport Inn and Suites were warm, friendly, clean, modern and a great bargain. They even cleaned my car off when it snowed.... Try finding that amenity at a chain...

I'll be hitting the Souther Tier Trail next...

TK