When my husband and I decided to attend a college football game at the University of Tennessee, I immediately started searching for a close and affordable hotel. What I found was the Days Inn Alcoa Knoxville Airport location, conveniently located approximately eight miles from downtown Knoxville and, as the name suggests, right down the road from the Knoxville Airport.

We weren’t looking for anything spectacular, just clean and spacious. This hotel (and the reasonable rate) fit the bill. We were very happy with the size of the room, which was quite large even with a king-size bed in it. While the bathroom (minus the sink and vanity) was a bit small, it didn’t present much of a problem. And, the water pressure of the shower was great, which is a point of importance for me.

Although we didn’t take advantage of it, the pool looked quite inviting right outside our window. In fact, the entire courtyard at the hotel was very nice, clean and well-manicured. We also skipped the free continental breakfast, but the breakfast area also appeared to be well-maintained.

For those wanting specifics, here is a list of other amenities available to guests: color TV, mircofridge, hairdryer, alarm clock, wireless high speed Internet and dataport phones. Coffee makers, irons and ironing boards are available in the lobby, but with limited availability. If you’re bringing your pets, they are allowed for a $10 pet charge per day.

If you want something nearby for a meal, there is not a lot to choose from, although there are a few selections. These include Shoney’s, Waffle House, Applebee’s, Pizza Hut and Subway. However, downtown Knoxville is only a few minutes away, so there are many more choices within a short driving distance.

In fact, one thing I really liked was the easy access to the downtown Knoxville area. We were a bit concerned about traffic, given that the University of Tennessee draws more than 100,000 spectators per game. However, we made it to the college and found a parking space near campus in a very short timeframe (most of our time was spent actually looking for a parking space). Getting out of the area and back to our hotel took even less time.

Overall, we were very pleased with our experience at the Days Inn Alcoa Knoxville Airport. If we visit Knoxville again, we definitely will consider staying here again.