Charlotte advice please

Will be flying into Charlotte from Ireland and want to unwind here for a couple of nights before picking up rental car and heading off on vacation trip. Would like to know where the happening areas are and advice on nice hotels within walking distance of said areas.Thanks.

Charlotte advice please

Define'; happening areas';. What do you want to ';happen';? LOL. Charlotte is mainly a working city....I would say you would either want to stay uptown or in the Ballantyne area.

Good hotels uptown would be Marriott City Center, Hilton, and Westin.

Ballantyne Resort in southeast Charlotte is probably the best hotel in town.

Charlotte is not really a walkable city except for right in town and that%26#39;s mainly restaurants, hotel, and office buildings. There are sports venues and a performing arts center - as well as a couple of museums...but little retail shopping or tourist attractions.

Fine tune what atmosphere you are seeking maybe there will be some more suggestions.

Have a safe trip and welcome to NC. Where is your vacation destination?

Charlotte advice please

Thanks for that. I guess we want to know where there are likely to be interesting shops, bars, especially with live music, and good areas to just stroll around. The Hampton Inn seems to be popular on T/A ,what would you reckon? Maybe it would be better to stay just 1 night there and then head on somewhere else.Also, maybe you could let me know what are the smoking laws in NC. Thanks

I would not recommending ';strolling'; uptown at night alone. Not much to see anyway. As I said- very few shops..and the few there are shut down after the workday crowd leaves.

I am not a bar goer- so I%26#39;ll let others come by and recommend those.

Smoking: A staple crop in NC is tobacco - no smoking laws of which I%26#39;m aware. Most restaurants have smoking and non-smoking sections. A few are smoke-free by choice.

Best wishes.

You might want to check out the area around the arena where our pro sports team, The Bobcats play. On game nights it is a very happening area (and traffic is a mess!). I%26#39;m sorry that I don%26#39;t have any hotel recommendations in that area. A lot of people like the South End, lots of bars and clubs, at night it is a little dicey though. If you do end up in Ballantyne, you could stay at either the Resort, the Staybridge or Courtyard and then walk to various eateries. It is nothing like a real city though, very suburban with a few bars and restaurants.