Howdy,
Yup, My 2nd IM distance race. I’ve also gotten a friend of mine excited about doing the race and she signed up too!
What is the closest hotel to the race. Some say (from an ST search) The Holiday Inn express. Is that close to the venue? I’m all about being as close as I can after IMFL and staying over 1.5 miles away.
The Great Floridian (TGF) doesn’t seem to have a host hotel that I can find.
Thanks gang,
Trae
PS. Can’t wait to meet some more slowtwitchers.
There aren’t a lot of choices, really. The Holiday Inn Express seems to be the best, although a new hotel is opening in Clermont very shortly. It’s near the NTC. Can’t remember which chain off-hand though. You should check which hotels/motels will let you bring your bike into the room, though. A lot of the places in Clermont do not let you do this.
"You should check which hotels/motels will let you bring your bike into the room, though. A lot of the places in Clermont do not let you do this. " – miami79
They don’t allow children in the rooms!!! 
Yeah, thanks for mentioning that, I would have never known. Can’t see why they wouldn’t let you bring your bike though.
You gonna do TGF this year miami79?
Trae
I travel extensively and have never had a problem with having my bike in my hotel room. I mainly stay at Hampton Inns.
I’m doing AZ for my full, but maybe the 1/2 in Clermont… I’m trying to figure out my racing schedule now, actually…
If you want CHEAP accommodations, the HoJo on 29 is cheap. And filthy. Uh, but this is where I usually stay since I’m on a budget…
If ya don’t mind a MOM amd POP place, stay at the Florida Motel. its right across the street from the Holiday Inn Express. The Rooms are old but clean. I’ve stayed there a tons of times when racing in Clermont. About a 3-5 minute drive from transition. They allow your bike in the room!! Book early since they only have about 14 rooms.
Yeah, great suggestions zipp and miami79,
I’ll probably have to get some place with a double connecting door so we have extra room for our two daughters. Sure, we can stay in a single room, but the extra space is really worth it. I liked the setup we had at IMFL with the 3 bedroom condo. It seemed pricey ($155 / night) but it was worth it since my Parents came too.
Probably check on hotels.com or something… but it seems like the Holiday Inn will be the closest. 
Trae
If you go with hotels.com stay away from IPG rentals. We booked with them for this past GFT specifically because they were so close to the race. I even called to verify the location with IPG. Long story short, the condo was really nice…and about a twenty five minute drive from Clermont!
Needless to say we weren’t exactly happy campers.
The Florida Motel has a few rooms that are “suites”. They have a small kitchenette etc. I always went with the basic room though.
Last year I stayed in the Marriott Courtyard Ocoee. About 20 minutes away. Great. If all goes well and I make it back next year, I’ll do the same. There are a number of hotels in Ocoee.
HH
Funny story about the Marriott Courtyard Ocoee. After I finish GFT, I call my parents. My mom, says, don’t do another one of these please. Next morning I run into KJGrog’s parents as I’m riding down the elevator of the hotel, we talk and they say to me, seriously, “Are you doing Ironman Florida.” I said, I only do one of these every year or other year.
HH
There is a bed and breakfast on Montrose st. in downtown Clermont. I would say that it is probably the closest to the race site of anything. Definitely the closest to the finish line.
EDIT: It is called the Mulberry Inn. I forgot to put that in my original post.
Holiday Inn Express does not allow bikes. The rooms open into an interior hallway so it’s kind of hard to be inconspicuous.
It is sortof funny that the Holiday Inn on 27 closest to the racesite does not allow bikes, but the one on 192 (closer to I-4) doesnt care. After my last race in Clermont I rolled my DIRTY bike right through the main lobby area. No I didnt get the floors dirty.
I heard one of the reasons some hotels dont like bikes in the rooms is because people use the towels to clean the bikes
Don’t know that staying close is critical for GFT. At least not the year I did it. That year (2000) they ran a shuttle on race day. Pick-up at quite a few motels down on 192.
There is a new Hampton Inn & Suite being built next to the training center. I think it should be done some time this winter.
Holiday Inn is close but can be a pain if bringing a bike, although plenty of people have brought bikes in. Most of the “locals” who work there could really care less (would you for $9/hr?).
Mulberry Inn, also known as Red Bicycle Inn is in downtown C-mont only 2 blocks from the finish line.
Lake Minneola Inn is another B&B type of place about 1mi from Waterfront Park, and it is literally 78ft from the Tiki Bar.
Anybody looking for bike storage PM me as I have lots of space in my garage. My house is only 1mi from the race site at the base of hospital hill. I have a futon too.
-Dre
p.s The “Grogan Motel” is the closest anyone can possible get…plus they have bacon and grits for breakfast!
We stayed at the Red Roof Inn in Ocoee, nice, clean, large rooms, free internet access in the lobby, relatively cheap and only a 15 minute drive from the race venue. There’s also a Denny’s in the parking lot of the place and they give Red Roof Inn guests a 20% discount. That’s where we will stay again next year.