Advice Needed

We have been to Atlanta many times, so I am somewhat familiar with the area, but here%26#39;s my dilemma:

One of our main reasons for going is for my best friend to visit her dad in Griffin, GA (he%26#39;s in prison...long story), but we also will be attending a Braves game and taking our two girls (6 %26amp; 4) to Whitewater. Our plans are:

Fly into Birmingham and drive to Atlanta on Friday. We should arrive in Atlanta no later than 1 p.m.

Attend a Braves game that Friday night.

Take my best friend to Griffin Saturday morning from 9 a.m. to noon while my husband keeps the girls at the room.

Come back to hotel and then take the girls to Whitewater.

Leave Sunday for Birmingham.

Question is: Where is the best place to stay? We are all over the place on this trip and a central location would be nice. We will need a hotel that has some type of suite (with at least a sofabed), and something that is CLEAN and in a SAFE neighborhood. We are willing to pay as much as $200 a night.

Thanks for your advice!

Eva

Advice Needed

Given where you%26#39;ll be coming from and where you%26#39;ll be going, I%26#39;d probably target the Cumberland Mall area, near the junction of I-285 and I-75 on the northwest side of Atlanta. You%26#39;ll find plenty of suite-style hotels in that area, and weekend rates may even be under $100, but certainly under $200, for Embassy Suites/Homewood Suites/Residence Inn/Hyatt Place-class properties. You%26#39;d come into Atlanta on I-20 from the west, take I-285 North to the Cumberland area. Then you could take I-75 South straight into town for the Braves game Friday night, and I-75 North out to White Water on Saturday (Griffin%26#39;s going to be out of the way no matter where you stay). There are plenty of family-friendly restaurants in the area, as well as lots of shopping, etc., nearby. If your husband and the kids enjoy outdoor stuff, there are a couple of units of the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area nearby (Palisades and Cochran Shoals) that offer hiking trails and such along the Chattahoochee River.

Advice Needed

Hard either way, the problem with staying in the cumberland area is that you will hit heavy traffic downtown if you wait until close to first pitch time to head that way. You will be fine southbound until you get right in downtown between 3:30-7p or later, you dont have far to go once you get there, but it would be best to leave early if you can.

You could stay in Mcdonough / Mt Zion Rd area on 75 south (south of 285), which isnt too far from the braves (you would still hit some traffic close to the stadium, but the worst traffic would be southbound). You would be closer to Griffin. Saturday shouldnt be an issue either way, but you would obvioulsy have a longer drive to whitewater if you stayed to the south.

There are nice locations off Mount Zion %26amp; I-75,as said above. That would be my choice. Closer access to Griffin and Northbound traffic Saturday morning should be easy as well as Northbound to Turner Field.