Sheraton Riverside
By Maryann Hammers
Here are a few Midwest truisms: The people are nicer. The traffic jams are less frequent. The lakes are more lovely. The prices are lower.
Need one more reason to explore our nation's Heartland? Well, the military discounts are pretty good, too.
Illinois
Hotel Monaco in Chicago, within walking distance of Lake Michigan, Michigan Avenue shopping, Millennium Park, and the museum, theatre, and Loop districts, offers a limited-time Red, White and Blue Package, which includes two bikes and Fitbit pedometer for use during your stay - plus a 25-percent discount to veterans. Also, the hotel will donate an additional 10 percent of every package booked to Leave No Veteran Behind. Available Thursday-Sunday through July 5, 2015. (If you missed out on this offer, the hotel also welcomes servicemembers with government per diem prices, which includes a hosted evening wine hour. (Ask for the GFD rate.) Call (866) 610-0081, or contact the hotel directly at (312) 960-8500.
Ohio
Active duty and retired servicemembers who stay three or more nights at The Inn At Dresden get 15-percent off (or 10-percent off a one- or two-night stay). The elegant Tudor house with 1- themed guestrooms is surrounded by countryside. The deal is available through Dec. 30, 2015, and military ID is required at check-in. Call (740) 754-1122. (You might love it so much that you'll decide to return on Veterans Day - when you'll get one free night if you book two or three nights. So mark you calendar now.)
The White Oak Inn , a bed-and-breakfast in Ohio's Amish country, offers a midweek special rate for servicemembers, with 25-percent off for stays Sunday through Thursday. (Regular rates start at $145, so your price would start at $109.) "Rooms are comfortable; the welcome is warm; and the food is fresh, homemade, and plentiful, using fresh local ingredients," says innkeeper Yvonne Martin. "Plenty of leisure activities are nearby - golf, hiking, and canoeing. Several wineries and cheesemakers are in the area, so we have mapped out a wine-and-cheese tour for our guests. The Amish area has lots of shops, museums, bakeries, flea markets, antique stores, and more." A full country breakfast is included each morning. Holidays and the month of October are excluded from the offer. Show proof of service at check-in. Call for information: (740) 599-6107.
Prefer to rough it? River Run Campground in Loudonville, on the banks of the Blackfork and Clearfork rivers, offers servicemembers and seniors half-off prices on off-river sites through October. The deal is available Thursday to Sunday, excluding holidays. The 250-site campground has water hookup, a dump station, flush toilets, and hot showers, plus a lodge, game room, stocked store, snack bar, pool, volleyball court, playground, and basketball court. Call (419) 994-5257 for more information.
Indiana
Flash your military ID at the Sheraton Louisville Riverside (on the Indiana side of the Ohio River) for a discounted rate starting at about $83. "The discount is the government per diem for the Southern Indiana area," explains Luanne Mattson, a spokesperson for the Clark-Floyd Counties Convention & Tourism Bureau. Government or military ID is required. "The Sheraton Louisville Riverside Hotel offers all the convenience of a downtown hotel with none of the hassle," Mattson adds. The hotel, which is near historic Spring Street in Jeffersonville and museums and bourbon distilleries in downtown Louisville, features complimentary parking and Wi-Fi and offers local transportation. Call for more info: (812) 284-6711.
Michigan
Plan ahead: For the entire month of November, Inn at Black Star Farms in Leelanau Peninsula wine country offers 30-percent off to active duty servicemembers and veterans for Sunday-Thursday night stays. The inn is nestled below a hillside of vineyards and overlooks barns and pastures. Rates include a full gourmet breakfast, nightly hospitality hour with wine and hors d'oeuvres, bottle of wine, private use of the sauna, expanded tasting in the on-site tasting room, and use of walking and skiing trails. Regular prices start at $240, so your discounted nightly rate begins at about $170. Call the innkeepers at (231) 944-1251.