Non-Photo trip to Moab - advice?

Hi all.

My wife and I are thinking of taking a trip to Moab sometime this spring with our kids. It will be mainly non-photo, though I will haul all of my gear along with us.

Does anyone have advice on a family friendly (and affordable) place to stay? We have thought about taking our tent trailer but I am guessing that it still might be a bit cold, and we may not want the tent trailer for our entire trip (we are thinking of going out to Grand Junction after).

Any advice on extra things to do or places to eat would be welcome also.

Thanks!

Nathan

I will say stay away from the Days Inn. Was one of the worst places I have stayed in a long time. Consider renting a four seat ATV from Dirt Seekers and hit some trails.

Days Inn is a dive with very poor management. I also do not recommend the Hampton Inn. It's a nice property with a convenient location but we see more property stolen out of the rooms by employees than at any other hotel in Moab and the management isn't interested in addressing the problem.

Places to stay:

Bowen Motel
Holiday inn Express
Best Western (Canyonlands Inn or Greenwell Inn)
Aarchway Inn

Kid friendly stuff to do:

My wife runs a website called Desert (B)rats that is in the early stages of development but already has quite a bit of content around family-friendly activities in Moab, i.e. hiking, biking, etc. It's already a great resource and will only get better as she fills it with more content.

Desert (B)rats

If you're interested, her main site is Adventure Tykes, where she shares advice on how to enjoy all kinds of outdoor adventures with kids.

Adventure Tykes

Spring is a great time to be here. You don't say when in the spring you're planning to visit but if it's April or later, it is unlikely to be too cold at night. March can be spring...or winter...so plan accordingly.

Have fun!

I'll throw a few additional thoughts...

If you are many days or have a large enough group, there are many good condos for weekly rent. My offroad group usually rents a few Cottonwood condos just west of downtown. Fairly new places, all so far well furnished.

If I am solo (as I will be in a couple weeks), I usually hit the La Quinta or neighboring Moab Valley Inn. MVI last I checked was in a huge remodel. LQ can be expensive or cheap depending on season.

Edit - the Cottonwood Condos are actually a row of duplexes with back areas and BBQ's.

Kokopelli Lodge has several condos, some in town, some south. It usually isn't too cold to camp in the area in Spring. Instead of Moab, you could consider Bluff (Recapture Lodge) Lots of good hiking in the Cedar Mesa area & much of it fairly easy. How old are your kids? Downside of Bluff is not as many places to eat. Motel rates in Moab go up (a lot!) starting at the Easter Jeep Safari time.

Depending on the size of your family, a condo rental might be best. There are quite a few to look into on vrbo.com. There are also a couple local B&Bs that aren't a bad value either (considering how expensive the hotels can be!).

Thanks for the thoughts everyone! My kids are 3-14...so there is a big range there to fill. I think we will end up doing the 'Windows' hike in Arches and maybe another hike.

Thanks again!

Nathan