Homewood Suites by Hilton Durham-Chapel Hill / I-40, Durham

The weekly rate for the Homewood Suites by Hilton in Chapel Hill/Durham NC can't be beat. Conveniently located off of Routes 15/501 at the interface of Chapel Hill and Durham, just off I-40, it is convenient to Raleigh, RDU airport, and the Research Triangle Park. As typical of 'Suites", there is a well equipped kitchen with a full-sized refrigerator, dishes, flat-ware, and cooking pots and pans. Supermarket and a range of shops are within walking distance. There is adequate parking. The rooms are spacious and well lighted. The complementary wireless Internet connection was readily accessed. The complementary breakfast was standard fare (dry cereal, pastries, juices and fresh fruit), including hot items such as scrambled eggs, sausage/bacon, potatoes,coffee and tea. There was some variation day to day and some items ran out toward the the end of the breakfast period (coffee, hot water for tea and yogurt). There is a complementary light evening meal Monday through Thursday, with salad, a pasta-type entree, beverages, and cookie. Certainly adequate for the busy guest who had a substantive lunch, but hardly a gourmet meal. Housekeeping was generally efficient but were slow to pick up on burned out bulbs in lamps. The primary annoyance was the erratic electronic access (door) card. It activated the release, but did not engage effectively with the door handle. It usually took several swipes to open the door. The desk personnel would replace the card, but failed to understand that the problem was not the card but the mechanism. Nevertheless, the inviting outdoor pool, convenient location, pleasant room, trouble-free internet connectivity, and value outweighed the few annoyances.