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5 places to stay in Cleveland, Ohio if you are going to the NFL Draft

By Brian Miller

CLEVELAND, OH - JUNE 08: Overall during a baseball game between the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox on June 8, 1993 at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - JUNE 08: Overall during a baseball game between the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox on June 8, 1993 at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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The NFL Draft will kick off this year in Cleveland, Ohio and while many will opt to stay home, hotels may be hard to find in the city.

That doesn’t mean you can’t go on a “spur of the moment” decision. There is a lot to do in Cleveland outside of the draft but let’s be clear, come to the end of April, the three-day draft will be the focus of the city.

So now you have made the decision that you are going to go but you can’t find a suitable hotel near the draft festivities. I could give you my inlaws address and tell you to stay with them but that wouldn’t be fair to you! Here are some areas around the Cleveland area that can provide you with more options and still keep you close.

If you drive, these make a lot more sense but if you fly into Akron/Canton or Cleveland Hopkins, you can take an Uber for a cheaper option.

Avon Lake

Located west of downtown Cleveland, Avon and Avon Lake sit off route 2 highway and the turnpike. There are plenty of hotel options and the town itself is only about 15 minutes from downtown Cleveland. There are plenty of places to eat and shop if you want to do that outside of the city. You can also visit several parks on the waterfront of Lake Eerie.

Lorain Ohio

Lorain is located about 10 minutes west of Avon Lake and there are a couple of hotels you can stay at near the highway but the best reason to stay here is Yala’s Pizza on Oberlin Avenue. Lorain isn’t bad and is far enough away not to be loaded up with NFL fans and you can still make it downtown in about 30 minutes.

CANTON, OH – AUGUST 02: General view of the main entrance to the Pro Football Hall of Fame prior to the Hall of Fame Game between the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on August 2, 2018 in Canton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CANTON, OH – AUGUST 02: General view of the main entrance to the Pro Football Hall of Fame prior to the Hall of Fame Game between the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on August 2, 2018 in Canton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Akron/Canton

The Akron/Canton area provides a lot of hotel options but considering that the Pro Football Hall of Fame is located in Canton, you may not find much availability. A little further south and you will come to New Philadelphia which will give you plenty of space and likely not a lot of patrons. The downside is you will be about 45 minutes to an hour away from Cleveland. If you are driving yourself, it’s not a bad drive and one I have made many times over.

Next. Review: Bonaventure Resort in Weston, Florida. dark

Mentor and Eastside

Mentor is located to the east of Cleveland and in between there and the city itself are many options for you to choose from. Mentor is probably the furthest you would need to possibly go and even then it might not be necessary to go that far. Mentor isn’t far in time. It’s only about 20 minutes to downtown but there are a lot of hotel options between Cleveland and Mentor on the east side and that should be more than enough to allow you to find something closer…unless you don’t want to.

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