As the second reviewer of this hotel, and as someone who has stayed at over a dozen different hotels in the Lexington area in 25 years, I am not nearly as enthusiastic about this place as the first reviewer was. It does have good points, including low rates compared to other nearby hotels, a more quiet setting than most hotels in Hamburg (it is not perched right off of the interstate), a big bathroom with a big shower (the door on mine wasn't installed quite right and leaked a little at the bottom), a big breakfast area, brand new everything, and pillows of varying firmness that are marked on the pillows. However, it has some design features that are apparently common to the new Avid chain, but that just make me scratch my head:
a. The worst feature is the HVAC system. It was slow to cool the room down, and then I noticed it went back to 76 after I had gone out for a few hours. I thought something was wrong with the system, but I called the front desk and they said it has a motion sensor. It shuts off and defaults to a high temperature when there is no motion in the room. That applies during the night too, so the room gets very hot as the system does not pick up simple tossing and turning while sleeping. You have to get up and turn on the air if the room gets too hot.
Another bad feature is that you can't even leave the fan on to help circulate air, even if the A/C is off. Most hotels have HVAC systems that allow you to do that, but I checked with the front desk and they said it can't be done at the Avid. Without the air circulating, you can hear everything. I bring a portable noise maker with me, as I am a poor sleeper, but most people don't have anything to help with drowning out noise.
b. I think this is the only hotel room I have ever stayed in without a closet. All it has is a bunch of hooks, and a few hangers to use with the hooks. In general that is not a problem, but if you come in wearing a wet or snow-covered coat, or have a wet umbrella, the water is just going to drain on the hotel floor. I have to say that seeing a room with a bunch of hooks on the wall makes the place look like a glorified dorm room; I guess I am way too old to be one of its target customers.
c. Many new hotels have in-room microwaves, but this one does not. It does have a small fridge, but it was quite noisy, and did not have a shut-off button like many other hotel mini-fridges do. Thankfully my portable noisemaker drowned it out.
d. The hotel has a convenient back door with immediate access from the rear parking lot to the elevators. However, no one had the sense to put a curb cut in the sidewalk behind the hotel. As a result, you have to lift up luggage to get it in the back. The hotel can actually fix this, so they should get someone out ASAP to make a cut and re-pour the sidewalk to fix that error.
e. The rooms are very small. I was in a double queen room, and it was the smallest double queen I have ever stayed in with the exception of the standard double queens at the Fairfield Inn on Newton Pike in Lexington (that hotel has double queen rooms of about the exact same size, but it does have a closet and not coat hooks). Apart from the bed and a nightstand between the beds, there was only enough room for a desk and a desk chair. That desk chair is the only place in the room to sit, and it is directly in front of the AC unit which is blasting out air because it only comes on when it detects motion. Unless people who are staying in the room are leaving as soon as they get up in the morning, and then coming back right before bed, this really is not a place to stay for more than one person.
After all these comments, the normal reader must be asking why I even gave this place 3 stars and not one or two. I gave it 3 because I could actually sleep well there with the help of my noisemaker. The beds have new mattresses and not the broken down ones I have recently encountered at the Homewood and Fairfield (see my reviews). The door to the hall is very thick, and the room's blackout curtains are very good at keeping out light. I had people staying around me, but I generally heard nothing from them. I might consider staying here again, but not for a very long stay or at a time when the room would get very hot or very cold at night with the HVAC system shut off because of the motion sensors.
In closing, this is a case of getting what you pay for. The typical rate seems to be under $100 per night (but double that during football weekends), but you are getting a very small room. I was not in a king room, but you should note that the Avid website says that the king rooms are 55 square feet smaller than the double queens, which makes the king rooms really tiny.
