Look, here's the deal. That area of Dallas sucks. It's all interstate and shady neighborhoods. Everyone complains about it because it's terrible, rightly so.

The only way to remedy that is to have transportation. Easier said than done when you are a new hire in a 6 week program. Anything less than 8 hours drive and I would drive my car to training. Otherwise you are going to be stuck in whatever hotel you are in because the options within walking distance are lame.

If you have a car, it's a 10 minute drive to the Katy Trail for fitness and scenery followed by a relaxation session at the Katy Trail Icehouse. Tons of other great areas and places to go in the area, just not near Mockingbird and I-35.

So yes, every hotel sucks when you are stuck at the hotel. The Anatole is the least sucky out of all of them. At least it has a huge pool, nice facilities, and a great gym. The doubletree love field is great for a 4 day cqt, but again, without a car it's terrible for any longer than that. The Embassy is nice, but also has the problem of being near Love, although it is on the "good" side, closer to shopping and food. Both of the Sheratons suck. There are no good training hotels because the good hotels for us would be too far from the training center.

I always drive to training. If we stayed in an area that were nicer/more walkable then I would consider flying, but we don't. Downtown Dallas is one of the worst areas in the country for homelessness, property crime, and blighted and abandoned working class areas. All of that surrounds Love field to some extent.

So, in closing, the key to staying sane during training is having a ride. Whack made a pitch for National above....that sounds like a great deal too and I had never heard of that before. If you can, drive. If you drive and are comfortable with it, make your car available to your classmates. Otherwise, prepare yourself for boredom and cabin fever on a scale that you may not have ever experienced.