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Alachua · Hotel shortlist

The best hotels near County Sports and Events Center

Gerald Whitfield

Gerald Whitfield The American northeast and Canada

Updated 1 September 2026 · 21 Alachua hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Alachua, out of the 21 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.8 down to 4.2.

All five are inside 1.4 km of County Sports and Events Center, so you can walk it.

Drury Inn & Suites Gainesville

Highest rated of the five

Drury Inn & Suites Gainesville

★★★★★4.8 from 1,818 reviews

Drury Inn & Suites Gainesville comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.8 from 1,818 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is a 3 star property, found under poi and around $116 a night on the dates we checked.

21 hotels in Alachua qualified for this list and five made it. Holiday Inn Express & Suites Gainesville I-75 is the one I would book if the first is full.

Why it works for this trip

  • Poolsomewhere to cool off between walks
  • Spatreatment rooms on site, no booking a taxi for it
  • Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
  • Restaurantdinner downstairs on the night you land
  • Bara drink without going back out

Check rates Read more

All five, ranked

  1. Drury Inn & Suites Gainesville1

    Drury Inn & Suites Gainesville

    ★★★★★4.8 from 1,818 reviews

    1.4 km from County Sports and Events Center, about a 18 minute walk

    • Pool
    • Spa
    • Gym
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Parking

    Check rates Read more

  2. Holiday Inn Express & Suites Gainesville I-752

    Holiday Inn Express & Suites Gainesville I-75

    ★★★★★4.6 from 1,363 reviews

    800 m from County Sports and Events Center, about a 10 minute walk

    • Pool
    • Spa
    • Gym
    • Parking
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning

    Check rates Read more

  3. Staybridge Suites Gainesville I-75 by IHG3

    Staybridge Suites Gainesville I-75 by IHG

    ★★★★★4.5 from 480 reviews

    600 m from County Sports and Events Center, about a 8 minute walk

    • Pool
    • Spa
    • Gym
    • Parking
    • Kitchen
    • Pet friendly

    Check rates Read more

  4. Hotel Indigo Gainesville-Celebration Pointe, an IHG Hotel4

    Hotel Indigo Gainesville-Celebration Pointe, an IHG Hotel

    ★★★★★4.2 from 1,064 reviews

    200 m from County Sports and Events Center, about a 2 minute walk

    • Pool
    • Spa
    • Gym
    • Restaurant
    • Bar
    • Parking

    Check rates Read more

  5. Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Gainesville, FL5

    Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Gainesville, FL

    ★★★★★4.3 from 1,194 reviews

    1.2 km from County Sports and Events Center, about a 15 minute walk

    • Pool
    • Gym
    • Parking
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Accessible

    Check rates Read more

How this list was put together

21 Alachua hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating first and on how close they are to County Sports and Events Center second, then took the top five.

Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

Gerald Whitfield

Gerald Whitfield The American northeast and Canada

Volunteers three days a week and travels the rest. Maritime museums and working boatyards in 19 countries, mostly by ferry and train, talking to the shipwrights in every one.

Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.