Durham, North Carolina, has certainly come into its own over the last several years. Bull City’s downtown is thriving, with new hotels popping up and dozens of restaurants within walking distance, along with charming local shops and boutiques. Startups are swarming to the area to take advantage of diverse talent and tech. Whatever your reason for visiting Durham, you can feel good about deciding to bring the family along.
Sleep
is relatively new. With 74 guestrooms, it was converted from the previous Jack Tar Motor Lodge and still retains a certain mod style that’s both unique and aesthetically pleasing, without being over the top and design heavy. Just a 20-minute drive from the Raleigh-Durham International Airport, once you arrive at the Unscripted property, you can park your rental car and leave it, as you’re just steps away from some of Durham’s best spots.
The Patio Bar at Unscripted Durham © Unscripted Durham
Pro tip: For families with children that have bedtimes, you’ll want to pick certain rooms from the floorplan. In the summer, the pool deck on the third floor stays busy well into the evening hours and the first floor is home to DJ-driven social events year-round. For privacy, quiet and the most space, choose a studio king on the second floor.
Eat
JackTar © Holly Riddle
Right next door to the Unscripted Durham Hotel is Jack Tar and The Colonel’s Daughter (obviously named after the Jack Tar Motor Lodge). The eatery features local cuisine that’s a bit ‘upscale diner’ in nature, from double cheeseburgers (with caramelized onions and jalapeños on a benne seed bun) to Szechuan peppercorn hot chicken, and pot roast to lamb spaghetti with buffalo ricotta. It’s a great pick for breakfast at any hour. Big appetite? Go for the Ham + Eggs and a side of coffee cake. The house-smoked ham is melt-in-your-mouth good.
Monuts © Holly Riddle
Another great spot for all-day breakfast, as well as other light lunch items, Monuts is a bit outside of downtown, but not so far away you can’t reach it without a brisk walk. There are lots of different donut flavors to choose from, all created with just the best ingredients. This spot is also pretty budget-friendly. For the kiddos, a small section in the corner gives them a table most suitable for their own height, along with a selection of picture books to keep them entertained while you wait for your order.
Pool at Unscripted Durham © Unscripted Durham
Read This Next
#WhereverFamily
Insta FeedHotels
Sep 4, 20262 Fall Getaway Resorts to Make the Most of a Long Weekend
According to Trip.com, group bookings for long weekend trips have increased over 34 percent year after year, and are largely taken by working parents who strategically want to use one or two vacation days to extend weekend family travels. As family travelers look to make the most of their PTO, these two destinations are perfect for travelers looking to take advantage of long weekend travels:
Sponsored Content
GET TO KNOW TAP FORBIZ
Unlock flexible, refined business travel with TAP Air Portugal’s program, TAP FORBIZ. Developed for small, medium and large Companies, with options for corporate events, TAP FORBIZ offers exclusive advantages adapted to each type of business.
Hotels
Sep 3, 2026Fall is Prime Time for a Family Vacation with These 3 Brands
According to new research from Club Wyndham, 80 percent of parents wish they had taken more family vacations with their children. Don’t let the chance to make memories escape you this fall, whether a Caribbean getaway packed with family-friendly entertainment, an expedition through the Galápagos where kids become explorers-in-training or an easy domestic escape. Fall is the perfect time for family travel and these three brands offer excellent options for where to go.
Hotels
Sep 3, 20263 Caribbean, Latin American Marriott Hotels for Multigen Trips
Multigenerational travel continues to grow in popularity, with family travelers moving away from traditional getaways for meaningful trips with family members of all ages. The Caribbean and Latin America are growing destinations of interest for this type of travel, and three Marriott properties offer opportunities for multigen families to create lifelong memories.
Sponsored Content
Best of Both Worlds
Enjoy the best of both worlds when you fly with TAP Air Portugal thanks to the Portugal Stopover program. With the program, TAP passengers, whether traveling for business, leisure or both, can stop in Portugal for up to 10 days at no additional airfare on the way to their final destination. What does this mean for travelers wishing to explore by both land and sea? It means after flying to Portugal with TAP and experiencing the country in an entirely new way, travelers can then embark on scenic river and ocean cruises from Portugal’s port cities, or fly with TAP to another European destination.
Travel Tips
Sep 1, 2026TikTok Revolutionizes Travel Planning and Inspiration
With an estimated 1.9 billion users worldwide, TikTok influences nearly every part of our lives, from food to fashion. The app so profoundly changed the way we travel, it now describes itself as a “modern-day travel agency, itinerary planner, and travel blog rolled into one.” Using TikTok to plan travel is so popular, the app recently launched TikTok Go to make booking even easier.
ShareThis