Where to Stay During Your PCS to Rock Island Arsenal

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Are You Moving to the Quad Cities?

While there are several hotels in the Quad Cities, especially if you are a Bonvoy Marriott member like us, we used our 14 days of permissive TDY to stay at three. As a result, we stayed at the Residence Inn Quad Cities in Moline, Illinois, and the Blackhawk and The Current, both Autograph hotels in Davenport, Iowa. Here are my reviews of all three hotels as a Gold Elite member with the Marriott franchise. However, you might be surprised by which hotel I recommend for relocating to Rock Island Arsenal. Furthermore, one of these hotels might work for you if you are preparing to move to Rock Island.

Table of Contents

• 1. Choose the Right Time of Day
• 2. Use a Macro Lens
• 3. Pay Attention to Composition
• 4. Focus on the Details
• 5. Use a Tripod
• 6. Experiment with Angles
• 7. Adjust Your Depth of Field
• 8. Utilize Background and Bokeh
• 9. Be Patient and Observant
• 10. Post-Processing Tips
• Conclusion

Residence Inn Quad Cities

You can definitely settle in for a comfortable extended stay at (especially after a long road trip across the country) Residence Inn Moline Quad Cities. The extended stay hotel in Moline, IL, is located off John Deere Rd on 53rd Street. It’s pretty lovely; their extended stay apartment-style suites with full kitchens, separate rooms, and free Wi-Fi are some of the comforts of home. Maintain your fitness routine at the on-site fitness center and indoor pool. Moreover, the complimentary breakfast was excellent and often included non-pork options, like spinach souffle, veggie sausages, and beef burritos.

Additionally, the hotel is just minutes from attractions, including our new home on the Rock Island Arsenal, the National Cemetery, Fort Armstrong, and shopping. Outdoor enthusiasts can hike, cycle, canoe, horseback ride, picnic along the Mississippi River, and wine tasting with spectacular views. I truly enjoyed the colors in the lobby—decorated in blues and browns around the fireplace. Additionally, the additional seating at the tables is very colorful. All the seating is comfortable—substantial in size and weight. I can’t stand when the chair I’m sitting in feels like it belongs in a child’s playroom. While the room decor is basic, it does have a homey feel, with the kitchen equipped with plates, glasses, pots, and flatware. I really appreciated the dish towel and dish detergent as well.

However, it’s still a Residence Inn, and they need to be known for luxury, great food, or outstanding service. They also seem to allow the community to use the facilities for local events, which I would typically applaud if I wasn’t staying there and had to listen to the noise. This location was also not walkable; I had to jump in the car to grab a bite or coffee. We stayed at the hotel for five days until we realized we didn’t have to pay much more to upgrade our accommodation at one of the Autograph Collection hotels. With ten days left, we decided to stay at both.

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The Current Iowa

The Current Iowa is part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. It is a luxury boutique hotel featuring 78 rooms, including 30 suites. Unfortunately, UP, the Quad Cities‘ first rooftop bar/restaurant and lounge with stunning views of the Mississippi, remains closed. But the views are as good as you can get. While I wish I could say the same thing about the view from our suite, the art-inspired rooms pay homage to Midwestern artists. However, the room’s dog sculptures will probably give me nightmares forever.

The hotel showcases its whimsical approach through colorful decor, a full-size bull in the lobby, and unique sculpture and portraits in the rooms. The Current is located on the banks of the Mississippi River. As a result, it provides easy access to the Quad Cities and is within walking distance of bike paths, the Adler Theatre, RiverCenter, and Figge Art Museum. The Current offers two dedicated meeting rooms on the second floor, a private dining room and/or our Tequila Tasting Room.

The hotel on 2nd Street has a nice gym and swimming pool on the bottom level. However, I never saw anyone else using either. The hotel bar and restaurant are nicely decorated. We ate breakfast in the restaurant daily and enjoyed a free cocktail in the bar every evening. But the highlight of our five-night stay was the members club and business center located on the 2nd floor.

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The club, accessible to Bonvoy platinum members and above, is the biggest perk of the hotel. It’s also one of three reasons why we would stay there. Not only does the club have hot snacks throughout the day, but it also has free alcohol– beer and wine from 7 am to 9 pm daily. The only drawback, if you call it one, is that all alcohol has to be consumed in the lounge. We actually watched them re-stock the club bar with alcohol from the hotel bar downstairs. In addition, the lounge has a TV, a microwave, and all the chips, soft drinks, and candy bars you can consume.

A small business center across the hall has computers and a printer. But unlike most business centers, these computers are connected to (2) two 17′ monitors. If you’ve never used two linked monitors to work on, you don’t know what you are missing.

The third thing I loved about the Current Hotel was receiving two $10 coupons daily for breakfast. Unfortunately, they love their pork here in the Quad Cities. The standard Bonvoy Breakfast comes with two eggs, toast, hash browns, and a protein (sausage or pork). For a small upcharge, we add chicken or steak. The steaks were huge, tender, and came at a $12 upcharge. Those steaks was even more delicious sitting across from a steakhouse that served $200 steaks every night.

While the view from our hotel wasn’t the best, it was a large room. They could really upgrade the storage. And this hotel didn’t have any premium channels like HBO. It did have a TV with an HDMI port, but I would have much preferred a smart TV where I could have logged into Netflix and my YouTube account.

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Hotel Blackhawk

After a multi-million-dollar renovation, the hotel in Davenport, Iowa, may look different. But its historic glamor and thoughtful service remain. The hotel opened in 1915. The historic Hotel Blackhawk Autograph Collection has been the luxury hotel of choice for presidents, movie stars, and athletes. So we are definitely in good company. Hotel Blackhawk is set along the Mississippi River and offers easy access to the Quad Cities. Like its sister hotel, the Current a block away, it’s within walking distance of the river bike paths, Adler Theatre, and lots of restaurants and cafes.

The Hotel Blackhawk is enormous, with over 10,000 square feet of event space. The stunning two-story lobby crowned with a beautiful stained glass ceiling has hosted elegant weddings and receptions. The guest suites are also beautiful, spacious, and luxurious. The rooms are decorated with rich earth tones and modern conveniences, including free Wi-Fi, HD TV, and a spa-like bathroom with a bidet. The basement has a fitness center, indoor pool, and bowling alley, and the Spa, Bix Bistro, or RISE Neighborhood Cafe on the first floor.

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Final Thoughts

The Current and Hotel Blackhawk Hotels are both beautiful hotels. The former is more modern; the latter has an old-world charm that spoke to both of us. The Blackhawk was also celebrating customer appreciation week, which included lots of food and free alcohol all week. That was a bonus we should have expected during our stay. Like the Current, the Blackhawk also has a beautiful bar and restaurant where we enjoyed the same breakfast bonus and free drink coupons for the final five days before we moved into our house on Rock Island. The Blackhawk also has a business center, but it has an interactive map that you can chart out a day in Davenport which was pretty cool.

My main complaint was recurring housekeeping issues. Like most hotels, the one we stayed at is still operating on a pandemic schedule, requiring guests to request daily service. However, we were compensated a few times when that did not occur. Additionally, the upcharge for chicken or steak was inconsistent, ranging from $2 to $12 depending on the server. The customer service at both hotels was awesome, but one hotel stood out as my favorite. I really enjoyed the Blackhawk Hotel a little more than the Current– even without a Bonvoy members club. Hopefully, they will iron out the housekeeping issues in the near future.

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