Finding a good place for visiting family and friends to stay while they’re in town is important if you want to show off the Valley to visitors. Smack-dab in the middle of downtown Eau Claire is first place winner, The Lismore Hotel (333 Gibson St., Eau Claire). With The Informalist, The Dive, and ECDC within the same building, what could be better? Make sure to check out some records and listen to them on the record player located in every room at The Oxbow Hotel (516 Galloway St., Eau Claire), which won second place. A little farther is the Staybridge Suites (1515 Bluestem Blvd., Altoona) in Altoona, located just minutes from the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport and within walking distance of River Prairie Park. –Sawyer Hoff