Wow - I wouldn't have thought KC was closer to East Dubuque & La Crosse than St. Louis. Mapquest says La Crosse will add ~70 miles / 1 hour for me. Though my longest day in the saddle so far was about 265 miles, and that was 25 years ago.
I haven't been to either, so no help there.
In general I prefer to spend money on things besides hotel rooms, so the cheaper options are appealing, but I can make the budget work with any of the options.
