Like Nathanael said you may want to try Norfolk. The train station is on the edge of downtown and the cab fair to one of the downtown hotels would be fairly cheap. Off the top of my head I know that a Marriott, a Sheraton, and a Courtyard are all within a five minute cab ride of the station. I can vouch for the Marriott being nice (my command held our Christmas party there three straight years), and I suspect the other two are nice as well. I am not as familiar with Newport News but if you were to catch a cab to Mercury Blvd around the powerplant area you would be able to find some chain hotels there. The powerplant area is nice and safe but loud as it has a few bars and clubs around. As for cab fare it should be no more than thirty dollars which is what I once paid to go from the Newport News train station all the way to NOB on the southside.