Ocala, Fla. —- When traveling on I-75, we often stop in Marion County, known for its rolling meadows, moss-draped oak trees and meticulously groomed horse ranches. We typically spend the night at a bed-and-breakfast, where we've been spoiled with gracious service and luxurious accommodations.

We are big fans of B&Bs, but we've discovered a contemporary alternative: the new Holiday Inn just off the highway at Exit 350 and just 3 miles from downtown Ocala. Then again, this is not your parents' Holiday Inn.

A boutique hotel, the Holiday Inn has an atrium-style lobby with glass-walled elevators, a bar, two flat-screen TVs and a double fireplace with overstuffed upholstered lounge chairs in front of them.

Guest rooms, designed in blues and greens with a splash of orange, sport a Tempur-Pedic foam mattress, hand-stitched comforters, flat-screen TVs and shower-curtain rods that bend outward so that curtains are not likely to cling to you as you suds up. The most luxurious suites are on the sixth floor and have balconies, themes such as a poker room, and spacious showers and baths.

Also on the sixth floor is the Sky Asian Fusion restaurant. With its black, gold and burnished aluminum decor and windows overlooking southwest Ocala, the restaurant looks more like something you'd find in New York City than in Central Florida. Tables are set with chopsticks and traditional silverware, and ice water comes with a cool slice of cucumber.

The food is good, too, and the place was packed on a Tuesday. Order Pad Thai, Sky Orange chicken or Shanghai Strip. You can't go wrong.

For breakfast, we rode the glass elevators to the lobby, where the Cypress Shadows Cafe & Lounge served all the breakfast basics, and the service was good, too.

We couldn't leave without getting to at least one horse farm. This time, it was LaRen Stud Farm, home to the Danish Knabstruppers. The spotted horses are so beautiful, it's hard to take your eyes off them.

Thurwachter writes for The Palm Beach [Fla.] Post.

IF YOU GO

Getting there

Ocala is about 365 miles from downtown Atlanta, about a 5 1/2-hour drive.

About the hotel

Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Ocala Conference Center, 3600 S.W. 38th Ave. 352-629-9500, www.ocalainn.com. 133 guest rooms, including 36 suites; two restaurants; cocktail lounge; ballroom and meeting space. Rooms start at $99. For Sky Asian Fusion, reservations are a good idea. Call 352-291-0123.

Horse farm tours

For information, call the Ocala Marion County Visitors Bureau, 352-291-9169 or 1-888-356-2252. For individual farms, call Young's Paso Fino Ranch, 352-867-5305; or Ocala Stud Farm, 352-237-2171. To make arrangements to see the Danish Knabstruppers, visit www.larenstud.com.