Info on the hotels: Hilton, Mariott, Crowne, Fairmont, St. Claire

[Yukari Kaiba]

anyone know what the 09 rate for a suite at the Hilton was? considering getting one for this coming year instead of a regular room (since my roomies and I are cosplayers who are a bunch of prop afficinados XD) and the extra space would be nice.

[KyraEnsui]

anyone know what the 09 rate for a suite at the Hilton was? considering getting one for this coming year instead of a regular room (since my roomies and I are cosplayers who are a bunch of prop afficinados XD) and the extra space would be nice.

=/ They didn't offered it in '09 for the Hilton from what I remember.

[MikoChika]

Mariott and Hilton in my opinion are the best two hotels to get for the con, for the mere fact you dont have to cross any streets to get to the main con, just down through halls.
I stayed at St Claire last time and it wasn't too bad.

Pro's for St. Claire:
Mini-fridge
Halls aren't crowded with rowdy con goers
Elevators are always free
Cheaper then Marriott and Hilton
locks on bathroom doors

Cons:
Rooms are sort of small
You have to make a walk to the con grounds, and a walk back to the hotel. ( though it's not too bad, and it's always fun to see cosplayers walk the crosswalk, you always get soem funny looks at the cars you pass, lol)
You have to watch the person at the front desk when they check you in, some of them don't know about the discounts congoers get. ( had a huge problem with this).

[Sora]

I prefer the Marriott because I enjoy it. I do know the issue with the bathrooms having no lock, but I've had roommates who respect the privacy of the person going in. I did stay at the Hilton one year, but I think I prefer the Marriott still. Parking is cheaper too.

[Nina Star 9]

I have stayed at the Marriott for every year it has been in this location save one, when I stayed at the Hilton. The Marriott is nice, but this year, I'm going to try for the Hilton simply because of the elevator situation (though, the Hilton had another elevator problem that I remember -- they were too fast and made me dizzy. At least there weren't as many stops, so it's a dizziness trade off for me) and because I'd like to try something new. I think I'd enjoy being on the "quieter" side of the con for once, since it isn't really -that- much further from most of the con events.

I do put high priority on staying at one of the two connected hotels, though, since I enjoy my downtime in the room and wouldn't want to have to walk back and forth (especially late and night and more than likely alone and in skimpy cosplay, non-skimpy cosplay, or loli). Though, from what I saw of it from the B&W Ball last year, the Fairmont looks pretty swanky~ I've heard good things about the non-connected hotels, but I still would greatly prefer one of the two connected ones.

[heeroyuy135]

I've been going to the Marriott because of the free high-speed internet, half-off valet parking, and a overall great experience two years in a row. Plus last year they had me checked in before 10am.
Does the Hilton have a similar deal on free high-speed internet, because I would love to try out the Hilton one year.

[jacktchance]

I'm a Hilton Honors member, so I guess it's the Hilton for me.  :P

[chanocular]

I've only stayed at the St. Claire once, the room was pretty large, and it was nice. Elevators there were not as hectic as the Marriott. Despite the elevators, I always enjoy my stay at the Marriott. Next year, I am hoping to put a request for a room closest to the bottom floor at the Marriott. I hope this is possible.

I've been going to the Marriott because of the free high-speed internet...

Wait...its free? I could of sworn I had to pay $5ish dollars a day.

[heeroyuy135]

I've been going to the Marriott because of the free high-speed internet...

Wait...its free? I could of sworn I had to pay $5ish dollars a day.

Only for the room that's in the $80-90 range

[Dany]

The Hilton has mini-fridges, but I don't believe the Mariott does.  At least, I've never had friends comment that they did, nor noticed them when I was in friends' rooms.

The Hilton hotel website had minifridges listed as an ammenity of their rooms. It's was the big decisionmaker on my part to go with Hilton over Marriott this year (and that's with having a Hilton Honors account)...that way I can keep my food and bevvies and cractackular Asian jello shot snacks nice and cold. Might have a cooler too, if I think about it (had a cheep styrofoam one for SDCC this year and I forgot to pack it in the car :P).

[Yuki Valentine]

I was just wondering which one of these hotels you stay in for Fanime.

Personally, I think that that Hilton is very gross...  >_>
I've stayed in the Marriott for the past two years I've been going there, but I'm staying in the Fairmont next year, cause it's my favorite!  XDD  (Live music until 1:00 AM and everything!)

So...  Yeah, just wondering.  =p

[TC X0 Lt 0X]

I really should update this thread.

[otakuya]

From experience and what I expected, the Hilton is the better choice. The CONS that say that it is far away from the convention activities is a PRO for me, because it's not as crowded and have a little bit more room than Marriott's. Just walk a bit more from the Hilton, it saves you from a long time of waiting for Marriott elevators.

After about 7 years being at SJCC, the Hilton, Marriott, St. Claire, Fairmont, De Anza, and Montgomery Hotels should know what to expect from FanimeCon and its people.

[caskaslyrk]

I prefer the Hilton.  Generally speaking there is an "older" crowd of fanime goers that stay in the hilton so it is less likely for you to get stuck in the elevator with all the buttons being pressed.  Also less wait time for the elevator!  The Fairmont is a nice hotel, but it is about 2 blocks away if you don't mind a little exercise.  :o  The Marriott elevator will give you vertigo...it feels like you are on the superman ride!

[Kyra_Maverick]

  :o  The Marriott elevator will give you vertigo...it feels like you are on the superman ride!

I'm glad to hear that I was not the only one who felt this way about the Marriott's elevators. The first (and only) time I've stayed there, I ended up taking the stairs the whole weekend... right up to the 24th floor.

[caskaslyrk]

  :o  The Marriott elevator will give you vertigo...it feels like you are on the superman ride!

I'm glad to hear that I was not the only one who felt this way about the Marriott's elevators. The first (and only) time I've stayed there, I ended up taking the stairs the whole weekend... right up to the 24th floor.

Yes the elevator is horrible...I was nauseated the whole weekend...

[AngelicSquid]

I've been going to the Marriott because of the free high-speed internet...

Wait...its free? I could of sworn I had to pay $5ish dollars a day.

Only for the room that's in the $80-90 range

Wait, are you talking about if the $80-90 a night doesnt get free internet?
Cause when I stayed, we had around $120 a night and we couldnt get free internet.

[AngelicSquid]

The Hilton has mini-fridges, but I don't believe the Mariott does.  At least, I've never had friends comment that they did, nor noticed them when I was in friends' rooms.

The Marriot has mini fridges. You just have to ask for one either in advance or at the counter. When you book the room you have an option to tell you things would like. For example, two twin beds. There you ask for a mini fridge.
When my friends and I got there, we didnt know about it. So when they told us it is best to ask in advanced because their fridges run out, but luckily we got the last one.
And the next day they somehow messed up and gave us another mini fridge so we ended up having two. XD

[Avairrianna]

Ok, so I have two questions for the people who have stayed at the hotels connected to the convention center.

1) What is the situation on parking? Do they put you in the convention parking deck? And how much is it? Someone mentioned Mariott half price valet?

2) Do either the Hilton or Mariott have connected rooms with a inner door connecting them?

[Moonblossom]

Avairrianna - the Hilton did have some interconnected rooms before the reno. I'm not sure if they still do, but it's likely. I'm not sure about the parking, but I believe they have their own lots?

I have a few questions for people who have stayed at the Hilton since the reno. They keep talking about the tv hookups - do these include HDMI? Or is it just RCA/Coax/whatever? My laptop only has an HDMI out and being able to watch movies on the tv would be amazing.

Also, how big are the bathtubs? The hotel I was originally looking at had these amazing two-person jacuzzi tubs in each room, but it's a mile away. I'm not expecting anything that nice, obviously, but I am about six feet tall and the reason I chose the Hilton rather than the other place is that my health problems are getting worse, and I'd love to be able to soak at the end of the day without having my knees around my ears.