First Time Hotel HELP

[MysticEden]

Hi Everyone! I'm considering staying at a hotel this year for FANIME despite living in the bay area because... I have a bad habit of staying late and driving back home half asleep. I want to avoid that and be able to relax in a room between events instead of wandering around the convention center all day.

I wanted to know what were the rates last year? Is there a place where I can see this? Also which hotel would you recommend? I'm honestly leaning towards the hilton and mariott so I can game till 3am but I'm worried about price... I'd be staying there thursday till monday >_<);

[Rebeccakh]

Well.. I personally have never stayed in the hilton or marriot due to them getting filled up as soon as they go on sale plus all the horror stories about how rowdy the people are, bad experiences with elevators, etc. I've stayed at the saint claire which doesn't get filled up quickly and is right across the street to the right of the con, four point which isn't that well known by the con goers so again it has lower rates and doesn't get filled up and its a bit of a walk but honestly worth it.
My boyfriend and I are staying at the saint claire this year because the rooms are nice and its a beautiful relaxing hotel with a classic feel and there probably won't be a bunch of crazy teenagers screaming til 2am.

[MysticEden]

Well.. I personally have never stayed in the hilton or marriot due to them getting filled up as soon as they go on sale plus all the horror stories about how rowdy the people are, bad experiences with elevators, etc. I've stayed at the saint claire which doesn't get filled up quickly and is right across the street to the right of the con, four point which isn't that well known by the con goers so again it has lower rates and doesn't get filled up and its a bit of a walk but honestly worth it.
My boyfriend and I are staying at the saint claire this year because the rooms are nice and its a beautiful relaxing hotel with a classic feel and there probably won't be a bunch of crazy teenagers screaming til 2am.

Thanks for the feedback :) I've seen the st claire mentioned around here a lot. And that distance is awesome :) Whats the difference in pricing?

[Mr Lex]

Well.. I personally have never stayed in the hilton or marriot due to them getting filled up as soon as they go on sale plus all the horror stories about how rowdy the people are, bad experiences with elevators, etc. I've stayed at the saint claire which doesn't get filled up quickly and is right across the street to the right of the con, four point which isn't that well known by the con goers so again it has lower rates and doesn't get filled up and its a bit of a walk but honestly worth it.
My boyfriend and I are staying at the saint claire this year because the rooms are nice and its a beautiful relaxing hotel with a classic feel and there probably won't be a bunch of crazy teenagers screaming til 2am.

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I figure it's better than starting up a whole new thread when when my question is related.

What were the rates you had/will expct from St. Claire? I was planning on getting a room with for 4 and need to figure out how much everybody should be expected to save up.

[KyraEnsui]

I've been in both the Hilton and Marriott in the past and these past few years, I've stayed at the Hilton the most. The staffs are nice and I didn't have any problem with any situation of noise and such since I stayed on the 3rd floor which I personally requested for. For a double room, the rate was around $115 and I stayed from Thursday to Monday which comes about $450 and that's without parking. Last year, the Hilton didn't charge us for parking at all for the weekend so it save us a lot of money even though they finally made their parking half off.

[CommandantCat]

Alright where there are actually plenty of hotels or motels circling in around a couple block radius. I am sure there are other forums here that actually have the list and the votes for each, as well as perks or pricing. I would really recommend searching around for those.

I know the Hilton is ideal due to it's well, closeness. The Fairmont is just across the way and the Marriot is also wonderfully close. But keep in mind they are /expensive/ if you are the starving artist type especially. I will be bunking down sharing a room with as many friends who are willing to help pay at the Ramada hotel which is a short walk away.

The pricing can end up over 300$ for a weekend at one of the larger more ritzy hotels, but if you can find friends to share with it may not be so bad.

My best advice is to still search around the forums for a good list, or check online for hotels/motels/inns that are in very close proximity to the center, and your price range.

[Somethingducky]

I'm one of those who has also chosen the St. Claire this year. I managed to get a "double deluxe" room (two double beds sleeps 4) for three nights Fri-Sun total including tax but not deposit was just under $500. Since I plan to share with my fiance and another couple, I'm only really out about $250. We also plan on parking at the convention center the whole week-end which will be cheaper than paying for valet parking (required at several of the hotels so be sure to include that in your calculation!). Big tip: if you aren't going to be driving anywhere just find a parking spot in the convention parking garage and just leave the car there all weekend (locked and empty of course), when it comes time for your to leave just say you lost your parking ticket the lost ticket fee is much cheaper than paying for all 3-4 days together. Only downside is no in-out privileges once you park it plan on leaving it the whole convention.

Oh and rumor has it the St Claire is haunted...no really...

[Gwydion]

I'm one of those who has also chosen the St. Claire this year. I managed to get a "double deluxe" room (two double beds sleeps 4) for three nights Fri-Sun total including tax but not deposit was just under $500. Since I plan to share with my fiance and another couple, I'm only really out about $250. We also plan on parking at the convention center the whole week-end which will be cheaper than paying for valet parking (required at several of the hotels so be sure to include that in your calculation!). Big tip: if you aren't going to be driving anywhere just find a parking spot in the convention parking garage and just leave the car there all weekend (locked and empty of course), when it comes time for your to leave just say you lost your parking ticket the lost ticket fee is much cheaper than paying for all 3-4 days together. Only downside is no in-out privileges once you park it plan on leaving it the whole convention.

Oh and rumor has it the St Claire is haunted...no really...

Well if it is they've avoided me every time I stayed there. Damn, and I'd like to see that too. ^^

There's good and bad with all the hotels. I've stayed at the Crown Plaza (which is going to change it's name soon I heard, but is directly in front of the Con Center), Marriott and St. Claire. They were all about the same price, $325ish for the whole thing. The Fairmont is a bit more expensive, and the Hilton sells out fast. The main issue with the Marriott is that by Monday the elevators start to break down so it does suck trying to get around. It's happened every single time without fail, I swear. ^^ The best way to avoid this is to load the car late Sunday night and then take the stairs unless you're on the 10th floor or something. Better than being stuck in the crowd for 20 mins and three elevators.

Crown Plaza only went to once because the damn toilets are louder than hell. Wish I was kidding, airplane taking off noises they make when you flush. Do that at 3am and you won't be half-asleep anymore. Neither will anyone in your room or the ones around you either. The a/c was also rather noisy. Their parking however was the closest to the building than any of the others.

St. Claire's issue is that it has no self-park, only valet and that's damn expensive. So you have to park in the Con Center and walk all the damn way across the building and then across the street. When you're carrying lots of cosplay that can get tiring.

I think there's been a couple other threads about comparing the hotels on here too, (been going so long may be confusing myself^^) so I'd check them all first and then decide what you want.

[KyraEnsui]

Here's the thread for deciding on which hotel suits well for you: http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,16441.0.html .

[Rebeccakh]

Well.. I personally have never stayed in the hilton or marriot due to them getting filled up as soon as they go on sale plus all the horror stories about how rowdy the people are, bad experiences with elevators, etc. I've stayed at the saint claire which doesn't get filled up quickly and is right across the street to the right of the con, four point which isn't that well known by the con goers so again it has lower rates and doesn't get filled up and its a bit of a walk but honestly worth it.
My boyfriend and I are staying at the saint claire this year because the rooms are nice and its a beautiful relaxing hotel with a classic feel and there probably won't be a bunch of crazy teenagers screaming til 2am.

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I figure it's better than starting up a whole new thread when when my question is related.

What were the rates you had/will expct from St. Claire? I was planning on getting a room with for 4 and need to figure out how much everybody should be expected to save up.

Honestly I usually guesstimate somewhere above 400?  so tell everyone to shoot for $200 just in case someone flakes or can't save at least $100 so you can pull their slack. (extra money means you can buy stuff at the dealers hall too if everyone brings extra money for safety/ i'm paranoid like that)