Hotel Review / Feedback: Pros, Cons, Tips

[nooblet]

*EDIT* figured I'd change this into a Hotel Review / Feedback thread, for those who will tell about their hotel experience to inform others about what hotel they may possibly stay at for the next year.

I stayed at the Hyatt for Friday and Saturday night w/ my brother and cousin.  checked in before 5. Our room was on the 9th floor, it faced the parking garage, and it had 2 double beds and a sofa. checked out Sunday at 12.

LIKED:
-the room. It was good enough for the 3 of us. had enough room for us to unpack our things around the room and put stuff in the closet.
-fridge for food :D
-location! very close to the convention center. come back late afternoon to take a nap and energize yourself for the night, like we did.
-staff was friendly
-couch was (surprisingly) very comfortable to sleep on
-complimentary toiletries. housekeeping restocked any that we had used.

DISLIKES:
-elevators. imo, they were pretty slow.
-can hear the neighbors next to us, depending on how loud they were- specifically Saturday night. though to be fair, we were really loud Friday night haha.

TIPS:
-if you don't want outside noise to disturb your sleep, request a room facing the parking garage- it's away from the light rail. to those who stayed at the Hyatt, I'm curious if anyone had problems sleeping.
(though honestly, we came back late both nights and knocked out pretty quickly)

*EDIT* the cost of the room was approximately $260. I would definitely stay here next year if I attend next year.

[Naiagu]

I also stayed at the Hyatt, Thurs-Mon. This is my second year staying there and my hotel of choice. I've stayed at the Faimont and the Saint Claire and the Hyatt beats both price and comfort wise.

Likes:
The staff was very friendly.
We had double beds, everyone slept comfortably.
The location is great.
Although, I did not partake, their offering of cheap morning breakfast is awesome!
I tried out their gym Sunday night, no one was in there it was awesome just working out, their machines are really smooth.
In and out parking privileges.
*EDIT* Complimentary Internet. *___*

Dislikes:
First use of the hair dryer, it sparked and then wouldn't turn on D:.
Elevators were kind of slow at high traffic times but I guess it's expected.

This hotel is still my hotel of choice. I will probably keep staying here as long as I attend Fanime.

[Nina Star 9]

Hilton, Friday - Monday

I will always stay at the Hilton when available.

Pros:
- Connected to the convention center. Even though there are hotels that are literally right across the street, I would rather stay somewhere that I don't have to walk outside to get back to, for safety reasons. This is a HUGE factor for me.
- Elevators. Much less crazy than the Marriott, though somewhat worse than usual this year.
- The staff were fantastic. I had a slight problem with my card upon check-in (bank hadn't cleared some charges yet), and the staff member who checked me in was extremely helpful and was able to find a suitable workaround (do the deposit for one night, get the bank situation cleared up, come back the next day to reserve the rest of the weekend, all while ensuring that we still had our room for the whole weekend). I wish I had gotten his name, because he was really helpful. Except at check-out, he was the only Hilton front desk staff I dealt with all weekend, because he was so fantastic at check-in. He was extremely patient, and seemed to be genuinely concerned that everything was okay with my bank and that I was able to get my room for the weekend. (Also, the maids were great -- we had forgotten to put out the "do not disturb" sign on Sunday, and my Condesce wig was laying across the bed, yet the maid was able to carefully move the wig and make the bed anyway, without tangling or damaging the wig in the least. Keep in mind that this is an ankle-length curly wig, made of three wigs attached together, that tangles very easily. I have no idea how she managed it.)
- Mini-fridge.

Cons:
- Slightly higher price than other hotels, but we still managed to have it cost under $100/person for the weekend
- Small rooms (but we were able to fit 4 cosplayers in quite comfortably, and up to 6 cosplayers one night for an emergency "we need a room" type deal for some friends...and this was with some of my larger props/horns/wings)
- Beds are tiny, but that's to be expected
- Lighting in the rooms isn't great/only the rather small bathroom has good enough lighting for makeup (making it hard when you have pretty much an entire room of cosplayers doing intensive makeup and/or body paint)

Really, I quite like staying at this hotel. :] It being connected, the somewhat better elevator situation, and now my good experiences with hotel staff (MUCH better than my experiences at the Marriott and the Fairmont, staff-wise) will have me coming back to this hotel, despite the small rooms and the higher price.

[Xanreo]

Day Zero @ The Marriott

I always try out a different hotel for Day Zero and this year, it was The Marriott's turn.

Pros:
- Good location
- Nice room
- Roomy bathroom
- Great staff

Cons:
- The elevators scare me
- No fridge
- Business center costs money for usage and print jobs?!

Friday - Monday @ The Hilton

I will always stay at The Hilton for the main convention days.

Pros:
- Good location
- Great staff
- A fridge
- Fulfilled all my requests
- Maids went out of their way to be accommodating
- Best business center for any hotel I've ever stayed at
- Great parking deal

Cons:
- It seems as if the price increases every year
- Small bathroom

PS.
I forgot to mention but The Hilton never charged me a security deposit; I asked when I checked in and the female staffer told me they'd just charge my card for the 420+ for the room and the extra parking charges. ???
The Marriott charged me a $50 deposit that I got back on Sunday.

[Konekogami]

Fairmont

Pros:
- HUGE ROOM
- Huge Bathroom
- Great staff ( at least in my experience )
- Connected to the Bijan Bakery.
- Close to a lot of restaurants
- GORGEOUS Hotel.
Cons
- On the pricier side.  The deposit is pretty steep too.
- A bit of a walk from the convention center.  Nothing serious, but it does wear on you if you're wearing heels and need to go back and forth a lot.   
- I was rather disappointed to find that my room didn't have a vanity like previous years.  Ah well. 
- If you have a room in the south tower (which I had) you need a room key to use the elevator.    Wouldn't be that bad if it wasn't for the fact that I'm extremely forgetful, and I kept thinking the elevator was broken.


Tips:

  Sign up the the Fairmont's President's Club!  The basic level is free, and if you do so, you'll get free internet along with other perks such as getting your own check in line. 

Do NOT touch anything in the minibar/snacks.  Basically these are all connected to sensors, and if you move or pick something up, you'll be charged.

[Saki Usagishi]

This is the second year my husband and I have decided to get a room. We really love The Fairmont Hotel.
Pros:
Huge room
Really friendly staff (when my husband demanded something he got it!)
Clean room
Couch, Vanity, and nice table
Bar (Haven't had a drink there yet)

Cons:
TV remote was terrible (It never wanted to work)
No mini fridge
Needed more towels (the hotel is very big on being Eco-friendly)
Pool is kinda small, but always filled with loud people. You can hear them from the 8th floor.
It is a little scary at night especially with all the homeless along the sidewalk.
ELEVATORS!!! It seems like every year it's worse with the elevators.

I really love this hotel. It's nice and spacious and also very romantic. Lots of good places to have photo shoots. More pricey and little distance, but I always have a good night sleep every night.

[CobaltTempest]

I stayed at the Hotel Ramada this time around, marking the 3rd hotel I've stayed in (I've stayed at the Doubletree and Fairmont in previous years).

Pros:
1. Low cost - The price for a quad at this place was quite appealing.
2. Space
3. Continental breakfast - Really helped to conserve money for other things.
4. Near various restaurants
5. Not too far from the convention center.
6. Microwave and fridge
7. Friendly staff
8. Peaceful and quiet environment - It was actually a hotel where I would not end up waking up in the middle of the night to unnecessary noise from overexcited attendees.
9. 2 floors make it easier to go down and up without experiencing delays due to others trying to go in and out.

Cons:
1. The closet and the bathroom are in the same area - This made it a bit awkward for us cosplayers to get ready especially if you were like me and needed to do makeup. I chose to be a nice guy and let my other roommates who did not need to take around an hour to do makeup have priority.
2. Keys had a tendency to stop working after a while even though they were not placed near electronic devices - I had to switch the keys we had at least twice each during the weekend.
3. The 4+ block walk might be a bit of a problem for others.
4. Might feel like an overglorified motel room for some.

For people on a budget, this hotel is not a bad choice if you are willing to take the walk.

[Touya no Miko]

I stayed at the Hyatt for Thursday and checked out on Monday Night with my roomies. We've stayed at the Marriot and Hilton before, but so far Hyatt has been the best experience.

LIKED:
-The room: It wasn't huge, but it had enough space to easily fit 4-6 people. We had a king-size bed, a sofa bed, and a regular sofa on the side.
-Complimentary Fridge
-Free Wi-fi
-Staff was friendly
-Check in/out went smoothly
-Cheap breakfast buffet! Only $7! You get scrambled eggs, bacon or sausages, some sort of potato hash, assorted drinks, and DIY yogurt parfaits. It was incredibly filling.
-Right across from the convention. Takes about a 2 minute walk.
-Sweet big-screen tv
-In and out parking privileges. No need to pay extra for multiple cars
-Less floors. We managed to get the second floor. :3
-Affordable. For all 4 nights it was roughly around $527.

Dislikes:
-Elevators were slow during check-out. Then again, it's only 9 floors so the wait isn't tortuous
-Couldn't get access to the stairs. They were only used for a fire emergency exit, which was pretty silly since it could have saved us the time waiting for elevators. Though we were allowed to use them on check-out day.
-Air in the room is rather dry and stuffy. Some of us woke up with hoarse voices and clogged sinuses. Ironically, the roommate who has the worst respiratory system out of all us seemed to be perfectly fine the whole time we stayed there.
-Can get pretty hot at night. The beds just seem to absorb heat, which can get pretty uncomfortable. Sleeping on the floor was way cooler and it made it easier to sleep.
-Bathrooms are pretty small. The shower head is a little odd, so it takes more effort to rinse out any product in your hair. Bathroom doesn't have a fan either. We had to keep the door open in order to let out all the steam.
-Breakfast buffet needs to be open longer. Weekdays it opens at 7 and closes at 9:30. Weekends are about an hour longer. You have to get up pretty early if you want to take advantage of it.

TIPS:
-If you pay for your room in cash and use a credit card(Not debit)for the deposit you're pretty much all set for the weekend. Check out won't even be necessary.
-Get up early for the breakfast buffet! Eat as much as you can, because you're going to need that extra energy for the con!
-If you have a cosplay that involves body paint, be very careful to not get it on anything in the room. Hotels are getting stricter and may even charge you extra if they find body paint on any towels or furniture.

[Junon]

Stayed the the Hilton, and the only CON I can mention is that the 3rd elevator was out of order, stuck on "2" the entire convention with no mention, no signage, and nothing ever acknowledged it was ever out of order which made the Hilton's elevator situation dire at times, even waiting up to 20 minutes to get on. Even worse was the false hopes I got thinking the elevator is only two floors up and on its way.

Usually Hilton does so much better with elevators during this convention.

[Hiyuki Hime]

the marriot
pros
surprisingly, i dont have many pros for the marriot this year and i stay at the marriot every year
- elevators were not as insane as all the other years
cons
OHHH BOY, DO I HAVE A LOT TO TALK ABOUT (note: ask for a different room if they give you room 2017)
-checked in at noon got a room on floor 20
-bathroom sliding door was not working properly it broke twice (was trapped inside the first time because the door got stuck and failed to open)
-mini table by the window was broken the top layer of the table came right off
-room was EXTREMLY stuffy had to keep the air condioner on all the time/room door open
- house keeping took forever to come and change the bedsheets when requested
- and apparently the room door had issues as well, a roomie who didnt have a keycard on her apparently pushed the door open without any effort

will i stay again next year?
considering the shitty room i got this year. NO
i will probably go stay at the hyatt next year

[Bm-Atticus]

I've stayed at each hotel around the convention center. This year, I because of issues with the website this was the only hotel still available to me. At first I was very disappointed, as I had never stayed here before. But after this year I think I found my permanent 'home'.

The Saint Claire

Pros
-The hotel itself is beautiful. Very elegant and classy.
-The size. The hotel only has five floors. We were on the fifth floor and had a wonderful view of the park and the Fairemont.
-THE ELEVATORS. I still have nightmares of the Marriot's elevators and being crammed against the wall by sweaty con goers. Not only does the Saint Claire have a nine person limit but often times my friends and I were the only ones taking the elevator. The number of times we had people in the elevator with us I could count with one hand.
-The staff was very friendly and seemed to be enjoying seeing everyone in their costumes and would often ask someone about it. It made me feel like I was welcome and not an annoyance.
-Location. The hotel is about fifty feet away from the nearest entrance into the con. Something that me and my sore cosplaying feet were very grateful for.

Cons
-We had a single bedded room and it was a bit smaller then what I'm used to, but I had read that in previous reviews so it wasn't really the fault of the hotel.
-Parking. They only had valet parking so we had to find our own, which wasn't too difficult since we planned ahead of time where we were going to park.


Overall, it was a very pleasant stay and I'll be looking foreward to staying their again, especially with my extra bulky cosplays I have planned for next year.

Cons
-For the single bedded

[DangerHeart]

Sainte Claire Thursday - Monday

Pros:
Very pleasing to the eye, uncrowded elevators. We had a mini fridge in both of our rooms(room stuffed the first night, NOT suggested especially here cause the rooms are pretty small and got our own for the rest). Comfy beds, good showers. Would probably stay again if my bf and I agree on it. Bathroom in the basement for if you really have to do your business and friends are hogging the bathroom with cosplays(also awesome for my friend who has IBS XD, he loved that feature)

Cons:
THIN WALLS, I expect this from every hotel but this seemed especially true here. Our neighbors were more mannered and quieted down later at night, but the neighbors from the first night kept my friends who stayed in the room very annoyed. Size of the rooms is a bit small, but fit three people comfortably in my opinion. They over refunded my bfs card for the deposit and then overdrafted his account a few days later when they corrected it, I told him to call them and complain but he just let it go.

Other:
valet was about a 8/10 for me just because once it took nearly an hour to get our car(when taking a friend back to the airport, that's not a good time to run late) but they let us leave our car there after we checked out since valet is paid until 3pm, so that was awesome. I don't completely blame the room size on our discomfort the first night. We were already room stuffing by one person before two of our friends each invited another person that night without reminding us(so 7 total  >:() It was horribly stuff and I never suggest people room stuff like that. Yeah its cheaper for everyone, but the annoyance and cramped room all weekend is just not worth it to me.

Would I stay again?:
I would if my bf and I get our own room again next year, if not I'll leave it up to a group vote.

[Tsu]

THIN WALLS, I expect this from every hotel but this seemed especially true here. Our neighbors were more mannered and quieted down later at night, but the neighbors from the first night kept my friends who stayed in the room very annoyed.

Nobody wants to be a party pooper, I know, but if you're worried about this for potential future visits keep in mind you can call the front desk. The first year I was @ the St. Claire there was a guy roaming back and forth in the hall that confused me and when I went to check, it turned out he was a security guy for the hotel who was looking for a noise offender so he could give them a warning. The front desk is more than happy to get folks to hush up if you need them to.