FanimeCon 2024 Forums

Straightforward enough, just share your experience with the hotel you stayed at this year.

Hotel: Westin (Saint Claire) on Market and San Carlos

Pros:

1 Smooth check in and check out.
2 A fridge
3 Awesome shower that goes above my head. XD
4 They got me a room on the 2nd floor. Sweet.

Cons:

1 What's taking so long for them to email my receipt that I asked for? XD
2 Tiny elevator
3 One night, my key card didn't work on the door from the stairs to my floor, forcing me to use the elevator...come on...

Would I come back?
Very likely :)

Side note, my first choice for several years, the Ramada/Pacific Motor Inn is 0_0

Generally the same as previous years, Hyatt had spacious rooms and decent elevator travel. Notably though, this year they trained the vetting system for the breakfast again this year, opting for tickets dated for specific days instead of armbands. Not to bad, but was bad is that they only gave enough tickets for 2 people per room, so half a full room could not go to breakfast. Very disappointing given previous years.
Also one of my rooms had an AC that was on the frits and only worked here or there (it was making an odd struggling noise). It wasn't too much of an issue, but the room could be a bit warm at times.

I stayed at the Fairmont this year again.

Pros:

1. Check in was quick and easy. I got their early, too early because they didn't have my room type I originally booked available, so they offered to upgrade my room at no additional charge.*
2. Quiet area not by the elevator was appreciated.
3. Decent view from the window.
4. Room service was great.

Cons:

1. The room they "upgraded" me to was meh. I originally booked a room with a king bed and was "upgraded" to a queen deluxe room. It was just me by myself so it wasn't a huge deal but the room itself wasn't anything special or more deluxe from the Kings I've stayed in previously. Room seemed it was the same size, just a smaller bed.
2. Elevator con this year seemed worse than previous years imo. I normally didn't have an issue getting to where I needed to go but this year was pretty bad. Granted, this wasn't 100% the hotel's fault but still felt it was worth mentioning.
3A. The bathroom. By far the worst bathroom experience so far. The faucet covers for the bath were literally falling off. I would easily take them off with no force, especially since they were already loosened off the wall when I got there. I didn't use the bath so not a huge deal to me but still.
3B. The water temperature was pretty bad this year. It was mostly hot but every minute or two it'd have 10-15 seconds of cold water. That's never happened before when I've stayed there. Pretty big con in my books.
3C. The toilet paper rolls. Everyone knows it's over (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Toilet_paper_orientation_over.jpg), not under (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Toilet_paper_orientation_under.jpg), however whoever was there before me (or maybe room service did) put it under. This isn't a serious con but one I feel may sway people either way. jkjk.
4. I was somehow checked out without me personally checking out. I waited in linecon to checkout on Monday just to be told I was already checked out. I was confused, I informed the service desk person that I haven't checked out yet and asked if there was some magical automated way I could have accidentally have done it even though I know I was never in any kind of area/position anywhere to accidentally checkout. I was assured it couldn't have been done automatically and had to have been done by someone personally. I did get a text about using the express checkout where I would text them the email I'd like my receipt and when I'd be checking out but I never did that so idk. If I would have known I was already somehow checked out, I wouldn't have waited in line forever.

Overall, I was still pleased with the Fairmont. Nothing I could really complain about. I plan on sticking with them next year and years after with the exception of I'll wait for my original room I booked rather than being "upgraded." Or at least check out the "upgraded" room first and decide if I want to stay there or wait until my room becomes available.

Springhill Suites by Marriott San Jose Airport

Pros:

• The fact that it was far away from the con means there's a lot less noise and absolutely NO elevator con.
• Check in and Check out was super clean and easy due to lack of Linecon: Hotel Edition.
• The hotel itself looks new or at least renovated/updated. So everything especially the bathrooms looked clean without any issue with plumbing.
• The room already came with a microwave, coffee maker, and an empty fridge.
• Complimentary breakfast.

Cons:

• The main deal breaker for a lot of people: distance from the con.
• While Fanime did provide free shuttles between the hotels and the con, the frequency of these shuttles to this hotel in particular left me and some other guests dissatisfied even though it seemed consistent with what it says on the guidebook and website. (Goes anywhere between every 20 minutes to every hour depending on peak vs off peak hours.) Any of the routes that included the Double Tree looked like it was the most frequent, given the amount of people not only staying at the hotel but also how there's now plenty of panels being held there. It makes complete sense, but it's still discouraging see at least 3 Route A and or B shuttles go by before seeing our Route D finally chugging along. Spending some extra money to call an uber/lyft became a viable option at that point, which kind of defeats the purpose of the con shuttles.

Other things to note:

• The bathrooms are separated by two rooms: one with a shower and sink, and another with a toilet and sink. Both of those doors are sliding and have no locks whatsoever and has a frosted window which I personally find odd. It's not at all an issue with myself and my roommates but in the case that you're rooming with someone who likes to be a troll and starts invading some privacy, it might become awkward...
• The Springhill Suites is combined with the Residence Inn since both hotels are under the Marriott name. The shuttle pick-up/drop-off area is on the Residence Inn side for the ease of the shuttle to stop there.

Overall, I still love the hotel since it's my second Fanime year staying in it. The shuttles were definitely the most disappointing part of my stay however, so I'd try my luck again next year in to book at either the Hyatt or Westin or possibly even the Double Tree considering the frequency of the shuttles there compared to everything else.

Stayed at Fairmont this year

Pros:
1. Easy check-in/check-out
2. Room was comfortable, and overall was very pleased
3. Good view, I got the room overlooking the pool
4. Elevators was much better than the Marriott (still had to wait at peak hours, but wait times were less)

Cons:
1. No Wi-Fi (complimentary at other hotels i.e. Marriott)
2. Pillows were terrible! Bring your own pillow if staying at the Fairmont
3. The fridge was full of their drinks, and you couldn't take things or else you had to pay for it. Wish they had another fridge to put our drinks in.

This is my 2nd time staying at the Fairmont, and overall I had a great stay. There were parties Friday and Saturday nights across the hall and rooms close to me, but I expected. Bring ear plugs or headphones if you plan on staying at any Fanime Hotel site. A much better experience than the hotel I booked at the Marriott in 2016. The Marriott beats the Fairmont when it comes to Wi-Fi, but I would still recommend the Fairmont. I'd give it a 4.5/5 stars.

Hyatt (Third Year)

Pros:
Easy Check-in/out
Room was big enough
Free Breakfast?
Gaming tournaments
Workers seem chill
Pillows were nice

Cons:
The TV wouldn't allow any console to work. >:l
Our Floor had some heavy ass smokers >:l
Elevators but thats to be expected

So here's my less than timely hotel review. 

So 2018 was my first year staying at the Hyatt and it was a bit of a mixed bag.

Pros

I arrived on Thursday and was able to check into my room with no issue.

Free Breakfast*

Free  Wi-Fi*

Proximity to the con.

Most of the staff was pretty nice.   

Cons

The bathroom was TINY.  there was also no counter space in the bathroom which made doing make up fun /sarcasm.

The room door didn't close all the way, so you had to pull it to get it to actually close and lock.

The smoke alarm fell off the wall twice.

While the free breakfast was nice, they only gave you two tickets per day.  Meaning only two people could get breakfast.  ( I ended up smuggling food up to my roomies o3o; )

Maybe I was in a bad location, or maybe they were just overloaded, but I could not connect to the wi fi at all.

This year will be my third time staying at the Fairfield Inn.

Pros:

+ Free parking
+ Free WiFi
+ Mini fridge and microwave
+ Free breakfast (certain hours)
+ Free coffee/tea
+ Quiet location despite being near two casinos and US 101
+ Staffs are friendly
+ Easy access to US 101

Cons:

+ Distance from con
+ Shuttle (They've been good with the run time until late in the evening and that's when some drivers will let people on for the Doubletree Route. It is actually a block away from Doubletree.)

I stayed at Fairfield because it saves money on parking and we didn't have to worry about losing a spot. Starbucks is across the street along with great Pho place and Chipotle. There is a glass sliding door that leads to outside patio where we can air out hairsprays or any aerosol type from our room. That was a huge plus.

We will stay again if we do not get the Hyatt.

Stayed at the AC Hotel by Marriott

Pros:

+ Not too bad pricing
+ TV had Netflix and was good size
+ Rooms looked nice and were overall good size
+ Free Wifi
+ Overall fairly quiet despite being near the free-way
+ Very friendly staff
+ Bar in the hotel was good, a very nice lady spoke to me and my friend when we went down.
+ Pool

Cons:
+ Pay for parking. Price not the worst, but not super cheap.
+ Hard wood floors in rooms. Bad idea, feet are sensitive and so hurt to walk.
+ Bathroom door was a weird glass material that was almost see-through
+ Shower did not have a door, instead having a open chunk as if a door has been taken off. With the glass door above, left a feeling of slight comfortableness.
+ TV wouldn't let us hook up my PS4 to it. Not a big deal breaker, just a negative.
+ Breakfast was not free.
+ Slight walk to the convention. Not the worst I've had, but it is a decent distance still.


Overall this was a pretty good hotel with some issues I think make it my second favorite I think. I'd need to think over if this one is worth doing again but not a good hotel.