FanimeCon 2024 Forums

You know the drill. Post your opinions on your hotel stay this year.

Despite some wait times on the elevators (but I didn't expect any waits when we checked in or checked out), I really liked the Marriott. 1/2 off Vallet with In-and-out Privillages is awesome, free internet is freakin' awesome (I was able to update my blog often), and the staff was top-notch. A ton of tip money to the bellhops and the people who got my car.

it were awesome, even though we ended up letting a random cool guy we met up with on thursday crash in our room, we were at the ramada on the ground floor, so even though it was a short walk, we didnt need to wait for an elevator, and we kinda became a social spot for some people staying at the ramada, even to having an all night DnD game, with star wars type results!

The Crowne Plaza has the loudest damn toilets and air conditioners EVER. One sounds like an explosion, the other an airplane taking off. And the walls are thin, so you get to hear when everyone around you flushes their toilet. Friday night sucked because of this, I got woken up every two seconds because of one or the other. Had to fiddle with the A/C so it would shut up at night so I could sleep. Otherwise they were nice and polite and the room was cleaned really fast. But I'm trying the Hilton or going back to the Sainte Claire next year, for quieter rooms. ^^

Other than the elevators constantly being over used..the Marriott was amazing this year. Quiet, comfortable and a perfect stay indeed. The price wasn't even that high either for 4 nights. I'll be reserving with them again next year for sure.

stayed in the hilton the entire weekend.

Everything was good, except for these few points:

-I hated the elevator to death >.< every frickin time i head to my 15th floor room, i end up wanting to puke at the front door of my room. It never happened, but who knows..next time...

-City Bar & Grill, worst service during late evenings.

  Me and my bro wandered for an hour looking for a good place for solid, not-too greasy food restos, ended up not loving the seafood restos or burgers, so we head back to grab a bite there. We got formally seated at the bar, and were handed the menus, after 5 mins we tried attracting the attention of any of the waiters, to no avail. We conversed with the person who sat us at the front desk and asked what was the proper way to get the waiter's attention, she mentioned they were busy, but it was possible for her to take the order for us, so we did request our orders. Lo and behold more people sat near us and got serviced, except for that two kids that also got formally seated, we were waiting for the waiters for 1. our food to be served, 2. for the two kids to get orders. Around 30 mins later the kids left having had no service whatsoever at all, AND we still don't have our FOOD/BEVERAGE. 45 mins later we eventually called the attention of a newer waiter who seemed to have just started his shift. And we explained. Turns out that lady never gave the order paper to another waiter/chef/cook before she left, ending her shift. That really turned us off waiting for an hour past hungry (10:50pm then) and left frustrated.

Hilton 5F here.

- Elevators are FAST.  You spend only 2/3 second or so passing by a floor.
- $14 for wifi? Screw that!
- Since I had to walk outside for a bit to go between the con and the hotel, that meant:
-- walking out in the cold
-- being back by a certain time
- On Saturday, I came abck to the room around 3 am, and all of my roommates took up beds. I tried sleeping on the floor, didn't work. So instead I took a couple chairs and slept o them.
- I called for laundry service and told them I needed my shirt by 11 am on Sunday morning (for a gathering), got my shirt back around 9 am.
- Bell desk = UGH. I miscounted my bags and wrote on my tag that I had 4, so they gave me only 4 bags even though they had a 5th one (containing my Lelouch, Suzaku, and shmup figurines, all totaling up to $64). I had to come back from my home in Santa Clara and convince them to let me look around in the storage rooms for my bag.

My hotel was a mile away, so I had to pay 16 dollars to the cabs for everytime I went there and back...
That was the only shitty thing.
I roomed with some kick ass people though!

The Marriott was pretty good this year, in spite of elevator slowness depending on the time of day.  Staff was friendly, had room service twice, if we needed extra towels, just made a call (even though the Marriott started to run out of towels), no problems until I tried to check out on Monday.  I called at 11 for someone to come get our almost 20 bags/suitcases/etc. and was told there'd be about a 30 minute wait.  No problem.  An hour later called again, was told 'oh, well, everyone's checking out right now so we'll get someone up there as soon as possible.'  I ended up stuck in my hotel room until after 3:00pm waiting for the bell service to get my bags.  The big problem was not that people were checking out, but that the same people were having their luggage held in concierge (down in the lobby) and no luggage carts were available to get me!  It ended up okay since I still had snacks, watched TV, took a (much needed) nap and saved myself from spending too much in a last dash at the dealer's room  ;D.

I'll probably stay at the Marriott again next year but will either check out much earlier or stay over to Tuesday.

Oh, and couldn't get on the Internet, dunno if because of where my room was (on the corner overlooking the fountains and the convention center).

I think the Marriot overbooked the twin rooms actually. My friends and I had two rooms, and both of us got King beds. Did anyone else get the same treatment and have to ask the hotel to transfer you to a double?

Video Checkout + getting luggage down at 9 in the morning + no elevator wait + Vallet parking hold until late in the evening (meaning I can still use Vallet even if I'm checked out) = no hassle!

I actually did not like the Marriott at all. The elevators were busy a lot. When I was trying to check in at 11 because one of my other buddies had got their room already and there stuff was already in it too (lucky >_<). I tried to do it and my room was not ready. They took down my phone # and said they'll guarantee to call me before 3 when my room was ready. I waited till 4 and the manager did do anything about it and couldn't care less. They tossed my stuff on the ground in the lobby and my fan had to be kept opened because it sticks, they put it together and I had only 1 day to get it repainted and finished. When they did that, I told them specifically that after all that, don't touch my stuff and they still did when I was trying to get it in the room. They even tried to charge me $25 a day for parking when its only $12.50 a day! Honestly, I stayed at the Hilton and I've done much better. I'm never staying at the Marriott ever again. Sorry for ranting about this, but just being honest on what happened to me. I'm not sure if this happened to anyone else, if it did, I'm verry...sorry... T_T

My friends and I were lucky enough to get a sexy corner room at the Marriot. Emphasis on sexy. That was a stylin' little place we got, and there was some idle talk about trying to swing both corner rooms next year so as to lay dibs on the anteroom joining the two as well.

Well, the Hilton was "Ok". The shower-heads were nice, and the beds were comfy...but the TV had no AV hookups. Somehow I got confused and thought they did have AV connections. This pretty much eliminated any decent alternative entertainment in-room. Last year I had a suite at the marriott and we could watch Anime or play PS2 or something even if the convention was slow. I liked being on the 4th floor however, easy stair access. Also, they let us check in super early on Friday, like 10:15 AM.

Next year I'm staying at either the Marriott or the Fairmont.

Stayed at the Hilton again this year, and was very happy with the service, as usual. Housekeeping was discrete and actually paid attention to the Do Not Disturb signs, which almost never happens to me. My friend had some emergency dental work done after we arrived and spent a lot of time in the middle of the day napping, so it was really nice that they didn't just barge in and start making noise.

The elevators were prompt, the concierge and desk service was always helpful. The hot tub was blissfully hot and quiet on Monday night, after most people had checked out, and they let us stay there an extra half-hour or so, since we were just sitting and talking, not making noise.

I do wish the TVs had inputs, but we just watched movies on our laptops instead.

Also, to whoever set up the wireless computer to computer network in their room on the eighth floor, thank you, I mooched off it all weekend ;)

I was at the Marriott (8F).  I have no complaints.  My room was cleaned every morning when I was out.  The hotel's fitness center was actually one of the nicer ones that I've seen.  I stayed in this hotel in 2005 and I knew how busy the elevators could get so I was expecting it.  I don't have a laptop, so the free computers in the lobby were very helpful when I needed to grab some important emails.  I would definitely stay there again.

I thought the Saint Claire was pretty good. The hotel staff were considerably nicer this year. They oversold in double bed rooms, but offered my group a suite so I was fine with that. They were also pretty nice when some of my friends had trouble with room keys and they were rather quick in getting towels and such to us. No issues with the elevators either...besides the speed of the elevator, but I didn't mind much.

Personally, the Mariott by the convention center seemed a great hotel.

My only complaint would be the press in the elevators. The waiting times, and then the lack of space within the elevators, were not fun. I don't see how the hotel could have prevented it, though, since four elevators are more than enough for twenty-six floors in a hotel with around a normal rate of occupancy, and they were very fast when they did move, so much so that I heard someone complain it was disconcerting on the first night. It was definitely uncalled for when assholes took the confusion in the elevator chamber to press all the buttons, though, since it's rediculous to wait through when you have to go to the twenty-fifth floor.

It was a really nice room, and never smelled bad or got crowded or littered, though those points are probably just because all but one other in my group canceled just days before the con started. The free business center downstairs was also a nice perk, though I didn't use it since I can check my email from the phone and don't have a website to update or anything. The staff did everything they were supposed to with the room, making the beds, keeping things clean. I can't say that about a couple of places I've stayed in. The staff really went above and beyond what I expected, too. My group had signed up somewhat late for our room, and the person who had actually signed us up decided not to show up. I thought for awhile that I'd be forced to go a few miles away and look for some empty motel. But the staff were really committed to helping me get the room I'd paid for, even though they had no rooms available when I approached them, putting me on a special waiting list, eventually giving me a room when someone canceled.

Overall, it was a great experience.

My stay at the Marriott this year was SUPERB. My father travels a LOT for his job, so I was able to put in his membership code/number and was given treatment as a silver member. When I checked in on Thursday the valet guys were nice and patient, and quickly brought a luggage cart. (I had a LOT of stuff with me. >_>) Check in was fairly quick, and the room was wonderful. The only real complaint I have is that the king bed we had transfered motion really well. (>_< That wasn't a fun night.) Elevators were a problem as usual, but no worse than before.

The housekeeping ladies were wonderful. On... Friday or Saturday, I can't remember which, they had to check three times before cleaning our room. >_< We kept leaving and coming back at inopportune times.

I'll be staying at the Marriott again next year. It was definitely a wonderful stay.

Stayed at the Hilton like I have since 2004.

Pros:
Selfparking
Fridge standard in room
Microwave easily requested
Friendly staff
Issue with internet easily resolved*

Cons:
Self-parking was a 50% increase from last year**
Shower water was barely luke warm from Friday through Monday***
Details of internet use were not clearly labeled*
No easy access for plugging in gaming systems****


*I had asked a friend to set up the internet as I wanted to be able to have easy, in-room access to my email all weekend and said I would foot the whole $25 bill for 3 days of it.  When I came back very late from my errands and plugged in my laptop it was asking me to pay again.  After speaking with staff it seems that unlike every single hotel I've been to before the internet is per computer, not per room.  But they very nicely listened to my complaints and took care of the issue to my satisfaction.

**I would need to find my bill from last year, but I am fairly sure parking, though we had originally been told $15, ended up being $12 a night.  Paying $18 a night for four days hurt badly, but having selfparking with a guaranteed spot and in-and-out parking sort of made up for it.  Still, though, ouch.  With gas costs lately it really hurt paying $72 for my parking ^^;

***The shower water was nice and hot on Thursday, but from Friday on, even when turned to the highest "hot" setting it was still barely warm.  Now, I usually take cold showers during the summer, but I look forward to convention time because of the ice-cold AC allowing me to take my preferred scalding hot showers.  But I chalk this up to I tended to use the shower at "peak times" so I was possibly fighting with a good chunk of hotel guests for hot water.

****However I don't bring systems with me, but more because I know the TVs do not currently have these outlets nor do I usually have the time to be playing.  But from what I heard they are renovating and the new TVs will be able to support game systems without calling for the panel to be removed (:



Overall I am still very pleased with the Hilton as I am every year.  I have friends who stay in the Marriott, but nothing over there tops the Hilton for me.  I can put up with a few minor hiccups.

I ended up staying at the Fairmont this year. I apparently booked too late and couldn't get a connecting hotel room, but my stay was very pleasant.

The standard two bed room I was in was incredibly spacious. We had a nice hall, a seperate shower from the tub, a huge vanity mirror, and a seperate little cubicle for the bathroom. The only problem with the room itself was the lack of a main light. There were a million lamps, but no main light, so that was a bit of an annoyance.

Also, the Fairmont felt VERY ritzy. Like, I almost felt out of place compared to a lot of the guests staying there.

Other pros included:
-quiet nights, not as many congoers were staying there compared to the Marriott/Hilton therefore no crazy people being stupid.
-quick elevators, didn't have to wait as long ( except for Monday, I guess anywhere it's going to be busy on Monday )
-being somewhat closer to food sources.

All in all, the Fairmont was the best hotel I've stay at for Fanime. But, for next year, I will try to be at the Marriott or Hilton just because of convenience.

Stayed at the Marriot, as usual.  And as usual I had a wonderful stay.  I got one of the aforementioned sexy corner rooms overlooking the fountains and the park on the ninth floor.

Pros:
Quiet and efficient AC
Room safe for storage of my laptop extra camera and cash
Absolutely sublime king bed.  Seriously one of the best beds I have ever slept in.
Housekeeping kept the room nice and clean.
Staff was always nice and helpful.

Cons:
Despite having a sexy flat screen TV, there was no high def programing and it was set on stretch mode.  Also I couldn't get it to switch inputs so I didn't get to use my PS2.
Had to wait for two hours for a baggage cart on Monday.
Elevators, as always, make me feel a little queazy.
We found an empty bag of gummy worms under our bed.  We thought that housekeeping had eaten our gummy worms until I found our unopened package in one of our bags.  Kind of gross.

I'll definitely be staying at the Marriot again next year.

It was pretty awesome. I ended up letting like 4-5 people crash in my room but it was great to have company. I was on the 23rd floor of the Marriott so it was a pain in the ass to catch an elevator (and more than once I ended up running the stairs).

I stayed at the Fairmont.

This was my first time to Fanime, so I wasn't familiar with any of the hotels, but this was the only one that was offering rooms from Thursday until Monday straight through.


The room was nice enough.  I didn't realize until Saturday night they didn't give us queen beds like I had reserved (both my brothers had to share a bed since they wouldn't allow a roll-away cot in my room, but I thought a queen bed would be big enough.  One of my brothers barely got any sleep because it was only a twin sized bed).

We didn't get a fridge aside from the mini-bar.  When we went to make room in there just to store some of our sodas, we see that "for our convenience, drinks are charged to our bill as soon as they're removed from the fridge ala sensors. 
I called the desk immediately and asked them to remove any charges and they agreed  (seeing that the amount removed in the same amount of time was quite ridiculous).

The smoke alarm went off randomly one day.
After 5 minutes they sent someone up and he told us it was dirty.    ....T.T....


The water pressure kept going out while using the sink or shower and a lot of the fixtures (like sealing around faucets and whatnot) weren't attached to the wall  @.@;;





They didn't have our credit card on file when we checked in and I was never informed by either the con or the hotel website I'd need to physically bring my card  (Thankfully my brother had one that he could use -- but we almost ended up stranded the weekend out).

The pool wasn't heated (despite saying otherwise) and it was really dirty  (people leave a lot of cigars and bottles out there).

And anything in the actual hotel was really expensive  @.@;;;



BUT!!
Through Fanime we got a fantastic deal ($105 a night) and even though it was 2 blocks away from the con, it didn't feel like much of a walk back and forth  (and it was a good trade from elevator lines like I had to deal with at other cons) and seemed like it was in the middle of everywhere we'd want to be  (lots of food places in every direction, so we got a good variety, bank right across the street, could see the whole area from our window).

All in all (and especially after seeing some of the other hotel "reviews") I think I'd stay here again next year  :)

I ended up staying at the Hilton and had absolutely no problem. Well, except from a leaking shower faucet which only bothered me on Thursday night. I really liked the fact that you could open the window a bit even though I was on the 11th floor. It seemed to cool the room better than the AC. I also liked the fact that I didn't have to walk far to my room from the elevators since it was practically right next to them. I think the only complaint I might have about my stay would be the amount I had to pay for self parking, $18. That seemed a bit steep. Not to mention the spots were a bit small. Thought that's probably because all the normal spots were taken up and had to use a compact marked one to park my truck. But other than that, everything went well and I'll probably stay there again next year.

I stayed at the Hilton this year. For service I give it 10/10. I have never encountered such helpful and nice people in my many years of travel. Any issues we had (including one caused by my stupidity) were quickly taken care of.

For the actual hotel 8/10. The noisy pipes woke me up several nights and the parking was a bit steep. But they are renovating so hopefully at least one of those will be fixed.

I will definitely be staying at the Hilton next year.

I stayed at the Marriot, and I had a wonderful time there. :)

Due to my own procrastination I got stuck booking at the Fairmont this year. And at first I was kinda happy about it, the rooms are way bigger than the other hotels, and it's a freaking Fairmont, they come with this certain ritzy reputation. And the whole proper afternoon tea service thing just seemed really nifty. And it was close to all the food.

But then we checked in. The toilet flushed funny, the handles for the bathtub were falling off, housekeeping never showed up, even though we called for them several times, we ran out of toilet paper, there was no wireless internet and once we wired up it took a ten minute call to their tech support to get it working right, and the minibar thing was totally inconvenient, and the tv was old and we couldn't plug in a dvd player or anything and our coffee pot had to be in just right before it would start. Oh yeah, we also got eaten alive by fleas. One of my roommates even found one hopping across her sketchbook. Plus the parking was expensive as were the hotel bar/restaurants.

So I'm not staying there next year. Or ever again.

Next year I am so TOTALLY going back to the Sainte Claire. I wanted to go in and tell them how much I missed them after checking out of the hell hole that was my Fairmont experience.

...FLEAS?  :o :o :o

I stayed at the Hilton.
I thought it was a 7 out f 10. My main complaint was the water pipes. I was on the third floor and any time someone from another room or even floor flushed, shower, r ran their bathroom sink the pipes in the bathroom and noise come from the ceiling. I swear at 5am every morning it sounded like a water pipe was going to explode. One minor complaint was how ghetto our coffee maker was @_@ or in our case, our cup-o-noodles maker. Other than that the rm was nice, the beds okay, pillows galore @_@, and the staff awesome. We even ended up with a fridge even though we did not ask for ne. Wish we had a microwave too ;_;

Quote from: Moonblossom on May 29, 2008, 08:18:18 PM
...FLEAS?  :o :o :o

Yeah, seriously? That's disgusting...I would ask for a refund or something. *shudder*

Or leave them a nasty review on Trip Advisor.

I rate my Hilton stay a 5/10
9th floor

+Bed was comfy
+Checking in at 9am on Friday=WIN
+Fridge is very convenient 

-The toilet flusher had to pushed in pretty hard in order to flush
-My neighbor had a dog in his or her room. WTF? It barked everytime I went into my room. Are pets even allowed in the Hilton? Ugh, I should have said something to the staff. As much as i like dogs, it's barking bothered me.
-Maid(s) did a sloppy/so-so job cleaning my room.
-On Monday, I left some food in the fridge, but when I came back up, the maid was there and THE FOOD WAS THROWN AWAY! Not cool  >:( And some of my stuff was sent to lost and found (I got that stuff back, but still)
Maybe I should have left the Do Not Disturb sign on the door, and taken EVERYTHING down myself

Quote from: FanFicGuru on May 29, 2008, 09:17:53 PM

Quote from: Moonblossom on May 29, 2008, 08:18:18 PM
...FLEAS?  :o :o :o

Yeah, seriously? That's disgusting...I would ask for a refund or something. *shudder*

Or leave them a nasty review on Trip Advisor.

Proper complaints have been filed with the hotel management and with the Diamond Certified rating people.

But yeah. Fleas.

ST. Claire
8/10

Pros: Not crowded, nice rooms (AC + Comfy bed), Flat screen TV
Cons: Bad service, Wet spots in room, 1 block away, Scary Elevators

So we only had the room for 1 overnight stay (Sat - Sun).  When we arrived there (with early receipt in hand), they told us that the room was not available cause it had to be cleaned.  When we came back at 3 PM, the rooms were still not done.  Consistently, the receptionist asked us if we wanted a "bigger" room with 1 king sized bed and a roll in.  We said NO. 

Coming to our room (5th floor, double twins), I noticed certain wet spots on the side and near the bed.  I'm thinking that they were just cleaned with some sort of water or fluid.  I smelled it (!!), and it didn't have an odor.  The night of Saturday, a technician came and fixed the elevator.  It was already clunky to begin with and was scared for my safety, through the persuasion of others, to take the stairs. 

But the little things did not take away too much from the good things.  What did you pay for?  A nice clean room with a bed.  And there it was.  Recommended as an alternative to the bustling Hilton/Marriott along with all the horror elevator stories.

EDIT: Free Wi-FI, Quiet Environment, Fridge, DVD Player

I stayed at the Marriott this year, as I did last year. Valet parking was great, half price with in and out priviledges was great. The guys running it were pretty cool, nice people. Seeing as how my cousin was fronting the bill, I had full access to all the services like internet and room service. The elevators were as bad as last year, but that's not their fault, more like insane con-goers. They let me check in early at around noon and I got a room on the 9th floor. Wish I could have gotten a lower floor, so as to avoid the elevator waits. Overall, the Marriott was as good as last year. I'll probably be staying with them again next year.

The Sainte Claire was great as always. We got into our room right away and had no problems the entire weekend. The free wi-fi and the tv hook ups were great. No problems with noise or crazy elevator people either. And with 4 of us in the room (each sharing a double bed) it came out to $93 each for the whole weekend (with parking and taxes). We'll definitely be there again next year.

Quote from: phoenixphire24 on May 30, 2008, 03:24:53 PM
The Sainte Claire was great as always. We got into our room right away and had no problems the entire weekend. The free wi-fi and the tv hook ups were great. No problems with noise or crazy elevator people either. And with 4 of us in the room (each sharing a double bed) it came out to $93 each for the whole weekend (with parking and taxes). We'll definitely be there again next year.

How far is this hotel from the convention center. It sounds wonderful.

The St. Claire is as close you can get to the convention center without staying inside the Marriott or Hilton.  It is just across the street from the Marriott (the side of the convention center with the video rooms).  If you wanted to go from the convention center to McDonald's, it's the first building you pass.  It's much, much closer to the convention center than McD's.

Me and my friends roomed at the St. Claire. It was pretty nice (easy to access our room by stairs if need be) and the room was clean. Only problem was we ended up having a bunch of extra people crash our rooms and from what I've seen the two double bedded rooms offered at this hotel are the smallest of the four or five around the area (espically of the Fairmont, which is defientely the hotel I want to book for next year). But the St. Claire is a good venue, just not if you have an extra four people or more that end up crashing for the weekend =__= Very attractive hotel, rooms are just a bit on the small side.

.. and as for service I have no idea how good or bad it was. I was never around when the cleaners came and I never order room service so I have nothing to offer as far as that goes.

From what I've seen the Fairmont rooms are the best overall deal (size for the price) and the distance is really not an issue (easily five minutes at the maximum taking in street light wait). So I look forward to rooming in the Fairmont next year. 

Quote from: Hirotona on May 30, 2008, 06:08:18 PM
Me and my friends roomed at the St. Claire. It was pretty nice (easy to access our room by stairs if need be) and the room was clean. Only problem was we ended up having a bunch of extra people crash our rooms and from what I've seen the two double bedded rooms offered at this hotel are the smallest of the four or five around the area (espically of the Fairmont, which is defientely the hotel I want to book for next year). But the St. Claire is a good venue, just not if you have an extra four people or more that end up crashing for the weekend =__= Very attractive hotel, rooms are just a bit on the small side.

.. and as for service I have no idea how good or bad it was. I was never around when the cleaners came and I never order room service so I have nothing to offer as far as that goes.

From what I've seen the Fairmont rooms are the best overall deal (size for the price) and the distance is really not an issue (easily five minutes at the maximum taking in street light wait). So I look forward to rooming in the Fairmont next year. 

Watch out for fleas...

Ahhh well the couple of rooms at the Fairmont I hung out in didn't have any such problem, and all my friends who stayed there have only the most positive things to say about the hotel >____<;;

Sucks to hear your experience wasn't so good though.

stayed at the hilton(like i have for the last two years)

it was overall a good stay, except for monday checkout when it took forever to get an elevator(waited like close to 15-20 minutes to get downstairs)

other than that, pretty good experience.

I stayed at the Hilton and it was a fabulous stay! There was a noisy pipe issue, but it was always after the dances when the smart con-goers  would shower/bathe. The Hilton staff was awesome when we lost stuff and needed directions. We intentionally declined maid service, so we didn't have to worry about cosplay/props/etc. being misplaced. I only had an issue with the roomies coming into the room when I was sleeping. Fridge was awesome, even though I forgot some of my food goodies (aka george foreman).

We are definitely staying again!

I stayed at the Hilton as well it was a nice place to stay. I only stayed for one night at the Marriott for day 0.

I stayed at the Hilton and there were no major issues. The elevators weren't so bad and I didn't have a noise problem.

The only downside is the crappy TV and the fact it didn't have any front inputs for us to use our own stuff.

LOVE the Hilton!  Can't wait to see what it'll look like after the renovation!

Eh, I was kinda surprised how not-so-good the hotel was. We stayed in the Marriot and they immediately gave my friend trouble when he was checking in (he reserved a two-bedroom room and they fought him on that), the housekeeping service was really... iffy (haha, at one point they gave us bath matts when we asked for towels xD;), and overall I personally was not happy with the room. I pay less for the same kind of room at a Marriot in my town and I get better service, a refrigerator (which the room we had also lacked), AND they never give me any issues. In fact, they usually give me something better than what I reserved and the quality of the hotel is just better. But I guess different cities' hotels differ just as much as the cities themselves.

Oh well, I had a good time at Fanime regardless.

I <3'ed the Hilton. Me and my friend's key got deactivated on day 1 so we had to get it re-activated at the desk... and then my friend lost her key and got a replacement with no hassle. We also got free water bottles (the guy at the desk said they usually charged but since they had a lot of business, they didn't care because my friend took a water bottle and was dying of thirst, so we asked), and the bell desk was awesome, we had no hassle and our stuff didn't get damaged from storage. ^^

I only wish I could have found stairs to avoid elevators, though....

From the sounds f it, not to many people are happy with the Marriot, but more so with the Hilton. I want to hear more feed back on the Sainte Claire. It was great overall...just a bit iffy about staying at a renovated hotel come next year. I have seen some of the horrors that can happen at a hotel that was recently renovated. I wonder when the Hilton is going to decide to go through with the renovation.

I know the plans have been in the works for a while, I was told a while back there was a chance some of them would have been renovated for this year. So I assume they're going to start soon.

Quote from: Chiri Kcrinh on June 01, 2008, 05:52:25 PM
I only wish I could have found stairs to avoid elevators, though....

I only found the second floor access door, which was down a hallway between the hotel elevators and the con center.

I stayed at the Marriott.  No opinion on daily room service because I told the ladies I don't want room service.  I have four cosplays and a laptop -__-  I experienced problems with my baggage on the first day and the last day, and I thought about going to the Saint Claire next year during these instances.  Fortunately, the Marriott solved my problems quickly.  I most likely stay at the Marriott next year.

Valet at half price.  Free internet.  Convenience store closes at 1am even though I didn't need anything.  I give the Marriott an 8 out of 10.

@Squeeky_Moonkin, a few of my friends stayed at the Sainte Claire in '07 and '08.  Their experiences are positive and they stay in '09.

Me and my friend stayed at the Sainte Claire for one day on Saturday and we thought it was a good price for a good room. It costed like $123.96 with overnight parking at the hotel. The room had 2 beds and was well maintained and the bathrooms clean. Thou some dislikes my friend had was occasional wet spots in the room near his bed, and the long wait and average customer service for checking into the rooms and getting luggage from their luggage storage area. Free Wi-Fi was also included, which was great but did suffer some bit of lag occasionally. But overall, it was a good hotel that is priced reasonably and is close to the Con. Sainte Claire is a recommend for price, comfort and convenience.

Quote from: Squeeky_Moonkin on June 01, 2008, 07:51:05 PM
From the sounds f it, not to many people are happy with the Marriot, but more so with the Hilton. I want to hear more feed back on the Sainte Claire. It was great overall...just a bit iffy about staying at a renovated hotel come next year. I have seen some of the horrors that can happen at a hotel that was recently renovated. I wonder when the Hilton is going to decide to go through with the renovation.

My friends and I have stayed at the Sainte Claire for the last 4 years and love it. There's free wi-fi, fridges in every room, and the TV has hook ups for video game systems and computers. The rooms are of a nice size for 4 people to share, and the bathroom is of a good size too. We like being slightly away from the insanity of the con and the hotels attached to the con, but the Sainte Claire is close enough for us to walk to the convention at all times day or night. We have always had good service and only had problems once with noise. For 3 nights with parking, with 4 of us sharing the room, the cost came out to $93 a person.

I stayed at Hotel Montgomery and I didn't see one for this so I decided to rant on it.

Honestly, my stay wasn't that bad. My friend and I chose clean up after ourselves for Saturday, Sunday, and half of Monday instead of letting people do it in fear that my shiny laptop would be nicked (not that it would but I hear SOME places are like that..>_>;;) but when we checked in the people working at the front desk were uber nice even tho we had problems getting our room at first.

The rooms are rather spacious which was just fine with me since my friend and I were sharing. Ooh you can dim the lights in the room-yay for night lights..lol.. I've constantly tripped over stuff at places because they have bright lamps or one big light.

Our window was fun...there was no view but there's space to let day light in. The bathroom was spacy so no tripping over toliets! ^_^; Oh? Their conditioner is god? Yeah whatever they used made my hair so soft!!!

The only problems I had were...I was totally afraid of being charged for like everything. x_x Meh. I'm a paranoid freak.

SLOW INTERNET. o_o It works-I was able to keep in contact with my boyfriend through messenger just fine but after that don't use YouTube...just download your anime beforehand.

There's no drawers in the bathroom. I had make-up..flatirons..ect...kind of felt iffy if I should leave my stuff in the middle of the floor or on the wet counter aka near the sink...even if I cleaned the counter...the sink..-flops- Yes we had a table-like-ish thing there but I was using it for food..yes I brought my own food.

The coffeemaker is really confusing if you're using it to make ramen. I ended up burning myself..the directions are vague and it's one of those complicated coffeemakers that was hard to fit in the cabinet afterward.

Biggest con EVAR..it's kind of far from the con. Especially when you're just walking at night and you're a girl with another girl. It's nice and quiet which is somewhat good but I suggest if you stay here to be with a group because it's slightly irk-ish walking a ways down from the center at night in some cosplay. >_>;;

Over all tho it was good!

My stay at the Hilton was pleasant even though I wasn't there 3 out of 4 nights because I had to commute back and forth for work. I had some problems when I checked-in with my card so I had to call up my friend to help me out so we waited for a few minutes. Before my other friend and I were about to wait, I asked the male staff to see where my room is and it was on the 3rd floor. That's where the pool is at. I didn't want that level since I had problems last year where our room were at pool level. At least, he gave us 4th level which it was what I wanted. However, he seems not to care much and went off to do his own thing when I left. The female staff was awesome when we came back so I was happy.

Room service was not the best because our maid didn't really clean our room and we ran out of both toilet paper and tissue paper by Sunday. I've asked to clean throughout the weekend too so I wasn't pleased about it. The bed were pleasant to sleep on so I was happy when I finally stayed for one night. Parking was a big ouch for me especially when I had to go in and out of the parking lot. The elevator were good. There are times that I used the stairs because I came back during the 'busy hours'.

Check-out was a pain because I was charged for not using the internet, but they still charge it when I asked not to be. Not pleased with it though, but I let is slide that day because I had to catch my friends. Other than that, I'll stay at the Hilton again. Just hope they do better in room cleaning though.

Quote from: KyraEnsui on June 05, 2008, 09:57:28 PM

Parking was a big ouch for me especially when I had to go in and out of the parking lot.

Check-out was a pain because I was charged for not using the internet, but they still charge it when I asked not to be. Not pleased with it though, but I let is slide that day because I had to catch my friends. Other than that, I'll stay at the Hilton again. Just hope they do better in room cleaning though.

If you stayed at the Hilton and using the parking anyways, might as well have paid up front and gotten the in and out parking.  Was cheaper per day for hotel guests than paying for it as just someone using up guest parking.  Just ask at the front desk that you want to purchase a parking pass.  And make sure you park in the Hilton lot and not the convention center lot.  Couple of my friends have made this mistake more than once.

And charged for not using it?  Did you set it up and decide to cancel it?  We had this problem in my room because we didn't realize that the internet would only be for one computer.  I had it removed from our bill because I was not paying $25 for three days worth of internet out of my own pocket just so I could only access it on my friend's apple laptop (which would only be available for brief times at night after she no longer needed it for work in prog ops anyways).  I vote stick to the free wifi.  There's the Hilton wifi you can access and still sit in those nice comfy chairs on the second level.  The in-room internet is a joke sadly ):

Stayed at the Fairmont with some friends.
It was absolutely wonderful... the place is so nice.
We had so much space that we didn't have to organize all our stuff this year.
And we had a super long hallway leading into the room; we could have fit a few more people.
I thought it would be more but it was about the same price as the previous years with my friends.

The only downside wasn't the fault of the hotel. (well, only if you choose them for not placing it closer to the Con center) It wasn't right at the con. I probably would have cosplayed my Miyu and stayed later in the con center otherwise.

I think if I have a job my next year, I'll get a room at one of the hotels closer. For one, I'll have a few costumes. For two, as a female... I don't feel safe walking to the hotel late at night.

Dude, did ANYONE stay at the Crowne Plaza?

Anywayz, our stay was good overall! And for the price I paid, it was totally worth it! (Sixth floor, could see my car from the parking lot)

Pros:
1) Not being attached to the convention = A little bit quieter overall. And there was less elevator issues too, except the center one kept breaking, so I most of the weekend, we were all kinda afraid that we would get stuck, so we had to depend on the other two.

2) Although they didn't have any free Wi-Fi at the hotel, they had computers with free internet and printing access, so that was really cool. (They did have wi-fi but it was 10 bucks, so why pay that when the convention's was free and within seriously awesome walking distance?)

3) Rooms were seriously clean, and the staff was very nice and understanding. We kept the "Do Not Disturb" sign on a lot, to keep them from finding out we had six peeps in one room. And when I had to go down for an additional blanket, the staff was all more than welcome to help out!


Cons:
1) No mircowaves to be found ANYWHERE! Although, I was bold enough to ask the staff of the resturant downstairs and they microwaved some food for me. Good note for those who wish to eat something besides ramen, BYOM (Bring Your Own Microwave!)

2) Parking == Effing super expensive! 18 bucks a night, and that was the convention discount rate! Man, I don't know about that.

3) Too close to the airplane sounds for me!

4) Because we were across the street, we had to cross the crazy homeless people who were sleeping on the sidewalks and stuff. So take a lantern or light or walk in lots of groups if you go there!

5) They kinda had free coffee, but it was gone around 10am, so it kinda sucked.

6) Walls kinda are seriously too thin. I think our roomates next door were "doing it" a lot because I heard a lot of headboard movements. Also the pipes super sucked too. But I think that comes with being smack dab in the middle from the top floors to the bottom.

Quote from: Hatch Guy on June 03, 2008, 04:16:48 PM
Me and my friend stayed at the Sainte Claire for one day on Saturday and we thought it was a good price for a good room. It costed like $123.96 with overnight parking at the hotel. The room had 2 beds and was well maintained and the bathrooms clean. Thou some dislikes my friend had was occasional wet spots in the room near his bed, and the long wait and average customer service for checking into the rooms and getting luggage from their luggage storage area. Free Wi-Fi was also included, which was great but did suffer some bit of lag occasionally. But overall, it was a good hotel that is priced reasonably and is close to the Con. Sainte Claire is a recommend for price, comfort and convenience.

Wet spots near the bed!!!

Quote from: shinjiboy on June 08, 2008, 01:06:38 PM

Quote from: Hatch Guy on June 03, 2008, 04:16:48 PM
Me and my friend stayed at the Sainte Claire for one day on Saturday and we thought it was a good price for a good room. It costed like $123.96 with overnight parking at the hotel. The room had 2 beds and was well maintained and the bathrooms clean. Thou some dislikes my friend had was occasional wet spots in the room near his bed, and the long wait and average customer service for checking into the rooms and getting luggage from their luggage storage area. Free Wi-Fi was also included, which was great but did suffer some bit of lag occasionally. But overall, it was a good hotel that is priced reasonably and is close to the Con. Sainte Claire is a recommend for price, comfort and convenience.

Wet spots near the bed!!!

From a floor cleaner or something, I assume.

Quote from: Moonblossom on June 08, 2008, 05:20:20 PM

Quote from: shinjiboy on June 08, 2008, 01:06:38 PM

Quote from: Hatch Guy on June 03, 2008, 04:16:48 PM
Me and my friend stayed at the Sainte Claire for one day on Saturday and we thought it was a good price for a good room. It costed like $123.96 with overnight parking at the hotel. The room had 2 beds and was well maintained and the bathrooms clean. Thou some dislikes my friend had was occasional wet spots in the room near his bed, and the long wait and average customer service for checking into the rooms and getting luggage from their luggage storage area. Free Wi-Fi was also included, which was great but did suffer some bit of lag occasionally. But overall, it was a good hotel that is priced reasonably and is close to the Con. Sainte Claire is a recommend for price, comfort and convenience.

Wet spots near the bed!!!

From a floor cleaner or something, I assume.

Probably rushing . shinjiboy and I were both roommates  ;D Can't wait for Fanime '09.

Quote from: BenihimeSama on June 07, 2008, 12:52:51 AM
Dude, did ANYONE stay at the Crowne Plaza?



2) Parking == Effing super expensive! 18 bucks a night, and that was the convention discount rate! Man, I don't know about that.

I Kinda feel special now XD The parking booth guy let us leave for free Sunday morning.
Yeah next time I think I should bring a toaster oven or something. It was a nice place but since I didn't stay up really late I didn't hear a lot of comotion

4th floor Hilton here.

This was the first time I ever stayed in the Hilton and I plan on staying there from here on out. Everything was perfect. The only thing that I had to complain about was Fanime staff making a ruckus in the hallway at 2am.

i stayed at the marriott
I'd probably give it a 8/10

I really was hoping to check in early before 3, but we didn't get to.  We didn't actually check in until 4 or 4:30 =__= 
But this was my first hotel stay, and even if it wasn't perfect, I had a lot of fun because of my friends.
We had to wait for the elevator quite a bit, even that was fun.  We actually met pretty cool/funny people inside the elevator too while waiting for the elevator to go down floor, by floor starting from the 20 something floor.  And when we didn't feel like waiting for the elevator, we raced each other up and down the stairs.
My friend and I justu stayed up late looking outside our window.  (yea, we're romantics ^__^ )The view from the window at night was soooo beautiful~~
Even though we had to look out on that new building under construction, but it was still nice. *___________*
We swam in the pool at 11 pm at night which was cool~~. But I'm highly suspicious of the water though.  >.>  It was a lot...saltier and murkier than I recall pool waters generally were.  >.<
I also liked that it was connected to the con.  Always a plus.  We got to walk back and forth late at night.
I wouldn't mind staying at marriott again, but I'll probably try hilton next year and see how it goes.

I was in the Marriott, and the primary reason I wasn't too fond of my stay was because the other people in my room trashed the room and the towels were always used, so me and one other couldn't take a shower. It sucked because of that, and one person kept snoring every night we were there.

EDIT:

The hotels were ok I guess (Marriott and the one across from it)

I stayed at the marriot this year and it was just ok. For some reason they booked us with a king sized bed when we asked for two doubles so we had to switch at the last minute. I think we got the smallest room they have, but because we got that room we got to spy on the people next to us and we ended up playing a game with them and our L plushies. The service was ok and everyone was polite but the wait for the elevator(especially on the last day) was horrible, it made me want to cry. I think I'm going to stick with the hilton from now on.

I was on the 7th floor of the marriot, and for a first timer I actually enjoyed my stay there and hope that next year would be even better. Even if they messed up and only have me a king instead of two beds, it wasn't bad...

Also the wait for the elevators wasn't bad either and most of the time it was quite funny. ^_^ but that's just me.

I stayed at the Marriot hotel with three of my friends and had the WORST hotel stay of my life.

Everything was fine until we went to check in. The guy at the counter ran my card through four times, one for each person he said. I thought it was a little wierd and called my mom back home, asking her to check the account balance of my bank account. Rather than taking out the minimum security deposit, they charged us the security deposits for four rooms. I had around $1500 in the account before, and after checking in, had a balance of -$1000. When I went back to the counter, the man said it would go back in after we checked out, not to worry. I thought everything was fine. Later, we realized the seriousness of the situation. My card was a debit card, not a credit card. Our money wouldn't be comeing back in afterwards XD We couldn't pull out any of our spending cash or buy food. It took three days before things got sorted out. Even then, the Marriot never really did much. It was only because I called my bank that anything got done (they gave me a credit until the money got refunded back in). Two days after the convention was over, things got straightened out. The hotel wouldn't really do anything until we threatened to call a lawyer x.x

On another note, the beds were comfy and we never had any problems with room service. Nice staff and such. I never had any problems with the elevators as we usually took the stairs.

It was very stressful though and not any fun at all. I'll stay somewhere else next year.

I stayed at the Hilton this past Fanime.
I liked it -- the service was fine, the room and beds were comfy.
I had a generally good time, save for friend-drama.
They decided to bring their puppy along, and that wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be.

Aside from that, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
I spent a lot of time in the hotel. :/

i stayed at howard johnson....the only room available for three people was a smoking room with two beds T.T it was horrible the coughs i had to go thro and nosebleeds  :'( well it had some good stuff and all but THE SMOKING ROOM IS BAD next time im booking for hilton sheesh 5/10

to be honet I didnt spend a lot of time in the room.  I did notice however a "bump" noise or like a "pounding" noise. It had too much of a pattern for it to just be someone on the next level.  I'm one of those people that cand sleep to dripping water so it drove me nuts

Quote from: Laylian on September 07, 2008, 02:51:27 AM

Everything was fine until we went to check in. The guy at the counter ran my card through four times, one for each person he said.

Many hotels are now charging a damage deposit when you check in - a safety precaution for them so they don't get stiffed by those who play rock star in their room.  I think it's about $50 a day.  The check in rep at the Marriott should have charged your card per room/per night....NOT PER PERSON.

Sorry that you had to go through that all.  My staff members weren't aware of the new damage deposit this year and had to cancel out on a night because they didn't have enough on their card to cover the expense.

I guess it is a lesson for all of us attending Con next year and plan to stay at either Hilton/Marriott/Crowne, etc....plan to put aside money for the damage deposit when checking in.

First off hello and greetings. Well this was my first Con and it was an awakening for my otaku-ness  ;D as far the hotel goes..... :-X well not so great. Me and my friends had to book a hotel that was FIVE miles away. We had no transportation at all besides our legs which we use to go back and forth. Half of it was our own fault because we look up hotels pretty late....like three weeks before fanime which this year had about 12,000 people kinda late  >:(. But the overall stay was the greaest thing that ever happen in my life. (Besides the all night rave party and then walking home with your feet killing you for five miles. But the rave itself was one of the best things in fanime!)Hope to see you all this fanime!. Oh please tell me it's not to late to register for a room?!  :o

Quote from: OtakuMessiah on September 15, 2008, 04:29:29 PM
Hope to see you all this fanime!. Oh please tell me it's not to late to register for a room?!  :o

Not at all! :D In fact, reservations for Fanime 09's hotels aren't even up yet. Probably will be in like, what? January or around that time? <.< Or is it Decemberish? Erm, either way, there is still plenty of time. XD

Quote from: Lassiel on September 21, 2008, 06:20:12 PM

Quote from: OtakuMessiah on September 15, 2008, 04:29:29 PM
Hope to see you all this fanime!. Oh please tell me it's not to late to register for a room?!  :o

Not at all! :D In fact, reservations for Fanime 09's hotels aren't even up yet. Probably will be in like, what? January or around that time? <.< Or is it Decemberish? Erm, either way, there is still plenty of time. XD

Give or take. It should be around between December and January. We'll see when they place it up. I remember last year was in December.

Quote from: KyraEnsui on October 02, 2008, 05:46:28 AM

Quote from: Lassiel on September 21, 2008, 06:20:12 PM

Quote from: OtakuMessiah on September 15, 2008, 04:29:29 PM
Hope to see you all this fanime!. Oh please tell me it's not to late to register for a room?!  :o

Not at all! :D In fact, reservations for Fanime 09's hotels aren't even up yet. Probably will be in like, what? January or around that time? <.< Or is it Decemberish? Erm, either way, there is still plenty of time. XD

Give or take. It should be around between December and January. We'll see when they place it up. I remember last year was in December.

Some hotels wait until really late to open up rooms as well, so while we might have an initial block open in Dec./Jan. you might not see the hotel you want to stay at. Specifically, the Hilton is unsure whether they will be opening themselves up to Fanime guests again this year for a variety of reasons, so whether or not their rooms will be available is still TBD.

Keep those things in mind as well as this year ends and the next year approaches. It may take a month, or two, or even three before the hotel you want is included with the room reservation system.

Quote from: FanFicGuru on October 04, 2008, 05:35:43 PMSpecifically, the Hilton is unsure whether they will be opening themselves up to Fanime guests again this year for a variety of reasons, so whether or not their rooms will be available is still TBD.

Say it isn't so!
The Hilton is the best hotel, I don't know what I'd do without the most comfortable beds in San Jose!
D:

D: I just hope the Fairmont still cuts the wonderful deals it does. Easily the best choice for me and my friends.

I had 3-6 people rooming with me (depending on the night) and we all slept comfortably. This was at the Marriott in a concierge level room (not sure if there is a difference).

Daughter and friends stayed at the Hilton. She rates it a 9/10. It probably helped that I'm a priority something and checked them in. They had no problem with noise, the bellstaff were great to them, their only concern was the restaurant didn't really work for them, so they ate other places. For 2009, I think they want to be in the Marriott instead, though, just for the closeness and the atmosphere.

I stayed with people I had never met before.

Basically I was in line for the rave on Friday, and was like "Hey, can I room with you?"

And there you have it.

So the first night I stayed in Motel 6, which was -hilarious- because the bathroom was like, teeny. There were two beds, but fortunately that night it was only two of us. I was so wiped, so I didn't really take any other notice. The next night I stayed with people in... I THINK the Marriot. Getting out was HELL. Nobody would let us in, even when there was ROOM. We couldn't take the stairs because we had plastic bags that would break, and people with bad backs, and stuff... So eventually I just shoved in with ANGER AND RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION. People got pissed at me. >.>;

I eventually went back up because they still hadn't succeeded in coming down the elevator. When we got down, we celebrated. Over all, the hotels were hilariously fun. It's always great to just meet people in the elevators and while waiting for elevators.

I'll probably be doing the same thing this year.

I had a Marriott suite, which I rated was a 9/10. It was pretty spacious -- there were two queen beds, two armchairs, a nice alcove and a HUGE bathroom (with an intense door if I might add). There was enough space for some of my friends (non-roommates) to actually crash with their sewing machines and work on cosplay, on top of all the cosplay junk & baggage already in my room. There was no fridge so we brought our own cooler. The only downside was the crowdedness of the elevators -- the only time they weren't full was like past midnight, and they had people even then. D:

I also got the opportunity to stay in this super nice Fairmont suite, which my friend got bumped up to from a single-bed room. It had a queen, two twins, a living room area all in the space of about three-four rooms. All of the rooms in the Fairmont on pretty spacious, but the suite is kind of ridiculous. lol The one con is that Fairmont is kinda far from the con center, which would suck if you have a lot of cosplays and have to make the walk multiple times a day. I had to do that a lot in 07 and it was NOT fun (I'd forget something minor and have to run all the way back in high heels), so be wary of that. :]

It was good, I only used my room for sleeping anyways.

Ehh the Fairmont is what, a two minute walk from the con center? Much rather have all that room to keep all the cosplays and entertain guests then anything else. Best value for the price with no worries of the super crowded elevators.

stayed at the Ramada. no problems at all. free wireless, free parking available (though none of us had cars) free breakfast, and only a three minute walk to the con. thats just two short blocks, people. the only problem we had was someone kept putting the cardkey with her cell phone and demagnetizing it. also, i got to rickroll the whole hotel.

I stayed at the St. Claire.  It was pretty cool.  Probably the only things I didn't like was how small the rooms were and you could only fit 20 people in the elevator at a time.  On the 2nd night, people got trapped in the elevator for 2 hours.  Poor people.  I really like how they had a small cafe on the first floor.  I bought cookies from them every morning!  MmMmmm!  I want some now.   :-[