Hi so I want to start a thread about where everyone stayed this year and how it went, because i want to see what everyone's hotel experience was and hopefully it will help other attendees for next Fanime!
Just state the hotel you stayed at, when you checked in/checked out, how your stay was and if you will stay there again!
To start off, I stayed at the Fairmont for the first time. Checked in on Day Zero and checked out on Memorial Day.
i really enjoyed my stay there, the floor I was on was very quiet and the room was very clean. Not too much traffic on my floor honestly and I didn't mind that. The beds were comfy but I wasn't a fan of the pillows because I thought they were too soft, the bathroom was huge! The bathtub was separated from the shower so I thought that was awesome but I mostly just used the bathtub to put our stuff in. Elevators were the least of my problems but it was easy to get lost around the second floor trying to look for that bridge connecting the North and South towers. Walking to and from the con was a bit of a walk from the Fairmont but there are a lot of people almost all the time so it isn't as scary, maybe just when it's late at night with all the drunk people..Parking was valet and I was told it was $26 a night (which I thought was ridiculous but I learned Saint Claire charges $31 and Marriott around $40 a night) but only paid $20. My favorite part was how close we were to all the food places! This hotel was very pricey for me but it really is worth staying here, I usually save up a year before Fanime because I go to other conventions as well so I need to be on a tight budget.
With that said, I highly recommend Fairmont and I will stay here again next year!
Went back to rooming in the Hyatt Place again. Checked in on Friday and checked out Monday.
This is probably my second time staying at the Hyatt and it is my favorite hotel. The hotel has improved a lot compared to my stay in 2013. It's right across the street from the convention. Check in and check out always goes smoothly. Staff is always friendly. There's only 9 floors, so the wait for the elevators isn't horrendous. The rooms are decently spacey, they all come with a mini-fridge, and it seems that they cleaned out the air vents (two years ago the air in the room was pretty stuffy). I also like how they have a sofa in every room. If you don't want to share a bed, you can have the couch to yourself. Wi-fi is free, which is a big plus. Parking is only $12 a night, it's self-parking only, and you get in and out privileges. Best of all: CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST BUFFET!! Two years ago I had to pay $7 separately for breakfast, but now it's complimentary with the room. They give you wristbands that will get you into the buffet. It's all you can eat, so I always get a big helping to help me last through most of the day.:D
Downsides: The bathrooms are a bit small, especially the sink which can get overly crowded with toiletries. Same goes for the double beds. If you're pretty tiny, you won't have any problems sleeping next to each other. But if you're bigger in size there's not much space (thank god for the sofa!). Some of the elevators would sometimes shut down, so it made waiting a lot longer. It was no use taking the stairs either since it was only available for fire exit emergencies. But hey, it's only 9 floors so it's not that big of a deal. The hotel is also a bit on the pricey side compared to the other hotels, but you get a lot more amenities compared to staying at the Hilton or Marriott.
Other than these minor negatives, this is still a great hotel to stay at and will probably continue going to this hotel for every Fanime.
Quote from: Touya no Miko on June 05, 2015, 11:23:18 PM
Went back to rooming in the Hyatt Place again. Checked in on Friday and checked out Monday.
This is probably my second time staying at the Hyatt and it is my favorite hotel. The hotel has improved a lot compared to my stay in 2013. It's right across the street from the convention. Check in and check out always goes smoothly. Staff is always friendly. There's only 9 floors, so the wait for the elevators isn't horrendous. The rooms are decently spacey, they all come with a mini-fridge, and it seems that they cleaned out the air vents (two years ago the air in the room was pretty stuffy). I also like how they have a sofa in every room. If you don't want to share a bed, you can have the couch to yourself. Parking is only $12 a night, it's self-parking only, and you get in and out privileges. Best of all: CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST BUFFET!! Two years ago I had to pay $7 separately for breakfast, but now it's complimentary with the room. They give you wristbands that will get you into the buffet. It's all you can eat, so I always get a big helping to help me last through most of the day.:D
Downsides: The bathrooms are a bit small, especially the sink which can get overly crowded with toiletries. Same goes for the double beds. If you're pretty tiny, you won't have any problems sleeping next to each other. But if you're bigger in size there's not much space (thank god for the sofa!). Some of the elevators would sometimes shut down, so it made waiting a lot longer. It was no use taking the stairs either since it was only available for fire exit emergencies. But hey, it's only 9 floors so it's not that big of a deal. The hotel is also a bit on the pricey side compared to the other hotels, but you get a lot more amenities compared to staying at the Hilton or Marriott.
Other than these minor negatives, this is still a great hotel to stay at and will probably continue going to this hotel for every Fanime.
I typically check in Wednesday and check out Tuesday.
I have to agree with pretty much everything above, but I didn't have issues with the beds. I'm 6'00'' and I shared the bed with no problems.
OMG the breakfast buffet. I would tank up heavy at breakfast and just snack during the day. (Yay for takoyaki in the Hall)
The other nice thing is that they have a late night option of hot food just to the right of the check in desk. It's not very fancy but it's fairly priced and serves as late as 2am that I can remember.
From what I understand the elevator issues might have just been this year as they were upgrading them.
The business center is really nice too. I've been able to do some last minute corrections and printing right in the lobby, before going on shift in the Convention center.
The only other downside is that they are a Pepsi hotel, so no luck for us Coke addicts. No vending, but they have cold options available all the time to the left of the check in desk.
Doubletree, 2015:
Pros:
- Clockwork Alchemy is there.
- Big rooms.
- Quiet
Cons:
- Doubletree food options remain poor. $21 breakfast buffet! $15 for a sandwich and a soft drink. The "Starbucks" isn't a real Starbucks, just a branded coffee station. As for the steak house, if you have to ask how much it costs, you can't afford it. Across the street, though, there is now the Matrix casino. They have a sports bar, which serves food. If you're over 21, you can go through the blackjack casino to their Lotus Cafe. Ask for a menu; they have a lot more available than the signs indicate. About $15 for a light dinner. (It's a casino, with heavy security. Don't carry anything that could possibly be considered a weapon.)
Stayed at the Marriott from Thursday to Monday.
Pros:
- The staff - Each year, they seem to get even better at managing the masses. They had a separate area set up on the second floor specifically for Fanime attendees and were polite in informing us. We showed up really early (11:30 am), and they cheerfully allowed us to check in and even hold our bags for us if the room wasn't ready (it was). They were very prompt in sending someone to change out the feather comforter and pillows for our allergic friend, and switching out a TV remote for us (but this was all Thursday before the rush). On Friday night, Brian from valet was hilarious and bursting with energy while helping us. Michael, who served as our bellhop, was wonderful enough to take our stuff (and us!) up through the staff elevator to avoid waiting for the regular elevators. Nearly everyone we were in contact with was pleasant and prepared.
- Hulu and Netflix on TV!! OMG, this was amazing. Instead of being stuck watching whatever was on, I could watch all my shows and not miss anything while away from home. This was my favorite new room addition.
- It seems like they upped their plug game. There were more plugs and USB plugs for phones this year, which was a relief.
- Elevators didn't seem as bad as previous years, though I spent most of the time using stairs anyway since we were on the 6th floor. Although I think they closed them randomly late at night?? That's not really great for disabled guests or people on the 20+ floor.
- I love the Fanime mascot projection they have for the floor in the lobby. It's probably Fanime's doing rather than the hotel's, but it feels like they really do welcome us with it.
- Beds are nice. I'm not really a fan of the bedding used, though. It feels too heavy (but the sheets alone, too light) for summer, so I was often hot at night.
- The rooms are fairly big. They put the minifridge under the TV this year, so that saved on space, too.
- The curtains are crazy at blocking sunlight. You'd think it was still night time until you opened them up.
- I'm not sure if it's because we signed up as rewards members or if it just came standard, but they had free WiFi in the rooms. That was really nice.
- The convenience of being connected to the convention is one of the top reasons I keep booking at the Marriott each year. No walking outside in cosplay, no worrying about safety in having to go outside at night.
Cons:- There was only one negative experience with staff this year, when we were told that we would be called on when our car was brought out during check-out, but we weren't. So we stood around pointlessly for a long time, only to be lectured by staff about "paying attention" because they brought the car out a while ago but failed to inform us like they said they would.
- I wish that there were staff cleaning out the stairwells, because people are nasty and leave trash and empty beer bottles in there.
- Every year I get sad that the bathroom doors are still the sliding ones with no lock. I suppose it cuts down on "I locked myself out of the bathroom" calls, but it's pretty terrible for privacy. It's never personally been a real problem because my roommates are good about checking if someone's using it first, though.
- Closing the elevators at night?
- Far from Panels. I'd have to leave even earlier to get there at a good time.
Overall: 9.5/10.
My friend and I stayed at the 4 points by Sheraton: San Jose Airport.
Pro's:
Great price
Nice rooms
gym
pool
great staff
and a 7-11 just down the street
Cons:
You have to take a shuttle to and from the con which to me is a con, no pun intended lol.
Fairmont (tower this year), king room, arrived Fri and left Mon. Was my second year staying there and my go-to for Fanime.
Really no negatives to staying here: it's close to food and my favorite parking location, and yet far enough from the con that it's not crazy loud/busy. I love the short walk through the park to get to the con....it's a nice start/end to the day.
The rooms are big, though I missed the little boudoir area the rooms in the main building have...i could leave my makeup out and there was a little stool and mirror, whereas this year i had to do my makeup in the bathroom which had less than optimal lighting. The Fairmont rooms tend to be on the cheaper end of the housing options, which I also like. I have to say I think I liked the tower more than the main building....less of a wait for elevators and much less crowded overall.
Remember to sign up for the President's club (free) and you get free wifi. It's robust enough to skype videochat and stream netflix. President's club members also have a special checkin/out lane at the front desk.
This was the 2nd time my friends and I stayed at the Marriott this year, except in 2 rooms rather than 1 which made it a lot more comfortable with bigger props this year. Although it'd have been nice to know that the Marriott had moved the fanimecon attendee checkins to the 2nd floor and we would be able to check in a lot earlier, luckily we arrived earlier just to get inline in hopes to get adjoining or rooms as close as possible. At first when we checked in they said they didn't have anymore available on the same floor at all. However, when we went back an hour later (waited for a call didn't receive it) to check on the status, it turned out our rooms were ready and we were right across the hall from each other which was awesome! The rooms this year didn't feel damp as it did this year which was nice. It was nice to be connected to the convention center because when we were tired or wanted to drop of our goodies we could just head upstairs. The biggest con I guess my friends and I noticed were the long waits for the elevator, which sadly is unavoidable with large events. The rooms were very affordable due to sharing it with friends. $94/night. We'll either stay in the same 2 rooms next year or upgrade to a suite.