The Fanime 2012 Hotel Feedback Thread

[weirderraindrop]

Hotel Name: The Fairmont (Day 0)

Would You Book Next Year: It's quite likely

Pros:
• They still have a telephone in the toilet portion of the bathroom
• Beds are soft.
• The little bench thing (not sure if this is supposed to be a bed) was actually really comfortable to sleep on when combined with the provided corner chair.
• Spacious Rooms.
• Freaking gold elevators (why not).
• Staff is super friendly.
• The bar/lounge downstairs has a live band in the evening.
• The Swap Meet was there (which was a pro for this year at least).
• Check in was quick and easy.
• The bathroom was very large.
• Vanity separate from the bathroom so you could still get ready while someone else is using it.
• Closer to restaurants and Safeway.

Cons:
• It's not connected to the convention center, small walk.

Special Notes to Share: Nerp.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Hotel Name: The Marriott (Remainder of con)

Would You Book Next Year: Most likely, though the others in my group want to stay at the Fairmont.

Pros:
• Connected to the convention center.
• Room was decent, space wise, after we moved around all the tables and chairs.

Cons:
• Elevator hell as always, and worse every year. For anyone who hasn't experienced this, look up a reference video of boarding a train in India.
• The water pressure in the shower was awful.

Special Notes to Share:


Just judging by the lack of pros on the Marriott side I think we're staying in the Fairmont next year. >_>

[Touya no Miko]

Hotel Name: Marriott
Would You Book Next Year: Maybe, it depends on our budget.

Pros:
-One of our roommates has a handicap placard, which automatically gave us free valet parking at the Marriot.
-We booked a jr suite this year. Totally worth it. Sooooo much space. Great for people with bulky cosplays.
-You get a king bed, and a couch that can be rolled out into a bed. You can easily fit three on the king and two on the couch.
-We were also surprised to find a complimentary mini-fridge in our room, since the hotel never mentioned it on their site. But then again, what kind of suite doesn't come with a fridge?
-Bathroom was also wide and spacious and I loved how it came with toiletries and even a mini sewing kit(Great for cosplay repairs!)!
-Staff was great this year. Room service always brought in extra towels and toilet paper when we requested them.
-Compared to last year when we had a standard room, check in and check out went surprisingly smoothly(I guess it helps if you pay all in cash). Even the elevators at check-out weren't so bad. And god bless that bell hop for letting us take the service elevator with all our luggage. i wished we could have tipped him.

Cons: There were times when Marriott staff would leave us in the dark about certain hotel amenities, such as the mini fridge and the deposit fee. We were told it would $100 per night, only to find out at check-in it was $50. Unlike other hotels who let you pay at check out, you have to pay the full amount UP FRONT. Also if we had known we were getting a fridge, it would have saved us the trouble of bringing a cooler. The elevators during the weekend were the worst though. It would take me an average 10-15 minutes to get an unpacked elevator. Also with Valet parking, you're not allowed to go near your car. So if you forget some luggage in your trunk, only the staff can get it for you.

In addition, while this isn't the hotel's fault at all, we were on the 14th floor which seems to be the PARTY floor. A drinking party was going on next door. Con goers and even fanime staff members were crammed in this standard room, getting drunk, being noisy, and spreading their body heat outside our door. It felt like a sauna made from human heat. EW. D: I wished the Marriott staff had come in to settle things down earlier instead of waiting for hours.

Special Notes to Share: Not much to share. The jr suites were amazing! I've always disliked the Marriott standard rooms, and wish they provided similar services like the suite we got. Considering how pricey the Marriott can be. But please know this, just because it's a bigger space DOES NOT mean you should have more roommates. Then you'll just have a bigger mess to take care of.

[Touya no Miko]

Hotel Name: Hyatt Place


Just one little question. How big are the rooms in Hyatt? The site said they were 600 sq ft, but back when it was the Crowne Plaza the rooms were about as small if not smaller than the Marriott and Hilton. Did they gut the entire insides or something?

[obliviousedward]

Hotel Name: Hyatt Place

Just one little question. How big are the rooms in Hyatt? The site said they were 600 sq ft, but back when it was the Crowne Plaza the rooms were about as small if not smaller than the Marriott and Hilton. Did they gut the entire insides or something?

The room we had wasn't huge by any means, but it never felt cramped. I'd say it was roughly the same size as the rooms were back when it was still the Crowne Plaza; if anything, the space may have been utilized a little differently. The two beds and couch took up most of the space, leaving room to walk between them and the TV, drawers, etc. We used the cabinet and drawer space to store all our things, so it didn't take up all the floor space.

Hope that answer helped you somewhat, if at all, hehe. XD

[Sora]

Hotel Name: Fairmont
Would You Book Next Year: Maybe, though I'd rather stay at the Hilton or Marriott (since they're right next door to the convention center and are less expensive)
Pros: large rooms, locks on the bathrooms, soft beds, roomy (never crowded) elevators
Cons: a block away, so I had to walk back and forth if I needed to do anything in my room. I also hated the keycard thing for the building, as if one forgets his/her keycard, you can't get into the elevator or up the building
Special Notes to Share: I had never stayed here before, so didn't know they would charge for the snack bar and the full amount of the room on the credit card of the person using a credit card. I think it's ridiculous, so I don't think I'll be staying at this hotel again, despite how much more walking would've done me. Plus, it's a bit too costly for me, and there wasn't a jacuzzi like at the Marriott. Another thing was that my driver's side door handle got pulled off by somebody. :(

[mdarkpoet]

I want to make a small comment on my hotel stays for Fanime over the years. I've stayed at the Marriott and Hilton more than once as well as the Fairmont.

Personally I don't know what was up with the Fairmont last year but I do warn to book with caution if staying at the Fairmont.

Cons of the Fairmont:
No one helped us check in to the hotel. We stood around for 30 minutes trying to get a hotel cart and some help. They either told us "It'll be another minute" or ignored us completely.
Room DOES require a deposit
I got mad bed bugs in the hotel bed, same with my fiance.
I tried phoning the staff as to the location of the ice machine and they seemed very irritated to have to help me. It was just a simple "Is there one on every floor" yes or no question.

I've never had issues like that at the Marriott or Hilton and I usually ALWAYS book with either or. Just something for con-goers to keep in mind for next year. I'm only trying to help  :'( :( :(

[SweetNiar]

Hotel Name: Fairmont
Would You Stay there again: A Possibility!
Pro: Big Room.  Big Bathroom w/ Walk-in Shower.  No crowded elevators. Nice nice bakery on the corner ^_^
Cons:  No Ice Machine! (Least on the floor/building i was in) If youre not going to have a mini fridge (and i dont mean the one with the little bottles of liquor in it) at least have an ice machine on the floor!

[Konekogami]

on top of the deposit before check-in.  No Ice Machine! If youre not going to have a mini fridge at least have an ice machine on the floor! 

O.o The Fairmont has ice machines..  It's just that it's behind a door instead of out in the open.  :p Literally right across the hall from my room was a door that said "ice".    Also, I looked at my bill, there was no charge for using the ice bucket or coffee machine.  Snack Bar yes, but the staff told me about that right up front. 

Now for my own review.

Hotel Name: Fairmont

Would you book next year: YES.  This is officially my Fanime Hotel.
Pros:
Large Rooms
Vanity area
Close to food and the Bijan Bakery.
Friendly Staff ( at least in my experience)
Fast uncrowded elevators ( though there was a bit more crowding this year, probably due to the swap meet and autographs being there)
The lounge/lobby area is gorgeous.

Cons:
Expensive, Especially since I stay until Tuesday.   However if you plan ahead, know about the deposits and don't use a debit card.. you should be fine.

Housekeeping: This usually isn't my experience, but this year.. housekeeping was a little.. lacking.  Shampoos and soaps weren't replaced, dirty glasses and mugs were taken but new ones weren't given..    I've stayed at the Fairmont before and this is the first time this has happened.

A bit of a walk.  Honestly I don't mind the walk, but it's a little unnerving when I leave the convention center at 2:00 AM in the morning and I don't have anyone to walk me back.

Tips!
Join their President's club.  There are different tiers, and you can get some good benefits at their basic level. (Which is free) Benefits include: Your own check in/check out line, free internet and wireless, and some others. 

They DO offer refrigerators for rent for $25 a day.  Something I will be looking into next year.

[SweetNiar]

on top of the deposit before check-in.  No Ice Machine! If youre not going to have a mini fridge at least have an ice machine on the floor! 

O.o The Fairmont has ice machines..  It's just that it's behind a door instead of out in the open.  :p Literally right across the hall from my room was a door that said "ice".    Also, I looked at my bill, there was no charge for using the ice bucket or coffee machine.  Snack Bar yes, but the staff told me about that right up front. 

Not in the building i was in....there was no door that said "ice".  I walked up and down the entire hall and even looked behind a door that was slightly open where it possibly could have been and there was nothing there besides a bright white room with nothing inside.  And i didnt say about being charged for the coffee machine...just under the TV where there were glasses and an ice bucket had a sign saying i'd be charged for removing anything from the tray so i just didnt touch it :P And it was referring to those and not just the snacks :U

[Touya no Miko]

Hotel Name: Hyatt Place

Just one little question. How big are the rooms in Hyatt? The site said they were 600 sq ft, but back when it was the Crowne Plaza the rooms were about as small if not smaller than the Marriott and Hilton. Did they gut the entire insides or something?

The room we had wasn't huge by any means, but it never felt cramped. I'd say it was roughly the same size as the rooms were back when it was still the Crowne Plaza; if anything, the space may have been utilized a little differently. The two beds and couch took up most of the space, leaving room to walk between them and the TV, drawers, etc. We used the cabinet and drawer space to store all our things, so it didn't take up all the floor space.

Hope that answer helped you somewhat, if at all, hehe. XD

That did help a little bit. Thank you. :3 I'm trying to contemplate about where to room next year. If the room is small we might have to get two rooms or try our luck with the suite again. We always need a room with a fridge, which is why I would love Hilton but my friend who has a bad respiratory system hates their air ventilation.

[obliviousedward]

That did help a little bit. Thank you. :3 I'm trying to contemplate about where to room next year. If the room is small we might have to get two rooms or try our luck with the suite again. We always need a room with a fridge, which is why I would love Hilton but my friend who has a bad respiratory system hates their air ventilation.

No problem. :3 Not sure if every room at the Hyatt comes with a fridge now or what, but I'm sure the staff would be glad to accommodate you in a room that does have one if you ask. Also, the room we had fit four people comfortably, if that's any consolation. The air quality seemed fair as well; if anything, it never got stuffy (at least that I noticed).

[lyricaldanichan]

Staying at the Hilton was good and the staff was very nice. The only thing that bother me is the public bathrooms in both the Hilton/Marriot did not have a baby changing table. Even in the SJCC I only found one which was in the dealer's room. I am shocked that they didn't have these amenities available especially with the SJCC. Suffice to say it made it very awkward changing diapers in front of people in the bathroom.

[aetherltd]

Hotel Name: Doubletree

Would You Book Next Year: Yes

Pros:
• Clockwork Alchemy
• Good rooms, beds, showers.
• Quiet.
• Easy check in/out.
• Easy parking.
• No lines for Fanime/CA registration.
• No strange extra charges on bill.

Cons:
• Long halls
• Bus ride to Fanime. (Bus service was excellent.)
• Major issues with food. The main cafe ("Sprigs") was usually closed, and when it was open it was just an overpriced breakfast buffet. The hotel's main restaurant was about $40 to $50 for a dinner. The bar served food, but it was just a remote station for room service. $15 for a BLT. ($2 for miso soup, though.) The hotel's gift shop had energy bars at about 2x the normal retail price, but was usually closed. No vending machines other than canned soft drinks.

Special Notes to Share:
• Sonoma Chicken is about 1/3 of a mile away, very good, and cheap.  $11 for an excellent half chicken (way above KFC level) with fries and drink.
• Dennys offered 10% off to Fanime members.  But it's tough to get to on foot, because there's a freeway underpass in the way and all the crosswalks are in the wrong place.

[TofuHopper]

Hotel Name: Hyatt Place

Would You Book Next Year: Definitely

Pros: Great room size, Had huge TV, fridge and a long couch! Lovely lobby, small gym, great breakfast and dessert bar/drinking bar.

Cons: Doors was super hard to shut! I think there was a few people experiencing this as well because you can clearly hear other people slamming their doors to get it to shut! My room mate had no idea that you need to give the door a really hard slam to shut so when I walked out the shower I found the door still open... I really don't blame him they really need to get those doors fixed!

Special Notes to Share: The doors becareful with the doors double check they are closed! I'm so glad the doors were opened when I was there... We had some really expensive stuff in that room I would've been heartbroken if they were stolen :'[ Lolita clothes they are expensive man...

[Gigantor]

I have had a room at some point at every hotel affiliated with the convention center.

Hotel Name: Fairmont
Would You Book Next Year: Possibly.
Pros:

• First off, the people working check in on Thursday night were extremely helpful and very nice. I paid entirely in cash, and they were more than kind enough to not charge me a deposit for the stay! Rather they charged me $300 cash for "incidentals" which basically functioned as a credit for possible charges that could amount. I thought this was more than generous of them rather than charging me $300 + $400 for the deposit. Quite pleased by this and it was a major bonus to their staff for being so kind and accommodating.
• The rooms are large which is one of the most helpful factors in deciding since the amount of cosplays our collective group has always takes up a massive amount of space.
• The staff was extremely helpful and always called to ask if we needed housekeeping or anything and they were, for the most part, extremely kind and professional.

Cons:

• Seriously didn't know what was up by with the seeming lack of housekeeping in the common areas. There was a major problem with the trash in some areas which I attribute most definitely to the convention goers who seem to have no respect leaving alcoholic containers and empty soda containers spread in seemingly every corner along my hallway, but it was also there for substantially longer than two days so it was also a relatively large failure on the staff of housekeeping.
• Some of the hotel buttons did not work and there were several construction shortcuts which were quite apparent. The tile was set quickly and without spacers so there will several areas where the craftsmanship was quite shoddy for such a high level hotel. The reasons the plugs were also quite loose in some of the hotels is because they cut corners when applying wallpaper and they just cut into the wallpaper and shoved it into the gap, they also didn't screw the faceplate into a secured surface. Which, having worked on hotels, are all extremely common time savers to finish a floor a week.

Special Notes to Share: This is an awesome hotel overall and I would definitely stay there again.

Also to the person that said Hilton was cheaper than the Fairmont, it was $115 at the Hilton and $122 at the Fairmont. (Not exactly end of the world difference but Haha) The Marriott was cheaper though.

[davidnguyen408]

Hotel Name: Fairmont

Would You Book Next Year: Yes We will

Pros: Check in was fast at the front desk. When we got up to the room me and my wife were amazed at how big and roomy the room was. My wife loved the vanity ( she did her lolita makeup) and the bathtub. I loved how there was side tables and a comfy chair for me to use my laptop. There was a nice flat screen tv that my wife used right away. Oh shit the bed was so soft my husband jumped in it and claimed he's sleeping spot immediately. We knocked out every night. Soft bed and pillows.

Cons: We had to keep calling for info about an earlier check in time since 3 was way to late for us to go. No free parking so parents couldn't come see us. We had to wait 10 minutes for them to bring our luggage to our room. Housekeeping was a bit lacking. They didn't restock everything. The room felt like it was in a maze in the far corner and my wife thought something scary would pop out. The door was messed up and it had a gap in far top left corner. No free internet my husband had to use his android hot spot. The shower and tub was a bit confusing to use. The garbage didn't have bags. The elevators were hell. On Monday we waited 5 minutes to get an almost empty elevator to fit all our luggage because the bellhop would have taken an hour to get it from our room.

Special Notes to Share: Really close to food and short walking distance from the con. Great room and view.

p.s. written by a husband and wife

[Althena]

Hotel Name: Marriott

Would You Book Next Year: No.

Pros: This hotel is connected to the primary hub of Fanime in regards to its location to the panel rooms, and viewing rooms. Comfy beds.

Cons: Checking in was a nightmare to the point I've lodged 1 complaint against the primary employee who was uncooperative and extremely rude. I'll note I also called their customer care to praise one of their Manager's Jesse, who accomplished the only thing we actually wanted when the other employee said it was impossible and went as far as to use made-up terminology for how rooms were booked (I have family who work at hotels as managers, and there were those in our room who have worked at hotels as managers).
Had to pay for a fridge, unlike the Hilton. Not only that, but the fridge was smaller than a standard dorm Fridge. Plus I had to call for the fridge 3 times because no one ever placed it on our room. And this issues wasn't fixed until I found one of the hotel's Manager's, Jesse in the lobby and asked about it.
No microwaves allowed in the rooms.
Upon check-out there was an additional Valet charge. It was removed as it was no one from our room. The person shared a common last name with the person in our group. So I'd say their organization in handling large attendees is not up to par with other hotels I've stayed at.

Special Notes to Share: This is a note on their a comment one of their employees said. An engagement ring was lost or left in our room, and missed when we did our final run through. When a person in my group contacted the Marriott when they discovered it not in their bags (hoping that perhaps housekeeping located it), the employee said that no ring was found. That's OK. I can understand that.
But she went on to tell my roommate that one of the people that they roomed with probably stole the ring from them and sold it to a pawn shop.
If this is the mentality of how the employees at the Marriott see us as customers, guests, or attendees, I'll most certainly never room with this hotel again.

[AntiVonn]

Hotel Name: Marriott

Would You Book Next Year: No

Pros: Close to the convention center and the other hotels with Fanime events. Decent AC if you left it running all day.  

Cons:  When enquiring about a lost item the staff insisted that someone I let into the room must have stolen it. (Interesting since the only people I let into the room was the housekeeping staff.)  No Security.  Drunks in the elevators, hallways, and lobby. Loud parties until the wee hours, when the 'guests' would run through the halls screaming.  Housekeeping was lax. The hallway quickly turned into an obstacle course of piles of dirty towels, bags of trash, pizza boxes, and dirty room service dishes. Hotel staff was rude and inattentive, and complained to me about the behavior of con attendees (as if it was my fault, or that I could do something about it).
 
Special Notes to Share: Never again.

[CosplayDevotee]

.
In addition, while this isn't the hotel's fault at all, we were on the 14th floor which seems to be the PARTY floor. A drinking party was going on next door. Con goers and even fanime staff members were crammed in this standard room, getting drunk, being noisy, and spreading their body heat outside our door. It felt like a sauna made from human heat. EW. D: I wished the Marriott staff had come in to settle things down earlier instead of waiting for hours.

Omg I Heard that too! Same floor but we were lucky to have our room be directly next to the ice machine so weren't as close to the room in question. The noise wasn't too bad until a large group of them started running up and down the hallway and talking EXTREMELY loudly. My husband was literally five seconds away from calling the lobby when they finally got on that elevator they were waiting for.

Hotel: the Marriott

Would you book again: if I didn't my husband would throw a tantrum lol

Pros: great staff except for the female employee at the front desk. My husband and I prefer the sliding bathroom door considering no one else is in our room but the two of us. The beds are AMAZING! And for the first time this year we had room service and even my simple chicken noodle soup was TO DIE FOR and honestly the price was equal if not cheaper to any of the tiny portioned sized food you buy at the con. (I'm never buying anything save for beverages at the con again. Rediculious prices for food that has no nutrition at ALL) I love that it's connected to the convention center and the little deli area next to the lobby is my one stop shop for all breakfast and lunch needs!

Cons: I mentioned it a little on my pros section, but with every handful of great staff there's always one or two that just have to go and ruin the experience for you. I already went over this in a different thread but I'll sum it up here. My husband and I checked in at 10am on day zero and the woman behind the lobby counter actually smirked at me for being partially in costume (sorry, I'm not putting my death the kid wig in my luggage to be destroyed thanks) and honest to got shoved my confirmation number print out back at me and said "I don't need THAT" as if it were a pile of crap. I'm sorry, didn't want to work the con weekend hunny? Too bad, don't treat your customers that way. I very rarely go to management about employees but this woman's face looked like she had something crammed up her butt.

Special Notes to Share: Despite the bad service when we checked in I have to mention that a day prior to day zero a friend of ours was kind enough to lug my husbands almost 5ft cross punisher into the hotel to have them keep it there overnight. The staff there took such great care of it and even wrapped it in bubble wrap in case it were to fall over. The bellhop.brought it up to the room with mybhusbands help and didn't so much as even give our outfits or quite frankly the seemingly offensive wrapped cross a sideways glance. He was tipped handsomely. ^_^ and the maids are great at this hotel. When they realized we weren't the destructive type like so many con goers they were very happy to clean the rooms while avoiding all our props and swag.

[BunofGovt]

I want to add that, as a result of our not getting parking at the Hilton (valet full/Hilton parking full on the Friday night forcing us to park in the convention center), we were able to get a parking spot right outside the doors facing the Hilton lobby.  So very easy for us to get to our luggage/bins in the car, and easy in and out of the garage using the discount ticket.  I may consider trying to get the discount parking rate if they offer it again next year instead of relying on the valet parking.