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Who's Going To Pax East 2011??? And Opinions On The BCEC/Hotel

145679

Posts

  • HeleorHeleor SeattleRegistered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Heleor wrote: »
    I'd recommend waiting until the system goes live. I doubt prices or availability will change between now and a week from now if you get a room on your own, and frankly, we go to this effort because we think we can save you some money over what you'd typically spend without the help. If it wasn't worth you using the system, then it'd be a big waste of our time. =)

    Makes sense - but I doubt it's going to be under 100 dollars a night, right?

    Even with a friends and family code for the Holiday Inn the cheapest hotel I've been able to find in Boston was $130-ish a night. But that's a ways away from the convention center. I'm hoping the group code gets comparable rates.

    Always check rewards memberships (Your credit card should have some, at the least) and AAA discounts - I (hopefully) reserved a room at the Westin Waterfront for 104 a night.

    Heleor on
  • It's not a tumorIt's not a tumor Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Heleor wrote: »
    Heleor wrote: »
    I'd recommend waiting until the system goes live. I doubt prices or availability will change between now and a week from now if you get a room on your own, and frankly, we go to this effort because we think we can save you some money over what you'd typically spend without the help. If it wasn't worth you using the system, then it'd be a big waste of our time. =)

    Makes sense - but I doubt it's going to be under 100 dollars a night, right?

    Even with a friends and family code for the Holiday Inn the cheapest hotel I've been able to find in Boston was $130-ish a night. But that's a ways away from the convention center. I'm hoping the group code gets comparable rates.

    Always check rewards memberships (Your credit card should have some, at the least) and AAA discounts - I (hopefully) reserved a room at the Westin Waterfront for 104 a night.

    I'm holding off until the hotel info goes up, it just feels like it's taking forever to do so. (Never been to Boston before so I figured PAX is a great excuse to visit.)

    It's not a tumor on
  • David CoffmanDavid Coffman Registered User, PAX Staff regular
    edited October 2010
    Yea, we would have liked to have had it up concurrently with main registration launch.

    David Coffman on
  • antheremantherem Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Yea, we would have liked to have had it up concurrently with main registration launch.

    David:
    Can you speak as to the cancellation policies? Is there an immediate non-refundable deposit, or do we get charged at some later date? Or won't you know until everything is set to go?

    antherem on
  • David CoffmanDavid Coffman Registered User, PAX Staff regular
    edited October 2010
    antherem wrote: »
    David:
    Can you speak as to the cancellation policies? Is there an immediate non-refundable deposit, or do we get charged at some later date? Or won't you know until everything is set to go?
    Cancellation policies of the hotels?

    Generally speaking you can get a refund if you cancel before a few days before the reservation. There often is a deposit when you first make the reservation, but if you cancel it you can get the deposit back (as long as you don't wait until the last minute).

    David Coffman on
  • shadowhaxorshadowhaxor Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Since this is my first Pax East.... hell, my first time going to Boston, I'm wondering about the event and the hotels in the area. Regarding the districts, for example, I'm looking at some hotels in the Theather district. How far is that from where the event is being hosted at?

    shadowhaxor on
    c2e0b3ede0e50567dda8a3249038f379.png
  • RdrRdr Rider Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Since this is my first Pax East.... hell, my first time going to Boston, I'm wondering about the event and the hotels in the area. Regarding the districts, for example, I'm looking at some hotels in the Theather district. How far is that from where the event is being hosted at?

    Well BCEC's address is 415 Summer St, Boston, MA 02210 so just get driving directions from the hotel you're looking at to BCEC with Google or some other direction provider.

    Rdr on
  • FrugusFrugus Photographer MontrealRegistered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Rdr wrote: »
    Since this is my first Pax East.... hell, my first time going to Boston, I'm wondering about the event and the hotels in the area. Regarding the districts, for example, I'm looking at some hotels in the Theather district. How far is that from where the event is being hosted at?

    Well BCEC's address is 415 Summer St, Boston, MA 02210 so just get driving directions from the hotel you're looking at to BCEC with Google or some other direction provider.

    What he said, and so much more.

    I strongly suggest you use MyMaps from Google Maps. Put down markers and notes about everything you will find out. After a little while you should end up with a few sweet spots that will better indicate what's the best place for you.

    You can indeed find out what you should expect when using the travel tools in Google Maps. Use driving, public transportation and walking options. And do reverse lookups. You can get interesting results just by looking at what the public transport system looks like.

    I use a mix of Google Maps and Google Search for finding hotels. That and an Agragator which I don't want to name for forum policy reasons. There are many of them out there so it should not be hard to find one that suits you best.

    I also use a Taxi Fare calculator. They are not precise but they do give you a good idea of costs you should expect.

    It's hard to explain without showing you an example, but through various searches I did on the net to find cheap hotels, travel distances, reverse lookups on the public transport lines, etc, I ended up with a very detailed MyMaps project that clearly showed which hotels where cheap and which where not. Which areas I needed to avoid because the cab fair was going to be too high. Which places where within respectable walking distance (given that the temperature will be mild enough). Where are the best rated places for eats, for shoppipng, you name it. I especially like maping out the locations and schedules of potential bus stops or subway stations that could come in handy!

    Though I already booked a hotel I'm still waiting to see what PA will have to offer. I think I got myself a very sweet deal and all but if there's not much different I just might end up going to the other hotel instead.

    Frugus on
    Frugus Eggbeater
    ufCl1ui.png
  • It's not a tumorIt's not a tumor Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Frugus wrote: »
    Though I already booked a hotel I'm still waiting to see what PA will have to offer. I think I got myself a very sweet deal and all but if there's not much different I just might end up going to the other hotel instead.

    Which hotel did you book a room at? If I can get a better deal that's closer I'd be interested in having more options depending on the hotel offerings from PA. (Of course Boston's also rather notorious for cockroach problems, so I'm a bit leery about roach motels).

    It's not a tumor on
  • Bigman812Bigman812 Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Put up the hotel registration already!

    Bigman812 on
    Wine is fine but whiskey's quicker.
  • rnicollrnicoll Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Bigman812 wrote: »
    Put up the hotel registration already!

    I have a hunch they're not actually sitting around with a giant throw-switch labelled "Hotel Registration", going "Should we put up registration yet? Nah, make them wait..."

    I suspect in fact they're making sure that it actually produces hotel registrations at the end, as opposed to, say, toast. Which would be less useful, even if tasty.

    rnicoll on
  • AngrypastaAngrypasta Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Yeah, last year the system mistakenly booked my reservation from Saturday to Monday, even though I had definitely booked it from Thursday to Monday...Aie, lets hope I can avoid that headache this year, haha.

    Angrypasta on
  • TheInt3rsectTheInt3rsect Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    So is the hotel system still expected to drop today?

    TheInt3rsect on
  • David CoffmanDavid Coffman Registered User, PAX Staff regular
    edited October 2010
    Unfortunately, not likely. We're super close though. Just a few little niggles to work out.

    David Coffman on
  • yelir133yelir133 Registered User new member
    edited October 2010
    I don't mean to be rude at all but first tuesday... then friday... then wednesday ... then ??? D:

    yelir133 on
  • rnicollrnicoll Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    yelir133 wrote: »
    I don't mean to be rude at all but first tuesday... then friday... then wednesday ... then ??? D:

    Then, like most people who deal with deadlines in software, they stop giving out estimates until the code is complete?

    Seriously, this is why it's so hard to wring information from companies in many cases; if they estimate early, and it slips, people complain. If they leave everyone in the dark, people accept it.

    rnicoll on
  • AngrypastaAngrypasta Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Will it be announced on the Official_PAX twitter right when it goes up? It will save me a lot of F5ing, if so haha

    Angrypasta on
  • RdrRdr Rider Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Angrypasta wrote: »
    Will it be announced on the Official_PAX twitter right when it goes up? It will save me a lot of F5ing, if so haha

    Ya it will.

    Rdr on
  • BigRedBigRed Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    edited October 2010
    yelir133 wrote: »
    I don't mean to be rude at all but first tuesday... then friday... then wednesday ... then ??? D:

    a few days wont matter much yo

    BigRed on
    <MoeFwacky> besides, BigRed-Worky is right
  • Counterfeit GodCounterfeit God Registered User new member
    edited October 2010
    I'm guilty of staying hot on the F5 key while at work, but I missed Saturday last year due to a stomach bug, so I want to get a great hotel as close as possible. It'll go up in time though, I don't expect all the rooms to go as soon as the info is released, and I have insane anxiety issues when I travel.

    Counterfeit God on
  • FrugusFrugus Photographer MontrealRegistered User regular
    edited October 2010
    I'm guilty of staying hot on the F5 key while at work, but I missed Saturday last year due to a stomach bug, so I want to get a great hotel as close as possible. It'll go up in time though, I don't expect all the rooms to go as soon as the info is released, and I have insane anxiety issues when I travel.

    If I may?

    I don't know just how important it is for you to have a hotel as close to the convention as possible... It may help you to know that there are some other interesting cheap options that are not as far as they may seem.

    Just saying that if you miss out on the registration, there will be other possibilities. Since I booked my own hotel I'll gladly share what I found out.

    Frugus on
    Frugus Eggbeater
    ufCl1ui.png
  • shadowhaxorshadowhaxor Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Frugus wrote: »
    Rdr wrote: »
    Since this is my first Pax East.... hell, my first time going to Boston, I'm wondering about the event and the hotels in the area. Regarding the districts, for example, I'm looking at some hotels in the Theather district. How far is that from where the event is being hosted at?

    Well BCEC's address is 415 Summer St, Boston, MA 02210 so just get driving directions from the hotel you're looking at to BCEC with Google or some other direction provider.

    What he said, and so much more.

    I strongly suggest you use MyMaps from Google Maps. Put down markers and notes about everything you will find out. After a little while you should end up with a few sweet spots that will better indicate what's the best place for you.

    You can indeed find out what you should expect when using the travel tools in Google Maps. Use driving, public transportation and walking options. And do reverse lookups. You can get interesting results just by looking at what the public transport system looks like.

    I use a mix of Google Maps and Google Search for finding hotels. That and an Agragator which I don't want to name for forum policy reasons. There are many of them out there so it should not be hard to find one that suits you best.

    I also use a Taxi Fare calculator. They are not precise but they do give you a good idea of costs you should expect.

    It's hard to explain without showing you an example, but through various searches I did on the net to find cheap hotels, travel distances, reverse lookups on the public transport lines, etc, I ended up with a very detailed MyMaps project that clearly showed which hotels where cheap and which where not. Which areas I needed to avoid because the cab fair was going to be too high. Which places where within respectable walking distance (given that the temperature will be mild enough). Where are the best rated places for eats, for shoppipng, you name it. I especially like maping out the locations and schedules of potential bus stops or subway stations that could come in handy!

    Though I already booked a hotel I'm still waiting to see what PA will have to offer. I think I got myself a very sweet deal and all but if there's not much different I just might end up going to the other hotel instead.

    Thanks for the Taxi calculator. Already downloaded it my droid.

    shadowhaxor on
    c2e0b3ede0e50567dda8a3249038f379.png
  • Counterfeit GodCounterfeit God Registered User new member
    edited October 2010
    Thank you for the offer, but it's just easier to stay close. I think we have 10-14 people in our group. Going to 4 to a room will balance out driving/bus/train for that many people. Plus, we don't have to wait for anyone to be ready, whoever is ready can just head over as opposed to waiting forever.

    Counterfeit God on
  • It's not a tumorIt's not a tumor Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    For anyone going solo, Club Quarters has some great rates for rooms with a full-bed. I was able to book mine for $99 a night and they're right downtown, since I plan on doing more than just go to the con. (As an alternative to the convention center hotel).

    It's not a tumor on
  • acumen101acumen101 Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    For anyone going solo, Club Quarters has some great rates for rooms with a full-bed. I was able to book mine for $99 a night and they're right downtown, since I plan on doing more than just go to the con. (As an alternative to the convention center hotel).

    I've already booked with them. Since they're more of a business hotel, the rates are cheaper for the weekend. I stayed at the one in NYC a few years ago and that was a good stay. Anyways, you'd save money there even with taking a cab than booking closer to the BCEC.

    acumen101 on
    Life-Long Nerd from New England

    PAX East 2015: -Pass [X] -Hotel [X] -Time off[X]

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  • It's not a tumorIt's not a tumor Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    acumen101 wrote: »
    For anyone going solo, Club Quarters has some great rates for rooms with a full-bed. I was able to book mine for $99 a night and they're right downtown, since I plan on doing more than just go to the con. (As an alternative to the convention center hotel).

    I've already booked with them. Since they're more of a business hotel, the rates are cheaper for the weekend. I stayed at the one in NYC a few years ago and that was a good stay. Anyways, you'd save money there even with taking a cab than booking closer to the BCEC.

    It's just too bad we can't get group codes for airfare. I'll be spending more on my plane ticket than the hotel.

    It's not a tumor on
  • David CoffmanDavid Coffman Registered User, PAX Staff regular
    edited October 2010
    Angrypasta wrote: »
    Will it be announced on the Official_PAX twitter right when it goes up? It will save me a lot of F5ing, if so haha
    As Rdr said, it'll definitely be on the official_pax twitter.

    As far as the delays...we decided to move the engine over to Unreal figuring we'd just have to change the art which would be a quick and easy change. As it turned out, adapting the codebase to that engine was a bit more complicated than it first seemed, and we started running into new limitations of the engine we weren't entirely prepared for.

    ;)

    David Coffman on
  • antheremantherem Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Ah yeah, the BCEC maps are probably too big for that engine. You'll have to add in some walls and doors to use as map transit points. I can see how that'd take a while.

    antherem on
  • AngrypastaAngrypasta Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Awesome. PAX East will be grey and brown.

    Angrypasta on
  • LordKeegsLordKeegs Registered User new member
    edited October 2010
    Angrypasta wrote: »
    Awesome. PAX East will be grey and brown.

    With unskippable cut scenes.... :p

    LordKeegs on
  • schussschuss Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    As someone who's helped organize (albeit much smaller in size/scope) hotels and conventions/meetings, I can safely say that dealing with an affiliate hotel is like a chess game where you have a clock and they don't. Often excruciating.

    schuss on
  • David CoffmanDavid Coffman Registered User, PAX Staff regular
    edited October 2010
    http://ow.ly/2TJzX

    Now with curved surfaces.

    David Coffman on
  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    edited October 2010
    http://ow.ly/2TJzX

    Now with curved surfaces.

    BOOKED AND BOOKED!

    Westin Waterfront here I come.

    thanks so much for the update!

    zerzhul on
  • JobiwanKenobiJobiwanKenobi Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Woo! and confirmed for the Westin... [and with that my F5'ing finger can finally rest...]

    JobiwanKenobi on


    PAX Prime '09 - H1N(erd)1 Survivor - Never Forget (Your Hand Sanitizer)
    PAX Prime '14 Omeganaut - Result: KO in 3rd Round (Damn you, Super Avalanche 2!)
  • HeleorHeleor SeattleRegistered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Wow, the Westin rate is better than I expected.

    Heleor on
  • Moe FwackyMoe Fwacky Right Here, Right Now Drives a BuickModerator mod
    edited October 2010
    And with hotels live comes the hotel discussion thread and poll, also don't forget the Room Share thread if you're looking for somebody to bunk with.

    Moe Fwacky on
    E6LkoFK.png

  • antheremantherem Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    http://ow.ly/2TJzX

    Now with curved surfaces.

    :^:

    Thanks so much for the hard work. Got my room all squared away! Now all that remains is the wait...for...five months...
    D:

    antherem on
  • yelir133yelir133 Registered User new member
    edited October 2010
    Thanks everyone for the hard work.. got a great rate at the Westin :]

    yelir133 on
  • AngrypastaAngrypasta Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Room booked at Westin Waterfront from Thursday to Monday!

    David Coffman rules.

    Angrypasta on
  • rnicollrnicoll Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    http://ow.ly/2TJzX

    Now with curved surfaces.

    MADE FROM AWESOME.

    You sir, are a very sensible goose.

    I have to admit, I kinda booked a suite in the meantime. I've cancelled it, for which I feel a little bad, and re-booked at the same hotel for half the cost. Somehow, $160/night less is easing my guilt, as well as my slight disappointment I'm not getting a suite.

    rnicoll on
This discussion has been closed.