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Early 2013 Hotel Discussion

zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
edited March 2013 in PAX West
Please use this thread for early hotel discussion before the OnPeak system comes out. It seems that hotel discussion is heating up and I don't want to clutter up the FAQ with that.

This discussion was created from comments split from: PAX PRIME 2013 Information and FAQ (READ THIS FIRST, THEN ASK ALL QUESTIONS HERE).

zerzhul on
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    disabledgamerj2disabledgamerj2 Kirkland, WashingtonRegistered User regular
    can anyone give an idea of what hotel room rates mite be given years past? looking for a bed fortwo people

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    zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    can anyone give an idea of what hotel room rates mite be given years past? looking for a bed fortwo people

    It really depends on the hotel. The hotels closest to PAX, through the PAX OnPeak booking system, are usually between $160-200/night give or take some dollars. That is, of course, subject to change.

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    Disco11Disco11 Registered User regular
    We usually rent a house or apartment with Airbnb.

    PSN: Canadian_llama
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    jjjewelsjjjewels TorontoRegistered User regular
    edited March 2013
    We were thinking of renting through Airbnb as well. Did you find there were enough places to choose from close enough to the venue to do so? We need somewhere for 4 peeps.

    jjjewels on
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    Disco11Disco11 Registered User regular
    jjjewels wrote: »
    We were thinking of renting through Airbnb as well. Did you find there were enough places to choose from close enough to the venue to do so? We need somewhere for 4 peeps.

    We rented a pretty sweet place in capitol hill last year that was a 20ish minute walk away but that place was rented already this year. We rented a whole house that's farther out this year from the same guy.

    https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/281208

    Too far to walk but as I discovered last year, cabs are cheap and plentiful (compared to Calgary).

    One of the group is going as a space marine so walking in his costume is not really feasible, anyway. For a a group, I find that a house is a better deal as we have our own rooms and our own kitchen. The whole 6 day rental cost 1700$ but that is divided 4 ways.

    We found that there was a lot less selection available this year. Maybe people are booking for PAX way in advance?

    PSN: Canadian_llama
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    jjjewelsjjjewels TorontoRegistered User regular
    Oh wow that looks wicked! We found a couple places in Belltown. Thought it was too early to book a place but I guess not. I better get on it!

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    Disco11Disco11 Registered User regular
    Does look pretty sweet! Now, I just need to make sure we can get tickets!

    PSN: Canadian_llama
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    southernpride_rjsouthernpride_rj Puyallup, WARegistered User regular
    Been checking around the hotels, pre-planning for the 4-day extravaganza. If you want a hotel in downtown Seattle, there are ~$250 and up. These hotels know whats going down that time of year and they ramp up the prices for rooms. I suggest getting a reservation booked now.

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    jjjewelsjjjewels TorontoRegistered User regular
    Been checking around the hotels, pre-planning for the 4-day extravaganza. If you want a hotel in downtown Seattle, there are ~$250 and up. These hotels know whats going down that time of year and they ramp up the prices for rooms. I suggest getting a reservation booked now.

    Actually I've read you should wait for the PAX booking tool. You get a major group discount and they have a block of rooms at all the closest hotels.

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    whypick1whypick1 PAX [E] Info Booth Manager ~2' from an LCDRegistered User regular
    Booking through OnPeak at the PAX rate is more like $200 for a quad occupancy before tax. And PAX reserves the vast majority of rooms in those hotels, so there's very little left if you're booking normally.

    Is it PAX <insert nearest future PAX here> yet?
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    bacon_avengerbacon_avenger Defender of Pork Products Pacific NW, USARegistered User regular
    jjjewels wrote: »
    Been checking around the hotels, pre-planning for the 4-day extravaganza. If you want a hotel in downtown Seattle, there are ~$250 and up. These hotels know whats going down that time of year and they ramp up the prices for rooms. I suggest getting a reservation booked now.
    Actually I've read you should wait for the PAX booking tool. You get a major group discount and they have a block of rooms at all the closest hotels.
    Generally, yes. However, it doesn't hurt to have a backup reservation ready to go in case you aren't able to get in where you want. Heck, some of them might be nice enough to convert a previous reservation to the PAX group rate.

    I know the Hilton chain has a claim of lowest price with price matching, per http://hiltonworldwide.hilton.com/en/ww/ourbestrates/guarantee.jhtml

    In my case if they don't match it, I can always make a reservation via the PAX site and cancel my existing one if they won't match it.

    PAX Prime 2022 Checklist:[ ]Hotel [ ]Time Off [ ]Bobcats [ ]Challenge Coin [ ]Forum Badge
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    jjjewelsjjjewels TorontoRegistered User regular
    Just booked our Airbnb. It's a bit of a walk (Belltown) but I don't mind trekking through Pike Place Market in the morning!

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    sanovahsanovah Nerd of the West San Diego, CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    edited March 2013
    Has anyone stayed at the Convention Center and Pike Street Homewood Suites? I went ahead and booked directly with the hotel since I'm going to be in Seattle for two weeks. So for anyone that's stayed there previous years I have the following question(s) for any homewood vet.

    How good of a "home base" hotel is it? I'm visiting Seattle for so long to plan my move up there later this year and since PAX will be the last part of my trip I need a good base to check out schools, apartments, and the surrounding areas from for the first week and a half.

    Can you actually cook and store food in the kitchens in the rooms? like i said I'm gonna be up there for two weeks and would like to know in advance for budgeting purposes if I'm gnna have to buy breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day like I did last year.

    thanks in advance for anyone that's stayed there past years.

    sanovah on
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    zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    It's a good home base hotel. Yes there is a full size fridge, and a 1 or 2 burner stovetop (no oven) with cooking utensils (pots, pans, dishes, etc) and a dishwasher.

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    Disco11Disco11 Registered User regular
    jjjewels wrote: »
    Just booked our Airbnb. It's a bit of a walk (Belltown) but I don't mind trekking through Pike Place Market in the morning!

    Sweet! Now we hunt for tickets!

    PSN: Canadian_llama
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    jjjewelsjjjewels TorontoRegistered User regular
    Disco11 wrote: »
    jjjewels wrote: »
    Just booked our Airbnb. It's a bit of a walk (Belltown) but I don't mind trekking through Pike Place Market in the morning!

    Sweet! Now we hunt for tickets!

    I'm scared. How likely is it I won't get tickets? I stalk this site on a daily...

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    sanovahsanovah Nerd of the West San Diego, CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    edited March 2013
    jjjewels wrote: »
    Disco11 wrote: »
    jjjewels wrote: »
    Just booked our Airbnb. It's a bit of a walk (Belltown) but I don't mind trekking through Pike Place Market in the morning!

    Sweet! Now we hunt for tickets!

    I'm scared. How likely is it I won't get tickets? I stalk this site on a daily...

    It's honestly impossible to say how difficult tickets will be to get this year.

    Last year was a perfect storm when it came to PAX to tickets selling out in 5 hours. We had Blizzcon being canceled after PAX east happened, and someone deciding it was a good idea to host the LoL NA regionals at a popular con that's already too big for its current location. So when the tickets went on sale you had the normal PAX crowd, the people that couldn't go to Blizzcon, and you had all the people who only cared about the LoL regionals all competing for the same event. Which meant we got to see tickets disappear in 5 hours or less

    I remember for PAX 11' there were still tickets in like mid June, and I also remember before the blizzcon and LoL announcements PA was speculating that 3-days would last about a week and the rest one month.

    So hopefully as long as PA learned not to try and host another LoL type event at PAX and blizzcon doesn't get canceled in the next two-three weeks I'd think and am hoping their estimates from last year hold true. Which
    hopefully means you shouldn't have to be in commando mode for the next month waiting for tickets to go on sale.

    but if you're worried I'd do what everyone told me to do and what's repeated here a lot. Once east is over follow @Official_PAX, add them to your notification list, add your phone to your twitter account, and turn on mobile notifications. Doing all of that will mean when the "tickets are on sale" tweet goes out you'll get a notification that they tweeted and a text of the actual tweet. Also if you don't think you'd be able to register on your phone take a laptop with you to work and places you're not at your desktop.

    sanovah on
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    jjjewelsjjjewels TorontoRegistered User regular
    sanovah wrote: »
    but if you're worried I'd do what everyone told me to do and what's repeated here a lot. Once east is over follow @Official_PAX, add them to your notification list, add your phone to your twitter account, and turn on mobile notifications. Doing all of that will mean when the "tickets are on sale" tweet goes out you'll get a notification that they tweeted and a text of the actual tweet. Also if you don't think you'd be able to register on your phone take a laptop with you to work and places you're not at your desktop.

    Did you ever know that you're my hero? Thanks for the advice!

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    DreamwriterDreamwriter Registered User regular
    sanovah wrote: »
    Last year was a perfect storm when it came to PAX to tickets selling out in 5 hours. We had Blizzcon being canceled after PAX east happened, and someone deciding it was a good idea to host the LoL NA regionals at a popular con that's already too big for its current location. So when the tickets went on sale you had the normal PAX crowd, the people that couldn't go to Blizzcon, and you had all the people who only cared about the LoL regionals all competing for the same event. Which meant we got to see tickets disappear in 5 hours or less
    Don't forget HaloFest was here too, and with Microsoft being a local company, lots of people from MS probably wanted to go. But here's the problem - last year happened. So even without a perfect storm, we could get hit by crappy scalpers who think "It sold out in hours last year, I could make big bucks by buying 100 tickets this year".

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    zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    hotel thread, please stay on topic :) We will see what happens with registration when it comes.

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    DreamwriterDreamwriter Registered User regular
    edited March 2013
    K :) Pike Street Homewood Suites is also a good home-base hotel for its location - it's right on the edge of the downtown core, so you can walk all over downtown from there. And the highway is just a couple blocks away to venture further out. For home-cooked food there's a convenience store across the street from the convention center, a small grocery store around 2 blocks up Pike (away from the convention center), and a 24-hour QFC around 6 blocks up at Capital Hill (I used to live in the same building as Homewood Suites).

    Dreamwriter on
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    sanovahsanovah Nerd of the West San Diego, CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    edited March 2013
    K :) Pike Street Homewood Suites is also a good home-base hotel for its location - it's right on the edge of the downtown core, so you can walk all over downtown from there. And the highway is just a couple blocks away to venture further out. For home-cooked food there's a convenience store across the street from the convention center, a small grocery store around 2 blocks up Pike (away from the convention center), and a 24-hour QFC around 6 blocks up at Capital Hill (I used to live in the same building as Homewood Suites).

    Since you used to live there do you know if its also near any public transportation that happens to go north towards UW and/or east towards Bellevue?

    Trying to visit both of those in preparation for a move to the area.

    Also sorry for going OT

    sanovah on
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    whypick1whypick1 PAX [E] Info Booth Manager ~2' from an LCDRegistered User regular
    edited March 2013
    The convention center is near the downtown corridor and underground bus tunnels where a good percentage of the Metro buses end/pass through. There's at least 4 different buses that'll take you to the UW, and at least one that'll take you directly to the Bellevue P+R.

    Now let's try to get back on topic.

    whypick1 on
    Is it PAX <insert nearest future PAX here> yet?
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    realisticradicalrealisticradical Durham, NCRegistered User regular
    Lets just say I want to make a week out of my PAX' trip and explore Seattle. Is it better to get one hotel for the Seattle exploration part of the trip and another for PAX' or are the PAX' hotels located and prices well enough for a Seattle exploration trip?

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    sanovahsanovah Nerd of the West San Diego, CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    One hotel would probably be best but be warned unless it changed the PAX prices are only active for I think the night before and con days. So not every night will be that 170-210 price.

    Also not sure if you could schedule a week through on peak since they just block rooms for the convention I think. Someone that's gone to more PAXs could probably give you an answer on this, but I at least know con prices last just for before and after the con

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    whypick1whypick1 PAX [E] Info Booth Manager ~2' from an LCDRegistered User regular
    Best you'll get at the PAX rate is maybe Wednesday before to Tuesday after, but most likely Thursday to Monday.

    The PAX hotels are centered around the north part of downtown Seattle, so location is not a problem.

    Is it PAX <insert nearest future PAX here> yet?
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    F1CTIONALF1CTIONAL Registered User regular
    I'll most likely be driving up from San Francisco--I've been to East several times but this would be my first PAX Prime. Is public transport decent in Seattle? Boston is really awesome, you can walk almost anywhere and its transit is great. I haven't the slightest idea where to stay (and, more importantly, leave my car safely).

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    adias.angeladias.angel Tech-Savvy Wife Kalamazoo, MIRegistered User regular
    F1CTIONAL wrote: »
    I'll most likely be driving up from San Francisco--I've been to East several times but this would be my first PAX Prime. Is public transport decent in Seattle? Boston is really awesome, you can walk almost anywhere and its transit is great. I haven't the slightest idea where to stay (and, more importantly, leave my car safely).

    We had an easier time getting around Seattle than we did Boston (which was pretty easy too). Everything was closer together and so a lot of it was just walkable. We did use the light rail a couple times to get around and that was really nice.

    Prime '12, '13, '14, '15, '19 .. East '12
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    skylatronskylatron Registered User regular
    If you have a large group and are on a bit of a budget, don't be afraid to contact AirBnB hosts and ask if they're willing to accept additional people. I did a search for properties that took 2 people, but then sent messages out to a handful asking if there was room for 6 (yay for sleeping on the floor). The people who answered were courteous and helpful, and we found a great hostess who is willing to work with us.

    So, it never hurts to ask!

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    jjjewelsjjjewels TorontoRegistered User regular
    I can't recommend AirBnb enough! I have found amazing places to stay through them 5-6 times so far (Boston, NYC, DC) and have had the best experiences. Great hosts and ridiculously good prices. Start looking into it now. I've already booked our Seattle place for Prime!

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    CuvisTheConquerorCuvisTheConqueror They always say "yee haw" but they never ask "haw yee?" Registered User regular
    edited March 2013
    jjjewels wrote: »
    Been checking around the hotels, pre-planning for the 4-day extravaganza. If you want a hotel in downtown Seattle, there are ~$250 and up. These hotels know whats going down that time of year and they ramp up the prices for rooms. I suggest getting a reservation booked now.
    Actually I've read you should wait for the PAX booking tool. You get a major group discount and they have a block of rooms at all the closest hotels.
    Generally, yes. However, it doesn't hurt to have a backup reservation ready to go in case you aren't able to get in where you want. Heck, some of them might be nice enough to convert a previous reservation to the PAX group rate.

    I know the Hilton chain has a claim of lowest price with price matching, per http://hiltonworldwide.hilton.com/en/ww/ourbestrates/guarantee.jhtml

    In my case if they don't match it, I can always make a reservation via the PAX site and cancel my existing one if they won't match it.

    I can only speak for the chain I work for (which isn't Hilton), but our best rate guarantee does not apply to rates offered to a group block or by a third-party housing bureau (like OnPeak). I can only assume Hilton's is the same. That said, as long as you avoid prepaid rates, making a new reservation through OnPeak and canceling your other reservation is simple.

    CuvisTheConqueror on
    xderwsaxganu.png
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    mentok1982mentok1982 I could never leave you PAX baby. BaltimoreRegistered User regular
    I usually get a better deal by booking my flights and hotel stay together using a travel website, but if the hotels are raising their rates for PAX, that may not hold true this year.

    Penny Arcade TV makes my life complete!
    PS3: Mentok || Steam: mentok1982 || Diablo 3: mentok1982#1212
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    adias.angeladias.angel Tech-Savvy Wife Kalamazoo, MIRegistered User regular
    Does anyone remember how quickly the Grand Hyatt sold out last year?

    Prime '12, '13, '14, '15, '19 .. East '12
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    CuvisTheConquerorCuvisTheConqueror They always say "yee haw" but they never ask "haw yee?" Registered User regular
    mentok1982 wrote: »
    I usually get a better deal by booking my flights and hotel stay together using a travel website, but if the hotels are raising their rates for PAX, that may not hold true this year.

    You do want to watch it with those, though, because usually those package deals are prepaid and non-refundable. Read the fine print, and don't prepay for anything until OnPeak releases the rooms.

    xderwsaxganu.png
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    Kirby4LifeKirby4Life SumYungGuy In a cabin in the woodsRegistered User regular
    I remember seeing somthing like a 8-10 person suit last year if you book with PAX. Does anyone remember how much that cost?? If theres not much of a difference per person than a 2 4-person room we might go for that instaid.... Thanks (>^~^)>

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    sanovahsanovah Nerd of the West San Diego, CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    Does anyone remember how quickly the Grand Hyatt sold out last year?

    I think it was 2nd or third after Homewood and Sheraton. So an hour or two if I remember right

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    realisticradicalrealisticradical Durham, NCRegistered User regular
    Sounds like I need to ask another question from the, Newb playbook, actually it's two questions I guess. 1: Do the OnPeak rooms go up at the same time as passes? 2: Do they actually sell out within a few hours of going up?

    I was hoping I didn't have to be quite as quick about rooms as I was about passes.

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    JindraxJindrax Registered User regular
    They usually go up around the same time. Last prime the hotels were slightly behind the release of passes. For East, passes and hotels came out on the same day.
    Sounds like I need to ask another question from the, Newb playbook, actually it's two questions I guess. 1: Do the OnPeak rooms go up at the same time as passes? 2: Do they actually sell out within a few hours of going up?

    I was hoping I didn't have to be quite as quick about rooms as I was about passes.

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    adias.angeladias.angel Tech-Savvy Wife Kalamazoo, MIRegistered User regular
    Jindrax wrote: »
    They usually go up around the same time. Last prime the hotels were slightly behind the release of passes. For East, passes and hotels came out on the same day.
    Sounds like I need to ask another question from the, Newb playbook, actually it's two questions I guess. 1: Do the OnPeak rooms go up at the same time as passes? 2: Do they actually sell out within a few hours of going up?

    I was hoping I didn't have to be quite as quick about rooms as I was about passes.

    In 2012 both East and Prime came out on different days but with East coming out the same day this year, I would put my money on same day also for Prime.

    Prime '12, '13, '14, '15, '19 .. East '12
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    FenrisfangFenrisfang Edmonton, AB, CanadaRegistered User regular
    Sounds like I need to ask another question from the, Newb playbook, actually it's two questions I guess. 1: Do the OnPeak rooms go up at the same time as passes? 2: Do they actually sell out within a few hours of going up?

    I was hoping I didn't have to be quite as quick about rooms as I was about passes.

    As everyone else said, they come out either same day or as close to as possible. To answer your second question, no, all the hotels don't sell out right away. I remember looking a few days later and there was a few still available. The ones that are closer to the Convention Center will go first so if you are looking for a certain hotel, I would get in right away to book.

    PAX Tickets: check!
    Hotel Booked: check!
    Sitter for the kids: check!
    Excitement level rising: check, check and triple check!
This discussion has been closed.