I can't complain about my booking this year, as I got exactly what I wanted, but is it just me, or is the new onpeak interface really hard to find a specific hotel in if you're in a hurry?
i got thurs-sun at intercontinental, but really hoping there's some way to work my way into the westin waterfront. i already live in the boston area, so there's really no point paying unless i'm in the hotel connected to the convention. anyone have any experience going after WW reservations that have been cancelled since the original booking? does onpeak load them back onto the website, or is there some other way in?
I am staying at the Westin Copley Place. Is that bad or good? I know it is 3 miles away, so I will most likely take the shuttle, taxis, or the T to get to the con center.
I stayed there for non-PAX reasons a year ago. The hotel is very nice and the area is as well. As you have already noted it is far away though.
It's a quick t ride to south station, as the T is right near the Westin Copley. It's a good spot if you plan to do Boston things, as opposed to 100% PAX things. It's also right next to the Salty Pig, which is delicious.
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DominoKeizen MikazukiNew York, NYRegistered Userregular
When people cancel a reservation, it pops back up on OnPeak. That's how I got my Westin reservation last year.
I've also managed to get the Intercontinental. Slowly but surely edging closer to the convention center >:3
When people cancel a reservation, it pops back up on OnPeak. That's how I got my Westin reservation last year.
I've also managed to get the Intercontinental. Slowly but surely edging closer to the convention center >:3
thanks for the info! guess i'll be compulsively refreshing for the next forever! then again... anyone who cancels their westin waterfront reservation is kind of a dingus... unless they end up not being able to make it to PAX, which they probably wouldn't find out until months from now. i could be at this for a while.
When people cancel a reservation, it pops back up on OnPeak. That's how I got my Westin reservation last year.
I've also managed to get the Intercontinental. Slowly but surely edging closer to the convention center >:3
thanks for the info! guess i'll be compulsively refreshing for the next forever! then again... anyone who cancels their westin waterfront reservation is kind of a dingus... unless they end up not being able to make it to PAX, which they probably wouldn't find out until months from now. i could be at this for a while.
a lot of times too, people don't realize the cost, westin definitely isn't the cheapest, and book somewhere else, or that unexpected problem happens and they now can't afford it. Don't give up, you could get lucky. Also the seaport is very nice as well.
When people cancel a reservation, it pops back up on OnPeak. That's how I got my Westin reservation last year.
I've also managed to get the Intercontinental. Slowly but surely edging closer to the convention center >:3
thanks for the info! guess i'll be compulsively refreshing for the next forever! then again... anyone who cancels their westin waterfront reservation is kind of a dingus... unless they end up not being able to make it to PAX, which they probably wouldn't find out until months from now. i could be at this for a while.
I got absolutely BONED by OnPeak last year. Their website was down for two-ish hours and I waited on hold for just as long trying to book with an agent... All the while people were able to book through the mobile site.
I watched the reservations like a hawk last year. It isn't much of an exaggeration to say I refreshed the listings almost hourly for months. The big 3 did not open back up until just before the reservations were released by OnPeak and they went in the blink of an eye. The problem with the OnPeak system is that a lot of folks will make multiple reservations at various hotels that they do not need because you don't need to put down a deposit just yet. I was extremely fortunate that someone on the PAX subreddit offered to transfer their cancelled Seaport listing directly to me.
Long story short: The Westin may open back up but there is absolutely no way of knowing when. Unless someone transfers directly to you it is complete luck of the draw.
a lot of times too, people don't realize the cost, westin definitely isn't the cheapest, and book somewhere else, or that unexpected problem happens and they now can't afford it. Don't give up, you could get lucky. Also the seaport is very nice as well.
Westin is cheaper than a lot of the others. I was shocked when I got it and that it was only 206 bucks a night. I paid 179.99 2 years ago for Intercontinental and about the same for Omni Parker last year. I'm super excited about getting the Westin for my first time ever, but after looking at the room layout and size, it's not all that special aside from being attached to the convention center. I've stayed at Omni Parker House once, Intercontinental twice and soon to be Westin for the first time and I gotta say the best experience so far was Intercontinental. The rooms were much larger, bathrooms were incredible, best bathroom I've ever seen. But no bad experience yet.
I was talking to someone who works at Kotaku and he was saying that Westin Boston Waterfront fills up fast (naturally) and that he was seeing rooms, if there were any left, going for several hundreds of dollars more than average a night.
Anyway, my mom works for a hotel so she might try to get me a discounted room at one of the non-affiliated hotels. They're a bit farther away, but they're right next to the bus and train and I can use my savings for cab rides if I'm really desperate.
Anyway, my mom works for a hotel so she might try to get me a discounted room at one of the non-affiliated hotels. They're a bit farther away, but they're right next to the bus and train and I can use my savings for cab rides if I'm really desperate.
I did exactly this a few years ago, it works well with the trains. The only snag I hit was that the trains stop around midnight so if you stay for the concerts, that cab may be your only way back.
Anyway, my mom works for a hotel so she might try to get me a discounted room at one of the non-affiliated hotels. They're a bit farther away, but they're right next to the bus and train and I can use my savings for cab rides if I'm really desperate.
I did exactly this a few years ago, it works well with the trains. The only snag I hit was that the trains stop around midnight so if you stay for the concerts, that cab may be your only way back.
Me and my friends went with the -CHEAPEST- hotel price possible. (Holiday Inn that is 4 miles away from the BCEC). Since we plan to rent a car and drive to and from the hotel and the BCEC. Holiday Inn has a parking lot. Anyone know how much the parking costs for the BCEC?
Me and my friends went with the -CHEAPEST- hotel price possible. (Holiday Inn that is 4 miles away from the BCEC). Since we plan to rent a car and drive to and from the hotel and the BCEC. Holiday Inn has a parking lot. Anyone know how much the parking costs for the BCEC?
15 for self park and 25 for valet. That is the convention center parking lot, I haven't used lots away from the center so I can't speak to their rates.
Me and my friends went with the -CHEAPEST- hotel price possible. (Holiday Inn that is 4 miles away from the BCEC). Since we plan to rent a car and drive to and from the hotel and the BCEC. Holiday Inn has a parking lot. Anyone know how much the parking costs for the BCEC?
if you're only planning on using the car to go to & from pax, you might be better off using uber. cheaper & easier than a cab, WAY cheaper than renting a car, no parking hassle. which holiday inn are you staying at? you can do a fare check on the uber app to get a sense of what it will cost (though they MIGHT do a bit of surge pricing if pax increases their demand).
Me and my friends went with the -CHEAPEST- hotel price possible. (Holiday Inn that is 4 miles away from the BCEC). Since we plan to rent a car and drive to and from the hotel and the BCEC. Holiday Inn has a parking lot. Anyone know how much the parking costs for the BCEC?
if you're only planning on using the car to go to & from pax, you might be better off using uber. cheaper & easier than a cab, WAY cheaper than renting a car, no parking hassle. which holiday inn are you staying at? you can do a fare check on the uber app to get a sense of what it will cost (though they MIGHT do a bit of surge pricing if pax increases their demand).
Nice idea and thanks for mentioning it! But we already planned it all out to rent a car and drive from NYC to Boston anyway. If we book the car rental right now, it is dirt cheap anyway. Splitting the cost of the car, gas and parking between 4 people... it will come out to roughly $15 per person a day.
Just a heads up on your car rental plan, you're going to end up spending a lot on parking if you're driving back and forth and you are going to waste a lot of time sitting in traffic/car lines etc. Plus since they don't do overnights at the convention center, you have to worry about always getting out at the right time. Just a word of warning, definitely look into public transit.
On Friday morning it will take you 30 minutes to travel 4 miles by car. The rest of the days are much better for driving, and Friday night is not a problem as well. Just a heads up so you leave ridiculously early on the Friday morning.
As for parking at the convention centre, overnight is not allowed, however, you may park until the fat lady sings, so to speak. If your car is parked in that lot 15 minutes after the last concert, you should not be ticketed (we never have been). However, yes, you cannot leave it later than when they kick the last person out of the place.
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DominoKeizen MikazukiNew York, NYRegistered Userregular
edited November 2014
I'd be wary about driving from NYC to Boston. Between tolls, gas, etc. you might be better off just taking a bus in terms of cost effectiveness. Right now Greyhound/Peter Pan is $20 round trip for Pax weekend.
I live in NJ and I prefer to fly personally. Its SO easy.
Yup. I live in nj and if I'm not mistaken, right now tickets are about 120 round trip for coach. It might be more expensive than the public transportation route, but it makes the trip so much easier. If you stay somewhere like the Westin, the airport is like 2 minutes away.
One of the downsides to using something like the plane over the train however is that it is really not much faster if you look at it. A train will take about 5 hours from nj. If you take a plane, you got about 2 hours at the airport, like half an hour on the tarmat or more, and like half an hour to an hour to get off the plane, get your luggage, and catch a cab. In the long run you probably save yourself less than an hour.
I'd be wary about driving from NYC to Boston. Between tools, gas, etc. you might be better off just taking a bus in terms of cost effectiveness. Right now Greyhound/Peter Pan is $20 round trip for Pax weekend.
This was huge - thank you for pointing it out. Snagged a bus ticket for me and a buddy - leaving Newark at 7:10am Thursday, arrive in Boston at 1:20pm. Leaving Sunday at 4pm (do wish they had a later option, but that was all I saw for Newark, though if you go in and out of New York, there's later options).
Me and my friends went with the -CHEAPEST- hotel price possible. (Holiday Inn that is 4 miles away from the BCEC). Since we plan to rent a car and drive to and from the hotel and the BCEC. Holiday Inn has a parking lot. Anyone know how much the parking costs for the BCEC?
if you're only planning on using the car to go to & from pax, you might be better off using uber. cheaper & easier than a cab, WAY cheaper than renting a car, no parking hassle. which holiday inn are you staying at? you can do a fare check on the uber app to get a sense of what it will cost (though they MIGHT do a bit of surge pricing if pax increases their demand).
Nice idea and thanks for mentioning it! But we already planned it all out to rent a car and drive from NYC to Boston anyway. If we book the car rental right now, it is dirt cheap anyway. Splitting the cost of the car, gas and parking between 4 people... it will come out to roughly $15 per person a day.
also, if you have never driven in Boston, prepare to get lost... though it is manageable, it's definitely not a nice block system like NY, lots of one ways, no turns, it can be a little daunting to new people.
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DominoKeizen MikazukiNew York, NYRegistered Userregular
And that's game. I got the Westin, two beds at that. Still have the Intercontinental and Wyndham reservations and I need Thursday, so my job is half done haha.
And that's game. I got the Westin, two beds at that. Still have the Intercontinental and Wyndham reservations and I need Thursday, so my job is half done haha.
wow still finding westin rooms poping up.. that's pretty cool
And that's game. I got the Westin, two beds at that. Still have the Intercontinental and Wyndham reservations and I need Thursday, so my job is half done haha.
wow still finding westin rooms poping up.. that's pretty cool
ARGH!!! I was just on there 5 minutes ago looking for the Westin, my timing SUCKS!
Wait...was it the Waterfront or Copley?
ClannMorgan on
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DominoKeizen MikazukiNew York, NYRegistered Userregular
DominoKeizen MikazukiNew York, NYRegistered Userregular
edited November 2014
And maybe I'm crazy, but I just got the Renaissance a few seconds ago; two beds x3
It's normally not necessary, but I've happened upon a group of 6-8 this year, so thank god for my meticulous setup
Annnnd now have a king bed for the Thursday at the Westin Waterfront. I really want to extend the 2 bed reservation with the Westin, but we'll see what happens.
Well, if you need to drop any WW reservations I'd be happy to pick it up...I have a King @ Renaissance but really trying to get into the Weston...I keep missing these rooms pop up :?
Looking for it do I need to constantly refresh or will it just become available?
Sadly you have to constantly refresh if you really want a westin room. You can also just be really lucky and look at the exact right time. But once they are up, they are only up for about a 1-2 minute window, and even then people are probably flying through checkout to reserve it.
Stick to your backup plans and wait until we are less than a month away from pax, there will be more cancelations then, giving you the best oppurtunity.
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DominoKeizen MikazukiNew York, NYRegistered Userregular
Yeah, I literally have an auto refresh of 1 min, though I'm thinking about making a script to properly filter. I do this all at work with my info in a copy to paste format. Tis why I tell people to trust me when booking Pax, even though I still screw up at the beginning.
Yeah, I literally have an auto refresh of 1 min, though I'm thinking about making a script to properly filter. I do this all at work with my info in a copy to paste format. Tis why I tell people to trust me when booking Pax, even though I still screw up at the beginning.
omg, HALP. i've been refreshing randomly every day but i never stumble upon anything. i second what ClannMorgan said - if you find yourself with extra WW reservations, happy to take one off your plate.
Yeah, I literally have an auto refresh of 1 min, though I'm thinking about making a script to properly filter. I do this all at work with my info in a copy to paste format. Tis why I tell people to trust me when booking Pax, even though I still screw up at the beginning.
omg, HALP. i've been refreshing randomly every day but i never stumble upon anything. i second what ClannMorgan said - if you find yourself with extra WW reservations, happy to take one off your plate.
same here >:3
Get some cookies, so you can eat 'em and grow up big and strong and kick Piston in the butt-butt.
Sorry v_v. I did get hold of a specialist at SPG and they said they are going to look into getting me a room, going to cost me my saved up points but it will be well worth it if i can get a room ^^
Get some cookies, so you can eat 'em and grow up big and strong and kick Piston in the butt-butt.
Me and my friends went with the -CHEAPEST- hotel price possible. (Holiday Inn that is 4 miles away from the BCEC). Since we plan to rent a car and drive to and from the hotel and the BCEC. Holiday Inn has a parking lot. Anyone know how much the parking costs for the BCEC?
if you're only planning on using the car to go to & from pax, you might be better off using uber. cheaper & easier than a cab, WAY cheaper than renting a car, no parking hassle. which holiday inn are you staying at? you can do a fare check on the uber app to get a sense of what it will cost (though they MIGHT do a bit of surge pricing if pax increases their demand).
Nice idea and thanks for mentioning it! But we already planned it all out to rent a car and drive from NYC to Boston anyway. If we book the car rental right now, it is dirt cheap anyway. Splitting the cost of the car, gas and parking between 4 people... it will come out to roughly $15 per person a day.
also, if you have never driven in Boston, prepare to get lost... though it is manageable, it's definitely not a nice block system like NY, lots of one ways, no turns, it can be a little daunting to new people.
Seaport/BCEC is pretty easy, as it's right off 93/the Pike. Anywhere else though - totally right.
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It's a quick t ride to south station, as the T is right near the Westin Copley. It's a good spot if you plan to do Boston things, as opposed to 100% PAX things. It's also right next to the Salty Pig, which is delicious.
I've also managed to get the Intercontinental. Slowly but surely edging closer to the convention center >:3
thanks for the info! guess i'll be compulsively refreshing for the next forever! then again... anyone who cancels their westin waterfront reservation is kind of a dingus... unless they end up not being able to make it to PAX, which they probably wouldn't find out until months from now. i could be at this for a while.
a lot of times too, people don't realize the cost, westin definitely isn't the cheapest, and book somewhere else, or that unexpected problem happens and they now can't afford it. Don't give up, you could get lucky. Also the seaport is very nice as well.
I got absolutely BONED by OnPeak last year. Their website was down for two-ish hours and I waited on hold for just as long trying to book with an agent... All the while people were able to book through the mobile site.
I watched the reservations like a hawk last year. It isn't much of an exaggeration to say I refreshed the listings almost hourly for months. The big 3 did not open back up until just before the reservations were released by OnPeak and they went in the blink of an eye. The problem with the OnPeak system is that a lot of folks will make multiple reservations at various hotels that they do not need because you don't need to put down a deposit just yet. I was extremely fortunate that someone on the PAX subreddit offered to transfer their cancelled Seaport listing directly to me.
Long story short: The Westin may open back up but there is absolutely no way of knowing when. Unless someone transfers directly to you it is complete luck of the draw.
Westin is cheaper than a lot of the others. I was shocked when I got it and that it was only 206 bucks a night. I paid 179.99 2 years ago for Intercontinental and about the same for Omni Parker last year. I'm super excited about getting the Westin for my first time ever, but after looking at the room layout and size, it's not all that special aside from being attached to the convention center. I've stayed at Omni Parker House once, Intercontinental twice and soon to be Westin for the first time and I gotta say the best experience so far was Intercontinental. The rooms were much larger, bathrooms were incredible, best bathroom I've ever seen. But no bad experience yet.
Anyway, my mom works for a hotel so she might try to get me a discounted room at one of the non-affiliated hotels. They're a bit farther away, but they're right next to the bus and train and I can use my savings for cab rides if I'm really desperate.
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I did exactly this a few years ago, it works well with the trains. The only snag I hit was that the trains stop around midnight so if you stay for the concerts, that cab may be your only way back.
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The T runs until 3am now iirc
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15 for self park and 25 for valet. That is the convention center parking lot, I haven't used lots away from the center so I can't speak to their rates.
if you're only planning on using the car to go to & from pax, you might be better off using uber. cheaper & easier than a cab, WAY cheaper than renting a car, no parking hassle. which holiday inn are you staying at? you can do a fare check on the uber app to get a sense of what it will cost (though they MIGHT do a bit of surge pricing if pax increases their demand).
Nice idea and thanks for mentioning it! But we already planned it all out to rent a car and drive from NYC to Boston anyway. If we book the car rental right now, it is dirt cheap anyway. Splitting the cost of the car, gas and parking between 4 people... it will come out to roughly $15 per person a day.
As for parking at the convention centre, overnight is not allowed, however, you may park until the fat lady sings, so to speak. If your car is parked in that lot 15 minutes after the last concert, you should not be ticketed (we never have been). However, yes, you cannot leave it later than when they kick the last person out of the place.
One of the downsides to using something like the plane over the train however is that it is really not much faster if you look at it. A train will take about 5 hours from nj. If you take a plane, you got about 2 hours at the airport, like half an hour on the tarmat or more, and like half an hour to an hour to get off the plane, get your luggage, and catch a cab. In the long run you probably save yourself less than an hour.
This was huge - thank you for pointing it out. Snagged a bus ticket for me and a buddy - leaving Newark at 7:10am Thursday, arrive in Boston at 1:20pm. Leaving Sunday at 4pm (do wish they had a later option, but that was all I saw for Newark, though if you go in and out of New York, there's later options).
wow still finding westin rooms poping up.. that's pretty cool
ARGH!!! I was just on there 5 minutes ago looking for the Westin, my timing SUCKS!
Wait...was it the Waterfront or Copley?
ARGH!!!
It's normally not necessary, but I've happened upon a group of 6-8 this year, so thank god for my meticulous setup
Annnnd now have a king bed for the Thursday at the Westin Waterfront. I really want to extend the 2 bed reservation with the Westin, but we'll see what happens.
Stick to your backup plans and wait until we are less than a month away from pax, there will be more cancelations then, giving you the best oppurtunity.
omg, HALP. i've been refreshing randomly every day but i never stumble upon anything. i second what ClannMorgan said - if you find yourself with extra WW reservations, happy to take one off your plate.
Im probably just going to MegaBus it up and Amtrack it back
Noted. Will not do it again.
Seaport/BCEC is pretty easy, as it's right off 93/the Pike. Anywhere else though - totally right.
Would you mind sharing your insight with me? How much did you factor gas and tolls to be?