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When I got to my room at the Sheraton there was a lady in there putting the air conditioner panel back on. We had a talk about Survivorman and she left, no problem. They called an hour later and gave me a $50 room credit since 'the room wasn't ready' when I got there. Pretty cool.
Also, don't touch the phone. Friggin expensive, but I had to deal with some delayed luggage. Let's just say room credit was pretty much gone.
I got there Thursday around 2pm and didn't get the PAX 'shaddup a you face' letter. Our room was really loud one night but it was next to the elevators and another PAX goer's room in the corner so no complaints.
Party floors: I've requested exactly this, and every time the response has been "we aren't able to place specific reservations into specific rooms". This boggled my mind--someone could make a killing by developing software that allowed the user to choose their room reservation with airplane-seat-reservation-style precision. So if the hotels aren't able to set aside a party floor, perhaps we can set up a party hotel. Maybe one of the smaller ones, like the Roosevelt.
It's an automated response to give themselves an out. They can do it, they just can't be held to it. It's really hard to committ to something like that at a hotel. I'm a front desk agent for a small hotel close to where I live (only about 65 rooms), and while it's smart for us to cluster groups together - sometimes we just simply can't do it.
Why not?
Because you get those random people that decide that they want to stay a few extra days, so they consume rooms that are in the middle of a possible block (I had one poor guy stay an extra 3 months, he was placed smack dub in the middle of our longest hallway - where groups normally stay. He was luckily a very cool guy and didn't mind having groups of highschoolers blocked around him).
You get guests with multiple needs (some physically require rooms close to elevators and/or ground floor rooms) so that breaks up potential blocks of rooms.
Rooms get cleaned in the order that people check out - if nobody checked out of the "block" of rooms until some late check out that the girl before you gave them, then they're not done by the time your group comes in - and they always need the rooms RIGHT THEN because they need to change/shower/stow luggage because they're late for something.
Or something obscene happens to a few rooms so they need to be shut down for extra cleaning (steamcleaning carpets, etc).
You get your regular business people who have favorite rooms - and because they're usually VIP guests of your hotel chain and/or are huge revenue for the hotel during lower occupation times - you cater to them before you cater to the group (ideally, these people aren't put in areas that are normally reserved for groups anyway - long stretches of similarly equipped rooms are ideal for large blocks).
I've also had it happen where some rooms are pre-blocked and it messes up the day's reservations. i.e. We sell out one day, the last person checks in and they're here for 5 nights. The computer is telling you that you don't have a room available for that length of stay. Do a bit of researching and you find the one room that is unoccupied is one that an elderly couple who just underwent surgery pre-blocked because it was ground floor, close to the lobby. It'll take another few minutes, with the poor person standing at the front desk, to move the incoming guests such that the current guest can get their room and not have to move rooms during their stay.
Someone dropped the ball on assigning rooms earlier in the day (most are assigned at check in) - it takes time and sometimes they just don't have the time. Also, some hotels might not pre-assign simply to avoid that sort of problem that I described above.
It's honestly their own fault/problem for not taking the initiate to try to block out floors for the mass amount of PAX people. They're the ones who have to deal with all the noise complaints because of it.
There are some hotels that *are* using suite-selection charts similar to the airplane-seat model. Even then, there's a chance that you won't get that specific room. I hope that the hotels learned their lessons and will be more willing to take that extra bit of time and effort to section us into dedicated floors.
The Good: Much cheaper than the other hotels. The beds were very firm, and my husband appreciated that. The pillows were very nice, too. It was quiet, and the air conditioner worked well.
The Bad: VERY small room. Was hard to walk around in with five people staying there. cans of soda were 1.50 (which, as compared to other places, not bad, I guess.) It is also about 7 blocks from the convention center, which doesn't sound bad, unless your feet hurt really bad at the end of the day. It also makes a difference in whether you run back to your hotel for something you want or need. There is a big difference in missing out on ten minutes, and missing out on a half hour (maybe I just walk slow :P)
Over all, I just got a very dirty feeling from the hotel, like it wasn't clean. I don't know why. Next year we are going to spend the3 extra money at the Sheraton and be a little more comfortable.
+
Awesome tv
Close to convention center
Friendly staff
Empty swimming pool/sauna/jacuzzi
-
Bed killed my back. I'm in pain, someone shoot me. Nothing I can't handle though...I guess.
No rollaway beds in a room with two doubles. I wouldn't mind if they told me when I called them to get an extra bed, but they basically told me when I got there. They did have extra sheets but still. They only brought them up after I asked them like three times.
As a sidenote. The sports grill next to gameworks had a new waiter. After complementing me on my English, he brought me a fucking margharita instead of a pizza margherita. He asked the people I was eating with to "inform me about how to tip". After bringing me a fucking margharita. Ugh...
I and 6 friends stayed in two rooms at the Sheraton.
Good: Location^3...Friendly and helpful front desk
Less Good: We booked 2 rooms. They were right next to each other. Only Vertically. Why the hell couldn't we get two rooms side-by-side??
Not Good: The rooms were booked well in advance, and they were told explicitly how many people would be in them. We TOLD them 7 people. Once we'd straightened out exactly WHO those 7 would be, my friend called to put the names to the slots. He was told they'd have to charge him additional occupancy. Luckily, he talked them out of it without getting our reservation canceled. When we got there, there was another problem, because the names were apparently written in stone. And since the person whose name was on one room was arriving later, they wouldn't let us get the key for the room. Also, that person didn't want to put their card on room. So we had to add me to the room and put my card on it.
Again, reiterating the Good bit, the Sheraton people were very helpful and eventually got it worked out. It was just an extremely maddening, confusing, cryptic set of rules.....not unlike Arkham Horror, which we all played on Saturday. (To Ashcan Pete!)
The Really Not Good: 35 a night for parking? Really? That was more than double what I paid for the rental ($14 a day for a PT Cruiser). Next time I think I might just sleep in the car.
ariocksayssquee on
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ViscountalphaThe pen is mightier than the swordhttp://youtu.be/G_sBOsh-vyIRegistered Userregular
My party and I stayed at the Crowne. We were on the 10th floor and it really wasn't that bad. Our room was directly across from the elevator (which I actually though would be a pain in the ass hearing it open and close all the time) and we would usually leave the door unlocked while we were in the room.
Not having a pool definitely sucked.
There were six of us in the room on Saturday night and we were drunk and laughing from about 9 until midnight when we got a noise complaint. My buddy opened the door and the waitstaff told him "Noise complaint", to which he replied okay, and then the guy shook his head, paced around and then said again, "Noise complaint". We apologized a second time and he kind of shuffled off.
The girl working at the concierge desk was, in her words, "killer". She was very friendly and helpful and led us to an AWESOME seafood place right on the pier (Elliots). And as of today, it appears I have not been charged for the hotel room as my bank account does not show anything was ever charged to me.
That's a bonus, right?
It takes awhile for the them charge your account. They don't forget that kind of thing. I'm annoyed its taken this long for them to add that charge. (still hasn't hit me for 750$ remaining balance)
Stunningly comfortable beds. Seriously, almost as good as what I have at home.
A good amount of room. Enough to spread the swag around and be the King and Queen of Swag.
The two-Queen rooms are definitely big enough for a good sized group.
Very good restaurant located below the hotel (Elephant&Castle)
Excellent location (Less than five minutes from the WSTCC)
Very close to wonderful non-Starbucks coffee (Monorail Espresso FTW)
Hilarious room-service menu (14.95 for bacon and eggs plus 20% gratuity plus delivery fee plus taxes - you can only laugh)
Lincoln car service to the airport (Yes, this is in addition to the "con" below).
Cons:
Damn near 200.00 a night with "applicable taxes" even with the PAX rate
No courtesy vehicle service (This is probably par for the course, but it induced a WTF from this Alaskan hillbilly)
No complimentary meals of any kind
Our room was kind of dark - faced towards the USBank Tower and never got any light
Wireless was flaky (Had to put the laptop on the vanity to get signal, and the DHCP DNS server was barely working.)
No stove or microwave (I could have cooked a LOT with some stuff from the Market...anyone want to rent a place for a week next time?)
Sable on
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Moe FwackyRight Here, Right NowDrives a BuickModeratorMod Emeritus
Party floors: I've requested exactly this, and every time the response has been "we aren't able to place specific reservations into specific rooms". This boggled my mind--someone could make a killing by developing software that allowed the user to choose their room reservation with airplane-seat-reservation-style precision. So if the hotels aren't able to set aside a party floor, perhaps we can set up a party hotel. Maybe one of the smaller ones, like the Roosevelt.
I have a suggestion here. We talked about this in great length after the very fast shutting down of the Party at Sealab Party. The first thing that comes to mind regarding the suite, was that we were misrepresented on the exact size of said room. When randomguy called up the Crowne Plaza to inquire on the approximate size of their suites, the number he was given was 500 square feet. Now, I just happen to live in an apartment 500 square feet in size, and I have to say, our suite was easily half that size. Beyond that, there were a few other concerns. Our thoughts regarding next year was to look into the cost of a Penthouse Suite at one of the hotels, presumably the entire top floor of a hotel and having more people pool their resources to rent the room for one or two nights (Friday and Saturday likely). If PA can set up a PAX rate at a hotel for one of these as part of a block in a hotel that would have a penthouse, it would be easier to pull off, but either way, I'm sure we will find enough resources to pull it off.
I stayed at the Sheraton. I personally booked 2 rooms for 4 of us. One room was a pretty standard room, the other was oddly large... huge bathroom, hallway entrance, tons of space between the second bed and the window. I took that one. Had to work on my PC and needed the space. ;-)
Rooms were clean, comfortable, etc. No complaints there. Proximity to the convention center was really nice. I didn't mind the walk to the DoubleTree in previous years, but this was just so much nicer.
Only complaint: price. Even though the discount rate was good, they nickle and dimed you to death on everything else... especially the parking situation. (Note: I was informed that a different company owns the parking garage below the hotel and they set the tone for that... not the hotel.) I would really prefer to have access to my vehicle at my own leisure and not have to pay beyond the room rate for it (especially at those prices). I stay in the Sheraton frequently anyway (when I make trips up to watch the Red Sox beat the Mariners) and the parking is really the biggest frustration. The other fees can be avoided (don't eat the candy, don't touch the fridge, don't pick up the phone, don't use the internet) but they definitely make it feel like a cheap experience for such a high class hotel.
By the end of the trip, I stiffed housekeeping out of a tip, because I had just had enough. I was tired of shelling out dollars for access to my car. I did give a guy $5 when he carried a PC out of my car all the way outside, but I would have preferred to do it myself.
the $15 a day is occupancy taxes PER PERSON was bullshit. Next year I'll pay cash and just tell them its just me.
Shade on
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Moe FwackyRight Here, Right NowDrives a BuickModeratorMod Emeritus
edited August 2007
The Crowne Plaza knew up front we would have 5 people, gave us 5 keys and extra bedding and towels when we called for them. No extra hidden charges, in fact, they forgot to charge us parking on one of the cars for all but the first day.
Unless we have a very compelling reason to change, our first choice is a suite at The Paramount for next year. I would highly recommend they be considered for PAX08, since they're across the street from The Roosevelt, and one short block from the convention center (out the door nearest to FedEx Kinkos). Parking was $25/day with in and out privileges, and as long as I had a key to my car I could get to it anytime. It made our departure SUPER SWEET, as we were able to pack the car, do swag dumps, etc before driving to pick up stuff for BYOC.
Does The Hyatt have a pool?
KaitouAyashi on
[15:02] BigRed-Worky: i will nom all of your boxes
[15:02] Tajah: I like you BR but I'm not letting you nom my box
[15:02] BigRed-Worky: Did I mention I hate you all? cause i do PAX Twitter Shitter~*~ Retired Bar Liaison: 2nd, 3rd, & 4th Annual Triwizard Drinking Tournament~*~
Stayed at the Sheraton with four other guys. Decent place, I guess the tower we were in is newer than the main one, since it had an LG flat panel TV and was in the part of the hotel that appeared to be blocked off during Sakuracon in April. 25th floor, terrible view of the convention center though.
The guy who checked us in emptied our the mini fridge and we used it for various drinks. Service was fine, not that we used it much. Only real complaint would be the prices at the Daily Grill, but there were enough other options for food (crepe stand, Uwajimaya a short drive away, etc. sick of Subway, avoided it like the plague). Probably the most convenient hotel for events at the convention center.
I'd also suggest parking at Union Square up the street, as they have great (relatively speaking) weekend rates. Thought I was going to get smacked for $28 for Friday night, only paid $19. Somehow only paid $7 for Saturday night. Thursday I made the mistake of parking in that garage by the Cheesecake Factory and the Hyatt, paid $39 for it. And the woman at the gate was the same one who was working there back in April. Kinda creepy.
Parking: $26 a day +tax (came to $113 for the four days). I expected this, and really parking in general was the suck, but I am tempted to stay at a much cheaper hotel and drive in daily. At least I could go to my car whenever I wanted.
Room: Nice room, sorta dim I spose but didn't bother me. Came with good soap and all that rot. Plus the fridge was nice to have. Didn't watch TV.. to be honest wasn't in there enough to bother.
Elevator: pretty damn fast.
Staff: seemed nice, didn't really interact with em.
Cost: damn do they nickel and dime ya! Silly taxes.
Location: Nice walking distance. Plus there was a really nice Cafe and Bakery across the street, and the elephant whatever downstairs with its multiple happy hours.
Anywho.. not sure. I liked the place fine, though I will note for ya'll that the rate they gave PAX was actually a few bucks higher than what they charge expedia. I think I do not mind walking a bit further to save some money, so I might look into a further away place. Also though all depends on how many people I can get to come out with me next year.
Zankabo on
Better a witty fool than to have a foolish wit....
The Paramount was a great hotel.
I locked my key in my room twice, and got an extra no problem.
Also, even though the party didn't happen in my room, the hotel was cool with it.
And the room size was pretty large compared to the Crowne Suite. Almost as big.
I'd stay there again, hopefully get a Suite next year.
Also, the Dragonfish restaurant has quite good sushi and cocktails.
And the rooms are very clean, have a fridge, etc.
edit:
Didn't know about the inputs. No one had a console in my room.
neuroslice on
Hotel bound on PAX Saturday,
I exclaimed "Khoo is my Sensei!"
So if memes make great shirts,
And Pod Six is Jerks,
Then Moe, Khoo and I had our day.
*Convenient as hell location.
*Dragonfish was good food, and about on par for prices as everything else downtown.
*Quiet.
*Comfy beds.
*They were very cool about checking my luggage in storage for a couple hours after check-out while I killed time till my trip home.
Cons:
*$10 a day wifi. I just used the Freeplay PC room to check my email.
*$25 a day parking was pretty expensive for the guy we were with who had a car.
*Really, really shitty water pressure. I have long hair, and showering took a really long time.
*Lousy washroom set-up (really minor complaint, though!) in that anyone opening the door to the toilet would whack whoever was standing at the sink brushing their teeth.
*The front desk staff, at the times when I asked, weren't especially helpful for helping us find things in the area.
*No fan in the shower. There was an air vent, but when you're the third person to shower and there's no fan running, it's pretty dang moist in there. Bleh.
*We had a room with two queens, and there wasn't enough room to bring in an extra cot for the third guy. He took the floor.
*This is going to sound really minor, but it bugged me--the two "reading lights" next to each bed were on the same switch. So if I wanted to sit up and read for a bit after my roommate had conked out, she had the light blazing in her face too. Kinda lame for such an expensive place. I know the PAX rate was killer compared to regular rates--but it seems pretty cheap for a hotel that's charging $400 at the high-season.
Samyel on
"It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity."
Samyel: What floor were you on? Your room configuration and water pressure concerns differ somewhat from my mileage. We were on floor 11.
Paramount:
Bonuses:
1 covered block from the convention center. 4 blocks from major bus stops to go everywhere (I've never been to Seattle before, decided to be touristy before/after PAX. Seattle is +15 to awesome public transit btw).
Really comfy beds.
Decent elevator
Dragonfish is a really awesome name.
Anti-Bonuses:
Swanky hotel guests giving us the evil eye in the lobby (it happened!)
Guy at the front desk asserting he couldn't run a debit/credit combo. I think he was new.
Dragonfish was kinda lame.
Room service didn't answer the bloody phone.
Shower height was a bit low for those of us who are 6'.
All in all, I thought it was a pretty good run. I might think about doing the Red Lion next year, simply because the Elephant and Castle is built in (it's pretty awesome, even if it is a chain joint).
JP
"So then I says to the guy, 'if that's your wife, then this must be my onion!'"
Samyel: What floor were you on? Your room configuration and water pressure concerns differ somewhat from my mileage. We were on floor 11.
Fifth floor just around the corner from the elevator. 504, actually.
They had all the things that I -really- care about; clean, comfy beds, lots of hot water, climate control, quiet, and Location (with a captial L!) They just failed on the little comfort things, like water pressure, enthusiastic desk staff, and minor room design issues.
Samyel on
"It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity."
Well, you're certainly having a shit day, but that little gem of profanity brightened mine.
Samyel on
"It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity."
Samyel: What floor were you on? Your room configuration and water pressure concerns differ somewhat from my mileage. We were on floor 11.
Fifth floor just around the corner from the elevator. 504, actually.
They had all the things that I -really- care about; clean, comfy beds, lots of hot water, climate control, quiet, and Location (with a captial L!) They just failed on the little comfort things, like water pressure, enthusiastic desk staff, and minor room design issues.
Did you mention the water pressure issue to the staff upon checkout? I was on the 14th floor and water pressure was beautiful. And the lamp thing is WEIRD. Our lamps were on separate switches, though we had one king bed vs two queens.
Also: Apparently 1 hour of N64 games is free with the room. We never played it, but I think it had Mario Kart.
KaitouAyashi on
[15:02] BigRed-Worky: i will nom all of your boxes
[15:02] Tajah: I like you BR but I'm not letting you nom my box
[15:02] BigRed-Worky: Did I mention I hate you all? cause i do PAX Twitter Shitter~*~ Retired Bar Liaison: 2nd, 3rd, & 4th Annual Triwizard Drinking Tournament~*~
Nice bed
A big TV
Close to the convention center
Had a pool
Had an alarm clock
Coffie machine in the bathroom (you americans and the need for coffie on the toilet)
All the people form PAX there
3 computers to use
Also had a view of the sky bridge yes i could see you dancing all night on DDR and in the sumo lounge
Bad
Two calls to england cost me $89
The bar prices were way to high $8 for a kitkat wtf $5 for water
I had a view of a roof
I as well as it seems alot of people, stayed at the Sheraton. Overall I had a fantastic stay there. I thought everything was fairly well priced as far as things like the room and parking go, despite what people say. At least personally. $35 seemed to me to be a good price since the garage was secure, and it was valet. Also I found the parking staff was really polite, I never had any problems with them. Whenever I needed anything out of my car I just went to the window outside and they gave me my keys and walked me down to my car.
The room was fantastic, when I reserved the room they asked if I had any special requests so I told them I wanted to be as high as physically possible, so I was on the 24th floor. The view was amazing, I was facing the west so I had a great view of the seattle skyline and some sight of the sound. (Thats an interesting sentence, sight of the sound...)
My fiance and I only ate a snickers and a kit kat i was charged 6.85, but really after the price of the room for 3 nights and parking for 3 nights, $6 was really a drop in the bucket.
I stayed at the Westin. I think. Two circular towers.. Yeah.
Three boys and myself sharing one room..
And while I had my doubts originally, it actually was great.
Pros:
*Nice beds, very comfortable, and done up perfectly every day.
*Nice view, with a huge window/curtain that could be shut to block the sun.
*Helpful desk staff (when asking where to eat, the man actually gave us directions and a ticket for a discount on our meal..)
*Awesome shower (two shower heads stacked on top of each other and this strange curtain that made the shower seem larger than it was.
*Very helpful. Two of my guy friends were worried about sword-fighting in the middle of the night, so the staff brought us an extra bed for one of them to sleep in.
*They stowed our luggage for 10 hours after we checked out because our flight was at an ungodly hour.
*Good location, a short walk to the market, convention center, and Space Needle.
Cons:
*10$ a day WiFi. This seems to be pretty standard, though. And a break from the internet did me well.. I didn't once log on WoW just to check how the raids were going.
*Strange looks from the other guests. I guess we weren't *ritzy* enough for them.
*They dared to tempt me with overpriced jellybeans. I mean, okay, everything else I can resist, but jellybeans? It was damn hard.
*Their keys demagnetize very very very easily. We had a collection going by the end of the trip.
*A microwave would have been nice, because I could have made no-bake cookies. (I realize this is something that appeals to only me.. but think about it.. reheat your leftovers in the middle of the night.. Mmmm.)
i stayed at the crowne plaza. I loved the beds, soooo confortable. room service was great and ever the coffepot, as we made top ramen from the win your weight in ramen deal in the cofffe pot at 2 in the morning because nothing was open at the time.......and yes it worked hahaha
Non-PAX hotel review but recently stayed in a downtown Seattle hotel with the intention to personally review it for whether or not I'd stay there for this upcoming PAX. Wanted to share insight here.
Hotel: Pike Street Suits
Location: Absolutely excellent in respect to the convention center. It's located essentially on the same block, adjacent to the convention center on the northern side. It has easy access back onto the freeway for those of us who bring their own cars - however this is also a mandatory valet situation. Suggested to park at the convention center as it's not far at all. Some rooms also have a great view of Seattle (clear view of the Space Needle from my room).
Rooms: Unfortunately this hotel does not have any 2-bedders but there are 1 bedders and a fold out couch which is what we stayed in. Considering that the hotel rooms were set up more like appartment suites we did not mind. There was the full refridgerator, microwave, 2-stovetop burner, dish washer, seperate sink, and ample kitchenware including cooking utensils, mixing bowls, pots and pans. There were two closets (great for us girls, I'm sure you boys don't care), a tall shower head (you guys don't have to hunch or do anything awkward here), excellent water pressure, very comfortable beds (reportedly the fold-out couch was also extremely comfortable - both as couch and bed), a console-friendly LCD flatscreen television (it was gorgeous), and an oversized desk for anyone who had to work. It was very spacious in design.
Hotel Ammenities: There was complimentary wireless and wired internet available in the room. Total plus. There was a CD player in the room as well, forgot to mention this. Overall very classy feel to the rooms. The hotel itself also had an outdoor heated swimming pool and an indoor (as well as an outdoor) heated hot tub. The fitness center was very well supplied. Complimentary breakfast was all you could ask for including belgian waffles (the do-it-yourself-pour-the-batter contraptions), sausage, eggs (served as hard boiled or like omelettes), and your normal variety of baked goods (I think there were 3 varities of breads as well as bagels) and cereals. Also a total plus but might be harder to use during PAX was the complimentary hotel shuttle that had a great amount of options including Uwajimaya, Pike Place Market, and the Seattle Science Center.
Overall extremely happy with our stay. When we stayed it was only some $140 a night but it looks as if the price is to go up considerably by next year (around a hundred dollars more). I was very disappointed to learn this because for the cost, location, and what the hotel offers it is perfect on so many levels. I would highly recommend this hotel as a PAX hotel if there was any demand for a more studio-appartment feel stay for those who stay for an extended period of time and would prefer to cut cost by preparing food as opposed to dining out.
Nightingale on
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That_GuyI don't wanna be that guyRegistered Userregular
edited October 2007
I was thinking about staying at the Green Tortoise next year. Of those who stayed there, what was your impression of the place, and how was it?
Posts
Also, don't touch the phone. Friggin expensive, but I had to deal with some delayed luggage. Let's just say room credit was pretty much gone.
I got there Thursday around 2pm and didn't get the PAX 'shaddup a you face' letter. Our room was really loud one night but it was next to the elevators and another PAX goer's room in the corner so no complaints.
Also here's the view from the 16th floor:
http://iseenothing.com/photos/pax2007/pax054.jpg
Do you mean the Executive Hotel Pacific? If so see post #80.
I would stay there again btw. If only for the nice TV (going to bring a console next year!) and the nice staff.
PS3: Mentok || Steam: mentok1982 || Diablo 3: mentok1982#1212
Links: GPUReview.com My IGN activity My IGN Blog [H]ard|Forum
It's an automated response to give themselves an out. They can do it, they just can't be held to it. It's really hard to committ to something like that at a hotel. I'm a front desk agent for a small hotel close to where I live (only about 65 rooms), and while it's smart for us to cluster groups together - sometimes we just simply can't do it.
Why not?
Because you get those random people that decide that they want to stay a few extra days, so they consume rooms that are in the middle of a possible block (I had one poor guy stay an extra 3 months, he was placed smack dub in the middle of our longest hallway - where groups normally stay. He was luckily a very cool guy and didn't mind having groups of highschoolers blocked around him).
You get guests with multiple needs (some physically require rooms close to elevators and/or ground floor rooms) so that breaks up potential blocks of rooms.
Rooms get cleaned in the order that people check out - if nobody checked out of the "block" of rooms until some late check out that the girl before you gave them, then they're not done by the time your group comes in - and they always need the rooms RIGHT THEN because they need to change/shower/stow luggage because they're late for something.
Or something obscene happens to a few rooms so they need to be shut down for extra cleaning (steamcleaning carpets, etc).
You get your regular business people who have favorite rooms - and because they're usually VIP guests of your hotel chain and/or are huge revenue for the hotel during lower occupation times - you cater to them before you cater to the group (ideally, these people aren't put in areas that are normally reserved for groups anyway - long stretches of similarly equipped rooms are ideal for large blocks).
I've also had it happen where some rooms are pre-blocked and it messes up the day's reservations. i.e. We sell out one day, the last person checks in and they're here for 5 nights. The computer is telling you that you don't have a room available for that length of stay. Do a bit of researching and you find the one room that is unoccupied is one that an elderly couple who just underwent surgery pre-blocked because it was ground floor, close to the lobby. It'll take another few minutes, with the poor person standing at the front desk, to move the incoming guests such that the current guest can get their room and not have to move rooms during their stay.
Someone dropped the ball on assigning rooms earlier in the day (most are assigned at check in) - it takes time and sometimes they just don't have the time. Also, some hotels might not pre-assign simply to avoid that sort of problem that I described above.
It's honestly their own fault/problem for not taking the initiate to try to block out floors for the mass amount of PAX people. They're the ones who have to deal with all the noise complaints because of it.
There are some hotels that *are* using suite-selection charts similar to the airplane-seat model. Even then, there's a chance that you won't get that specific room. I hope that the hotels learned their lessons and will be more willing to take that extra bit of time and effort to section us into dedicated floors.
The Good: Much cheaper than the other hotels. The beds were very firm, and my husband appreciated that. The pillows were very nice, too. It was quiet, and the air conditioner worked well.
The Bad: VERY small room. Was hard to walk around in with five people staying there. cans of soda were 1.50 (which, as compared to other places, not bad, I guess.) It is also about 7 blocks from the convention center, which doesn't sound bad, unless your feet hurt really bad at the end of the day. It also makes a difference in whether you run back to your hotel for something you want or need. There is a big difference in missing out on ten minutes, and missing out on a half hour (maybe I just walk slow :P)
Over all, I just got a very dirty feeling from the hotel, like it wasn't clean. I don't know why. Next year we are going to spend the3 extra money at the Sheraton and be a little more comfortable.
+
Awesome tv
Close to convention center
Friendly staff
Empty swimming pool/sauna/jacuzzi
-
Bed killed my back. I'm in pain, someone shoot me. Nothing I can't handle though...I guess.
No rollaway beds in a room with two doubles. I wouldn't mind if they told me when I called them to get an extra bed, but they basically told me when I got there. They did have extra sheets but still. They only brought them up after I asked them like three times.
As a sidenote. The sports grill next to gameworks had a new waiter. After complementing me on my English, he brought me a fucking margharita instead of a pizza margherita. He asked the people I was eating with to "inform me about how to tip". After bringing me a fucking margharita. Ugh...
The Good: I wouldn't know.
The Bad: They "Lost" my reservation. I got fed up with them and took a refund. Next year I'm going to the Sheraton.
Good: Location^3...Friendly and helpful front desk
Less Good: We booked 2 rooms. They were right next to each other. Only Vertically. Why the hell couldn't we get two rooms side-by-side??
Not Good: The rooms were booked well in advance, and they were told explicitly how many people would be in them. We TOLD them 7 people. Once we'd straightened out exactly WHO those 7 would be, my friend called to put the names to the slots. He was told they'd have to charge him additional occupancy. Luckily, he talked them out of it without getting our reservation canceled. When we got there, there was another problem, because the names were apparently written in stone. And since the person whose name was on one room was arriving later, they wouldn't let us get the key for the room. Also, that person didn't want to put their card on room. So we had to add me to the room and put my card on it.
Again, reiterating the Good bit, the Sheraton people were very helpful and eventually got it worked out. It was just an extremely maddening, confusing, cryptic set of rules.....not unlike Arkham Horror, which we all played on Saturday. (To Ashcan Pete!)
The Really Not Good: 35 a night for parking? Really? That was more than double what I paid for the rental ($14 a day for a PT Cruiser). Next time I think I might just sleep in the car.
It takes awhile for the them charge your account. They don't forget that kind of thing. I'm annoyed its taken this long for them to add that charge. (still hasn't hit me for 750$ remaining balance)
Pros:
Stunningly comfortable beds. Seriously, almost as good as what I have at home.
A good amount of room. Enough to spread the swag around and be the King and Queen of Swag.
The two-Queen rooms are definitely big enough for a good sized group.
Very good restaurant located below the hotel (Elephant&Castle)
Excellent location (Less than five minutes from the WSTCC)
Very close to wonderful non-Starbucks coffee (Monorail Espresso FTW)
Hilarious room-service menu (14.95 for bacon and eggs plus 20% gratuity plus delivery fee plus taxes - you can only laugh)
Lincoln car service to the airport (Yes, this is in addition to the "con" below).
Cons:
Damn near 200.00 a night with "applicable taxes" even with the PAX rate
No courtesy vehicle service (This is probably par for the course, but it induced a WTF from this Alaskan hillbilly)
No complimentary meals of any kind
Our room was kind of dark - faced towards the USBank Tower and never got any light
Wireless was flaky (Had to put the laptop on the vanity to get signal, and the DHCP DNS server was barely working.)
No stove or microwave (I could have cooked a LOT with some stuff from the Market...anyone want to rent a place for a week next time?)
I have a suggestion here. We talked about this in great length after the very fast shutting down of the Party at Sealab Party. The first thing that comes to mind regarding the suite, was that we were misrepresented on the exact size of said room. When randomguy called up the Crowne Plaza to inquire on the approximate size of their suites, the number he was given was 500 square feet. Now, I just happen to live in an apartment 500 square feet in size, and I have to say, our suite was easily half that size. Beyond that, there were a few other concerns. Our thoughts regarding next year was to look into the cost of a Penthouse Suite at one of the hotels, presumably the entire top floor of a hotel and having more people pool their resources to rent the room for one or two nights (Friday and Saturday likely). If PA can set up a PAX rate at a hotel for one of these as part of a block in a hotel that would have a penthouse, it would be easier to pull off, but either way, I'm sure we will find enough resources to pull it off.
Rooms were clean, comfortable, etc. No complaints there. Proximity to the convention center was really nice. I didn't mind the walk to the DoubleTree in previous years, but this was just so much nicer.
Only complaint: price. Even though the discount rate was good, they nickle and dimed you to death on everything else... especially the parking situation. (Note: I was informed that a different company owns the parking garage below the hotel and they set the tone for that... not the hotel.) I would really prefer to have access to my vehicle at my own leisure and not have to pay beyond the room rate for it (especially at those prices). I stay in the Sheraton frequently anyway (when I make trips up to watch the Red Sox beat the Mariners) and the parking is really the biggest frustration. The other fees can be avoided (don't eat the candy, don't touch the fridge, don't pick up the phone, don't use the internet) but they definitely make it feel like a cheap experience for such a high class hotel.
By the end of the trip, I stiffed housekeeping out of a tip, because I had just had enough. I was tired of shelling out dollars for access to my car. I did give a guy $5 when he carried a PC out of my car all the way outside, but I would have preferred to do it myself.
Does The Hyatt have a pool?
[15:02] Tajah: I like you BR but I'm not letting you nom my box
[15:02] BigRed-Worky: Did I mention I hate you all? cause i do
PAX Twitter Shitter~*~ Retired Bar Liaison: 2nd, 3rd, & 4th Annual Triwizard Drinking Tournament~*~
The guy who checked us in emptied our the mini fridge and we used it for various drinks. Service was fine, not that we used it much. Only real complaint would be the prices at the Daily Grill, but there were enough other options for food (crepe stand, Uwajimaya a short drive away, etc. sick of Subway, avoided it like the plague). Probably the most convenient hotel for events at the convention center.
I'd also suggest parking at Union Square up the street, as they have great (relatively speaking) weekend rates. Thought I was going to get smacked for $28 for Friday night, only paid $19. Somehow only paid $7 for Saturday night. Thursday I made the mistake of parking in that garage by the Cheesecake Factory and the Hyatt, paid $39 for it. And the woman at the gate was the same one who was working there back in April. Kinda creepy.
Parking: $26 a day +tax (came to $113 for the four days). I expected this, and really parking in general was the suck, but I am tempted to stay at a much cheaper hotel and drive in daily. At least I could go to my car whenever I wanted.
Room: Nice room, sorta dim I spose but didn't bother me. Came with good soap and all that rot. Plus the fridge was nice to have. Didn't watch TV.. to be honest wasn't in there enough to bother.
Elevator: pretty damn fast.
Staff: seemed nice, didn't really interact with em.
Cost: damn do they nickel and dime ya! Silly taxes.
Location: Nice walking distance. Plus there was a really nice Cafe and Bakery across the street, and the elephant whatever downstairs with its multiple happy hours.
Anywho.. not sure. I liked the place fine, though I will note for ya'll that the rate they gave PAX was actually a few bucks higher than what they charge expedia. I think I do not mind walking a bit further to save some money, so I might look into a further away place. Also though all depends on how many people I can get to come out with me next year.
I locked my key in my room twice, and got an extra no problem.
Also, even though the party didn't happen in my room, the hotel was cool with it.
And the room size was pretty large compared to the Crowne Suite. Almost as big.
I'd stay there again, hopefully get a Suite next year.
Also, the Dragonfish restaurant has quite good sushi and cocktails.
And the rooms are very clean, have a fridge, etc.
edit:
Didn't know about the inputs. No one had a console in my room.
I exclaimed "Khoo is my Sensei!"
So if memes make great shirts,
And Pod Six is Jerks,
Then Moe, Khoo and I had our day.
Pros:
*Convenient as hell location.
*Dragonfish was good food, and about on par for prices as everything else downtown.
*Quiet.
*Comfy beds.
*They were very cool about checking my luggage in storage for a couple hours after check-out while I killed time till my trip home.
Cons:
*$10 a day wifi. I just used the Freeplay PC room to check my email.
*$25 a day parking was pretty expensive for the guy we were with who had a car.
*Really, really shitty water pressure. I have long hair, and showering took a really long time.
*Lousy washroom set-up (really minor complaint, though!) in that anyone opening the door to the toilet would whack whoever was standing at the sink brushing their teeth.
*The front desk staff, at the times when I asked, weren't especially helpful for helping us find things in the area.
*No fan in the shower. There was an air vent, but when you're the third person to shower and there's no fan running, it's pretty dang moist in there. Bleh.
*We had a room with two queens, and there wasn't enough room to bring in an extra cot for the third guy. He took the floor.
*This is going to sound really minor, but it bugged me--the two "reading lights" next to each bed were on the same switch. So if I wanted to sit up and read for a bit after my roommate had conked out, she had the light blazing in her face too. Kinda lame for such an expensive place. I know the PAX rate was killer compared to regular rates--but it seems pretty cheap for a hotel that's charging $400 at the high-season.
Paramount:
Bonuses:
1 covered block from the convention center. 4 blocks from major bus stops to go everywhere (I've never been to Seattle before, decided to be touristy before/after PAX. Seattle is +15 to awesome public transit btw).
Really comfy beds.
Decent elevator
Dragonfish is a really awesome name.
Anti-Bonuses:
Swanky hotel guests giving us the evil eye in the lobby (it happened!)
Guy at the front desk asserting he couldn't run a debit/credit combo. I think he was new.
Dragonfish was kinda lame.
Room service didn't answer the bloody phone.
Shower height was a bit low for those of us who are 6'.
All in all, I thought it was a pretty good run. I might think about doing the Red Lion next year, simply because the Elephant and Castle is built in (it's pretty awesome, even if it is a chain joint).
JP
"So then I says to the guy, 'if that's your wife, then this must be my onion!'"
Fifth floor just around the corner from the elevator. 504, actually.
They had all the things that I -really- care about; clean, comfy beds, lots of hot water, climate control, quiet, and Location (with a captial L!) They just failed on the little comfort things, like water pressure, enthusiastic desk staff, and minor room design issues.
Well, you're certainly having a shit day, but that little gem of profanity brightened mine.
Did you mention the water pressure issue to the staff upon checkout? I was on the 14th floor and water pressure was beautiful. And the lamp thing is WEIRD. Our lamps were on separate switches, though we had one king bed vs two queens.
Also: Apparently 1 hour of N64 games is free with the room. We never played it, but I think it had Mario Kart.
[15:02] Tajah: I like you BR but I'm not letting you nom my box
[15:02] BigRed-Worky: Did I mention I hate you all? cause i do
PAX Twitter Shitter~*~ Retired Bar Liaison: 2nd, 3rd, & 4th Annual Triwizard Drinking Tournament~*~
Good
Nice bed
A big TV
Close to the convention center
Had a pool
Had an alarm clock
Coffie machine in the bathroom (you americans and the need for coffie on the toilet)
All the people form PAX there
3 computers to use
Also had a view of the sky bridge yes i could see you dancing all night on DDR and in the sumo lounge
Bad
Two calls to england cost me $89
The bar prices were way to high $8 for a kitkat wtf $5 for water
I had a view of a roof
The room was fantastic, when I reserved the room they asked if I had any special requests so I told them I wanted to be as high as physically possible, so I was on the 24th floor. The view was amazing, I was facing the west so I had a great view of the seattle skyline and some sight of the sound. (Thats an interesting sentence, sight of the sound...)
My fiance and I only ate a snickers and a kit kat i was charged 6.85, but really after the price of the room for 3 nights and parking for 3 nights, $6 was really a drop in the bucket.
Three boys and myself sharing one room..
And while I had my doubts originally, it actually was great.
Pros:
*Nice beds, very comfortable, and done up perfectly every day.
*Nice view, with a huge window/curtain that could be shut to block the sun.
*Helpful desk staff (when asking where to eat, the man actually gave us directions and a ticket for a discount on our meal..)
*Awesome shower (two shower heads stacked on top of each other and this strange curtain that made the shower seem larger than it was.
*Very helpful. Two of my guy friends were worried about sword-fighting in the middle of the night, so the staff brought us an extra bed for one of them to sleep in.
*They stowed our luggage for 10 hours after we checked out because our flight was at an ungodly hour.
*Good location, a short walk to the market, convention center, and Space Needle.
Cons:
*10$ a day WiFi. This seems to be pretty standard, though. And a break from the internet did me well.. I didn't once log on WoW just to check how the raids were going.
*Strange looks from the other guests. I guess we weren't *ritzy* enough for them.
*They dared to tempt me with overpriced jellybeans. I mean, okay, everything else I can resist, but jellybeans? It was damn hard.
*Their keys demagnetize very very very easily. We had a collection going by the end of the trip.
*A microwave would have been nice, because I could have made no-bake cookies. (I realize this is something that appeals to only me.. but think about it.. reheat your leftovers in the middle of the night.. Mmmm.)
Hotel: Pike Street Suits
Location: Absolutely excellent in respect to the convention center. It's located essentially on the same block, adjacent to the convention center on the northern side. It has easy access back onto the freeway for those of us who bring their own cars - however this is also a mandatory valet situation. Suggested to park at the convention center as it's not far at all. Some rooms also have a great view of Seattle (clear view of the Space Needle from my room).
Rooms: Unfortunately this hotel does not have any 2-bedders but there are 1 bedders and a fold out couch which is what we stayed in. Considering that the hotel rooms were set up more like appartment suites we did not mind. There was the full refridgerator, microwave, 2-stovetop burner, dish washer, seperate sink, and ample kitchenware including cooking utensils, mixing bowls, pots and pans. There were two closets (great for us girls, I'm sure you boys don't care), a tall shower head (you guys don't have to hunch or do anything awkward here), excellent water pressure, very comfortable beds (reportedly the fold-out couch was also extremely comfortable - both as couch and bed), a console-friendly LCD flatscreen television (it was gorgeous), and an oversized desk for anyone who had to work. It was very spacious in design.
Hotel Ammenities: There was complimentary wireless and wired internet available in the room. Total plus. There was a CD player in the room as well, forgot to mention this. Overall very classy feel to the rooms. The hotel itself also had an outdoor heated swimming pool and an indoor (as well as an outdoor) heated hot tub. The fitness center was very well supplied. Complimentary breakfast was all you could ask for including belgian waffles (the do-it-yourself-pour-the-batter contraptions), sausage, eggs (served as hard boiled or like omelettes), and your normal variety of baked goods (I think there were 3 varities of breads as well as bagels) and cereals. Also a total plus but might be harder to use during PAX was the complimentary hotel shuttle that had a great amount of options including Uwajimaya, Pike Place Market, and the Seattle Science Center.
Overall extremely happy with our stay. When we stayed it was only some $140 a night but it looks as if the price is to go up considerably by next year (around a hundred dollars more). I was very disappointed to learn this because for the cost, location, and what the hotel offers it is perfect on so many levels. I would highly recommend this hotel as a PAX hotel if there was any demand for a more studio-appartment feel stay for those who stay for an extended period of time and would prefer to cut cost by preparing food as opposed to dining out.
Hopefully we can work out getting a whole damn floor to ourselves this time around.
You mean... a whole damn hotel, right? ;-)
That too.
or at least to be surrounded on all sides by other pax-goers. Party floors ftw
If you're making a list for PAX 2008, put me on it. I'm going.
What kind of list are we talking?
Maybe "People who want in on the [hypothetical] party floor"?
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=39743
Haha oh wow