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PAX East 2011 Hotel Discussion Thread and Poll

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Posts

  • Certain.shade.of.greenCertain.shade.of.green Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    ransim wrote: »
    If anyone is in a panic I believe the Harborside still has rooms available. A friend of mine booked there yesterday.

    http://www.yelp.com/biz/harborside-inn-boston

    We booked a room at the harborside after we realized that we'd fumbled the reservations months ago. We've stayed there before, its a nice hotel right next to Fanueil Hall. Parking however isn't directly at the hotel but they offer a discounted rate at a garage right around the corner.

    It is my favorite area hotel for staying IN Boston. I will be staying there for PAX. I didn't want it to seem like I was going for the hard sell or something along those lines.

    -Unfortunately they have been booked solid now it seems.

    Certain.shade.of.green on
  • peiangelpeiangel Registered User new member
    edited March 2011
    Just curious is anyone else staying at the Hampton Inn and Suites Crosstown Centre?

    peiangel on
  • IxmasatIxmasat Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    tvethiopia wrote: »
    do you mind sharing what the price difference was per night? i originally booked for double occupancy, but later found out we would have a third. cash is getting pretty tight at this point, so i'm wondering if i should confess and pay the difference or just make him stand in the corner while we check in.

    I'll send you a direct message. :)

    Ixmasat on
  • hardreturnhardreturn Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Got my confirmation. It's entirely correct except I made a mistake back during the original booking. Booked an extra night at the westin the 14th. Not their fault though.

    hardreturn on
  • zarvokzarvok Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Just got an email from the Westin Waterfront saying they didn't "receive the anticipated number of cancellations" and as a result we are being moved to some other hotel 3 miles away. I made my reservations months ago (Oct. 18th) so needless to say I am pissed. Does anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions for how to fix this?

    zarvok on
  • WaduWadu Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Did you book in the PAX block? Otherwise there is likely not much that can be done. Hotels tend to overbook, and booking in the PAX block w/ onpeak should prevent this sort of thing from happening.

    Wadu on
  • WackBagWackBag Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Same here...... It wasn't even my reservation number or my last name
    Good morning,

    I hope this email finds you well!

    Unfortunately due to the hotel not receiving the anticipated number of cancellations the Westin Boston Waterfront is not able to honor the confirmed reservation !!!!!# XXXXXXXX NOT MY RES #!!!! for First Name Last Name.....



    We have secured a room at the Westin Copley Place for !!!!NOT MY LAST NAME!!!!which is located 2.6 miles from the Westin Boston Waterfront at 10 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02116. www.westin.com/copleyplace. There is a shuttle that will offer transportation to and from the convention center. Your confirmation is XXXXXX for a room with 2 double beds.


    Due to the inconvenience the Westin Boston Waterfront will be paying for the first night of your stay at Copley. The Westin Copley Place will honor your confirmed rate for the remaining nights of your stay.

    Please accept my apologies for this inconvenience. Please call me to discuss this at 617-532-4893.

    Thank you,

    Meg

    Left her a VM and EMAIL.....WTF My original Reservation was booked 10/16....

    *edit...the was booked from onpeak

    WackBag on
    Pax East 2014 checklist:
    3 Day Pass [X] - BYOC [X] - Accomodations [X] - Travel [ X ] - Time Off [ X ]
  • zarvokzarvok Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Wadu wrote: »
    Did you book in the PAX block? Otherwise there is likely not much that can be done. Hotels tend to overbook, and booking in the PAX block w/ onpeak should prevent this sort of thing from happening.

    Yes, I booked with the PAX block.

    zarvok on
  • WaduWadu Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    zarvok wrote: »
    Yes, I booked with the PAX block.
    try sending an email to pax_questions@paxsite.com

    Wadu on
  • PorkcpPorkcp Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    I know it sucks because you're not staying at the hotel where all the instanity will be going on. Im willing to bet that the Copley Westin is nicer but I know this prolly isnt much consolation either. I bet because of the overflow there will be other Paxer there.

    I am not sure what time they will run the shuttles. If you are not going to drive to the Con then you're going to want to make sure that you have teh monies to take a cab back. You may want to hang out and game late night at the Westin or one of the other hotels by the con. Public transportation will be shut down after like 1:00 am.

    You are in a position to get some good eats though. I know out by the Con there is not too many amazing restaurants but in the Copley/Back Bay/South End there is an abundance of them. This being said you may want to check out the Sunday Morning Pax Dim Sum Brunch Meetup if you fancy that sort of thing. Chinatown will be easily accessible from the orange line at Back Bay Station, which isnt too far from your hotel.

    Porkcp on
  • ScopiqueScopique New HampshireRegistered User regular
    edited March 2011
    I just got an EMAIL from Westin telling me that "Unfortunately due to the hotel not receiving the anticipated number of cancellations the Westin Boston Waterfront is not able to honor the confirmed reservation". Booked through the PAX site, and called the number that they included with the email...had to leave a message. Not sure where this stands, then :/

    Scopique on
  • WackBagWackBag Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Join the club...

    WackBag on
    Pax East 2014 checklist:
    3 Day Pass [X] - BYOC [X] - Accomodations [X] - Travel [ X ] - Time Off [ X ]
  • flatlineflatline Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    All - I just spoke to the Group Reservation Manager at the Westin Waterfront. Yes, my reservation is good (I pulled the trigger about 25 minutes after the OnPeak block went live way back when).

    ANYWAYS. She told me to make it known that anyone who is willing to give up their room at the Waterfront can have 1 free night at the Westin Copley. She was very serious about this and said she has been getting yelled at all day by angry PAXers.

    flatline on
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  • PikaPuffPikaPuff Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    confirmed my westin reservation and got to tack on a sunday for a not so special price ($179 pax deal, $219 for the sunday room)

    PikaPuff on
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  • ZukiZuki Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    I am in the same 'We expected people to cancel for PAX, they didn't, you've been moved to the Copley' boat, with two rooms worth of people I booked for getting moved.

    Folks, if you call and ask about this, be nice. The manager is having a rough morning, be understanding.

    A brief look at the Copley suggests it is very swanky indeed. It's right next to the Green Line, about twenty minutes to the convention center. The shuttle they'll have running goes until 3am. Furthermore, us in the Copley crew will be in the same nice downtown area as the Hynes center last year, so we'll all be on more familiar ground, and nicer options for restaurants.

    I was also informed that folks willing to trade or opt-out would be getting that 1 Free Night deal. Personally, I think it's worth it. I'm trading convenience of location for convenience of access to good food, saving money, and making a nice lady's day less stressful.

    Zuki on
  • zarvokzarvok Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    I can confirm that the woman at the hotel is very nice if you don't yell at her. She is obviously having a rough day too. I'm still bummed about being in the other hotel, though.

    If anyone who is staying at least Friday and Saturday nights would prefer to stay in the Westin Copley for the free night, nicer location and nicer hotel, please shoot me a PM and we can call her to swap. They are going to be running a shuttle between the hotels starting at 8am and going until 3 or 4am in the morning each day of the convention. Additionally, they will give you taxi vouchers if you'd prefer to just take a cab on their dime.

    zarvok on
  • [derek][derek] Registered User new member
    edited March 2011
    This absolutely sucks . I'm also having the same cancellation issues.

    I booked on 10/19. They charged my credit card without issue. I even called two weeks ago to speak with someone on the phone. She confirmed my reservation and stated there were no problems at all.

    They offered me a free night at the Copley (which was a cheaper hotel to begin with).

    I wanted the attached hotel because I'm bring both of my daughters. We planned this trip for six months. We booked this trip with family (who I might add did not lose their reservation because they were single rooms). I even asked for a smaller or larger room, alas, to no avail.

    This is really unacceptable on so many levels.

    If the hotel has a block of rooms and they take a reservation, then follow through with a reservation.

    [derek] on
  • tvethiopiatvethiopia Salem MARegistered User regular
    edited March 2011
    quick survey of those getting bumped: were you all in rooms with two double beds? because it seemed at first people were getting rebooked to single bed rooms, now maybe those are filled so they're bumping?

    tvethiopia on
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  • zarvokzarvok Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    tvethiopia wrote: »
    quick survey of those getting bumped: were you all in rooms with two double beds? because it seemed at first people were getting rebooked to single bed rooms, now maybe those are filled so they're bumping?

    Yes, I was in a room with two double beds.

    zarvok on
  • [derek][derek] Registered User new member
    edited March 2011
    tvethiopia wrote: »
    quick survey of those getting bumped: were you all in rooms with two double beds? because it seemed at first people were getting rebooked to single bed rooms, now maybe those are filled so they're bumping?

    Double beds here as well.

    [derek] on
  • flatlineflatline Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Hopefully the hotel will learn from this error and take better care in the future. I'm sure that overbooking doesn't usually bite them in the ass quite so hard - they were just obviously unprepared for how many PAX attendees are willing to overcome any adversity to attend - weather, sickness, whatever.

    Overbooking does make business sense when you're beholden to the bottom line more than your clients. The Group Manager lady had nothing to do with it though and from what I can see is doing everything in her power to make amends for those affected. Free night, free cab, free shuttle (prob some free food too if you ask nicely) might not make up for getting bumped entirely, but it's as much as they can do (short of bumping someone else).

    flatline on
    East 2014 Status: Badge [ Friend got it ] Hotel [Crappy] BYOC [YES] Transport [ ] Name on Forum Badge [ ] Challenge Coin [ ]
  • yanksrul5yanksrul5 New JerseyRegistered User regular
    edited March 2011
    tvethiopia wrote: »
    quick survey of those getting bumped: were you all in rooms with two double beds? because it seemed at first people were getting rebooked to single bed rooms, now maybe those are filled so they're bumping?

    I booked a single and I am good. So it must be them trying to fix the mess up. I'm guessing when peakevents sent over the reservations those who didn't put the names of the people that would be there got auto bumped to a single. and now that you guys are calling to confirm and they say its a single, they are bumping to fix it. which really really sucks for some people who are getting bumped all together. Some one should be finding these people other rooms and discounted.

    yanksrul5 on
  • It's not a tumorIt's not a tumor Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    flatline wrote: »
    Hopefully the hotel will learn from this error and take better care in the future. I'm sure that overbooking doesn't usually bite them in the ass quite so hard - they were just obviously unprepared for how many PAX attendees are willing to overcome any adversity to attend - weather, sickness, whatever.

    Overbooking does make business sense when you're beholden to the bottom line more than your clients. The Group Manager lady had nothing to do with it though and from what I can see is doing everything in her power to make amends for those affected. Free night, free cab, free shuttle (prob some free food too if you ask nicely) might not make up for getting bumped entirely, but it's as much as they can do (short of bumping someone else).

    Overbooking is unfortunately pretty much standard practice everywhere. Especially for airlines, which are notorious for it.

    It's not a tumor on
  • ZukiZuki Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    For reference, yes, I requested double beds on my rooms. I recall her saying in passing that it was the request for double beds that got us the Copley, rather than a closer alternate hotel.

    Zuki on
  • FoggyKnightFoggyKnight Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    cynthetic wrote: »
    zerzhul wrote: »
    I'm staying at the Westin

    does anyone have any recommendations for parking? We're driving up from Philadelphia and we realized this week that the hotel parking is $32 a DAY! :shock: That's mad expensive tbh! An extra $96 just for parking for 3 days is pretty psychotic. I never even heard of paying for hotel parking...normally that's just included in your stay.

    Any other options?? O_o

    it's pretty typical for a nice hotel in a city actually... If you're driving into the city your other options are to park outside the city at a T stop and riding in.

    We'll probably be doing that then. It's just so weird to me haha - I've traveled a lot around cities I guess I always stayed at the cheap ones...we decided to go a bit pricey this time (this is my first convention).

    You could try seeing if any other hotels have complimentary parking in the area, and if they do, asking if any paxers staying there would be willing to claim your car, since most people aren't going to have their own car.

    If you can't find another PAXer for hotel parking, here's another place to look: Alewife Station (among others). I am planning to park there this weekend:
    Parking Spaces: 2,733

    Average Weekday Availability: 10%

    Parking Rate: $7.00/day. $8.00/overnight

    Accessible Spaces: 24

    Bike Spaces: 174

    Managed By: Central Parking
    (617) 695-6356
    Website

    Comments:
    Central Parking is responsible for garage snow removal, maintenance and fee collection. Overnight parking is available in the garage (7 days maximum). Height clearance 7' GARAGE INFO: 617-864-2270

    Please be nice and leave me a space!

    FoggyKnight on
  • vivalacherryvivalacherry Registered User new member
    edited March 2011
    I was also bumped from a double bed room.
    Other complimentary services the hotel offered aside from the free night, were taxi vouchers, for those unsure of their schedule in relation to the shuttle, or free parking for those with cars.
    I'm still upset, but this at least makes it not as inconvenient for some of us.

    For folks like [derek], I would strongly recommend contacting either @official_pax on twitter, or pax_questions@paxsite.com .
    The pax team is just as upset over this as we are, and they're working to resolve the situation.

    vivalacherry on
  • [derek][derek] Registered User new member
    edited March 2011
    I was also bumped from a double bed room.
    Other complimentary services the hotel offered aside from the free night, were taxi vouchers, for those unsure of their schedule in relation to the shuttle, or free parking for those with cars.
    I'm still upset, but this at least makes it not as inconvenient for some of us.

    For folks like [derek], I would strongly recommend contacting either @official_pax on twitter, or pax_questions@paxsite.com .
    The pax team is just as upset over this as we are, and they're working to resolve the situation.

    I've been on twitter about this (@Official_PAX), and the PAX crew have been magnificent. It's not their fault, and they have an incredibly hard job with to do arranging everything. As I said in my tweets, I really hope that this can help their logistics crew for next year.

    [derek] on
  • AngrypastaAngrypasta Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Did everybody who got bumped receive an e-mail?

    Angrypasta on
  • CzechCzech Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Booked Intercontinental, anyone else staying there or looking to book there (although I think it's sold out). They run a shuttle from when the convention opens til it closes each day. Wish I had booked sooner to get the Westin, but shuttle makes the Intercontinental worth it.
    My wife and I are staying at the Intercon, and we know a bunch of other people who are there, too. There's an informal little board gaming get-together in the lobby tomorrow night, starting at 7:30pm. Just follow @chattydm on Twitter for more info.

    Czech on
  • Kiss Me GoodByeKiss Me GoodBye Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    cynthetic wrote: »
    zerzhul wrote: »
    I'm staying at the Westin

    does anyone have any recommendations for parking? We're driving up from Philadelphia and we realized this week that the hotel parking is $32 a DAY! :shock: That's mad expensive tbh! An extra $96 just for parking for 3 days is pretty psychotic. I never even heard of paying for hotel parking...normally that's just included in your stay.

    Any other options?? O_o

    it's pretty typical for a nice hotel in a city actually... If you're driving into the city your other options are to park outside the city at a T stop and riding in.

    We'll probably be doing that then. It's just so weird to me haha - I've traveled a lot around cities I guess I always stayed at the cheap ones...we decided to go a bit pricey this time (this is my first convention).

    You could try seeing if any other hotels have complimentary parking in the area, and if they do, asking if any paxers staying there would be willing to claim your car, since most people aren't going to have their own car.

    If you can't find another PAXer for hotel parking, here's another place to look: Alewife Station (among others). I am planning to park there this weekend:
    Parking Spaces: 2,733

    Average Weekday Availability: 10%

    Parking Rate: $7.00/day. $8.00/overnight

    Accessible Spaces: 24

    Bike Spaces: 174

    Managed By: Central Parking
    (617) 695-6356
    Website

    Comments:
    Central Parking is responsible for garage snow removal, maintenance and fee collection. Overnight parking is available in the garage (7 days maximum). Height clearance 7' GARAGE INFO: 617-864-2270

    Please be nice and leave me a space!


    Thank You!!

    Kiss Me GoodBye on
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  • ThemiscyraThemiscyra Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Spoke to the folks at the Westin on Monday and was told I still have an active reservation...maybe I ought to have asked for an e-mail confirmation, but it's a bit late now. Haven't received any other e-mails from them yet. Fingers crossed!

    Did anyone end up having their deposit taken out? I didn't, and the person I spoke with at the Westin said there wasn't anything in their system about a deposit, even though my reservation was there.

    Themiscyra on
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  • AngrypastaAngrypasta Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Themiscyra wrote: »
    Spoke to the folks at the Westin on Monday and was told I still have an active reservation...maybe I ought to have asked for an e-mail confirmation, but it's a bit late now. Haven't received any other e-mails from them yet. Fingers crossed!

    Did anyone end up having their deposit taken out? I didn't, and the person I spoke with at the Westin said there wasn't anything in their system about a deposit, even though my reservation was there.

    Typically, they never take out any deposit until you check-out of the room. They just used the "deposit" as collateral to hold your reservation. They probably let them go since it's so close to the event now.

    Angrypasta on
  • ColdbrewColdbrew Down in Front Productions Lake Stevens, WARegistered User regular
    edited March 2011
    They will still keep the deposit in the system at least until check-in, because if you cancel the reservation within 24 or 48 hours they usually charge it as a cancellation fee.

    My room at the Westin Boston Waterfront was moved from a 2 double bed to a 1 king bed, which kinda sucks considering the number of people in my room, but oh well. They also changed it to be reserved for only one person, so hopefully they don't freak out when I request multiple room keys.

    Coldbrew on
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  • Steel FireSteel Fire Gunboat Diplomat PAI MarketingRegistered User regular
    edited March 2011
    As others have said, don't yell at the poor Westin people. It's not like they got up this morning and decided to see how many PAXers they could screw with.

    This is all part of PAX growing pains. I remember when I was preparing to attend Prime back in '07 and there were all sorts of hotel issues for people, from not near enough hotels being set up to have group rates to hotels not having near enough rooms set aside. You can be assured that if there is ever a third PAX you will see some of these same issues happen the first couple years also. No matter how the OnPeak, Reed, or Penny Arcade teams try to emphasize how big the event is, the locals won't get it until after they get swamped once or twice.

    Steel Fire on
  • schussschuss Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Steel Fire wrote: »
    As others have said, don't yell at the poor Westin people. It's not like they got up this morning and decided to see how many PAXers they could screw with.

    This is all part of PAX growing pains. I remember when I was preparing to attend Prime back in '07 and there were all sorts of hotel issues for people, from not near enough hotels being set up to have group rates to hotels not having near enough rooms set aside. You can be assured that if there is ever a third PAX you will see some of these same issues happen the first couple years also. No matter how the OnPeak, Reed, or Penny Arcade teams try to emphasize how big the event is, the locals won't get it until after they get swamped once or twice.

    Also, if they're dealing with a room block from someone else, they probably got the list at the last possible minute and are still sorting through the bs.

    schuss on
  • yanksrul5yanksrul5 New JerseyRegistered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Not to rub it in or anything..Or to be a fanboy to start a city war...But this wouldn't be an issue if it was in New York...hotels every few blocks! Parking would be a complete bitch though! And expensive. but no over crowded problems.

    yanksrul5 on
  • TubeTube Registered User admin
    edited March 2011
    That's awesome for New York dude. Go ahead and keep that stuff to yourself.

    Tube on
  • redfield85redfield85 Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    I called Park Plaza earlier today and everything is set for tomorrow. I should be there maybe 1:30-2. Train comes in at a little after 1.

    I have to get up at like 5. Being picked up at 6. Train at 7:16am. I have yet to pack. :shock:

    redfield85 on
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  • cyphrcyphr Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Anyone else staying at the Radisson Boston? It's not a PAX-endorsed hotel but I found a great deal for it, and if anyone else is staying there it'd be awesome to meet up.

    cyphr on
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  • jthom252jthom252 Duarte, CARegistered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Has anyone staying at the Doubletree Downtown Boston not received a confirmation number? Unfortunately this kind of fell on being a thing that I hadn't noticed until it being pretty late while I was filling out an authorization form.

    I already plan to call up OnPeak tomorrow morning but has anyone else ran into this problem / found a solution?

    Edit: After calling them they said I still had a reservation, still was really disconcerting not to receive a confirmation email, maybe its a Doubletree thing?

    jthom252 on
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