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Hotel near the con for $$, or motel a few miles away for cheap?
UncleSporky
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
This has probably been asked around here before, but with search down and Google not acting as a very good replacement, I figured I'd just ask.
I and a couple of my friends are planning to go to Gen Con in Indianapolis. 4 day pass, August 4 to 7. It's about a 4 hour drive from where we live which is substantial enough that we want to get a hotel/motel room.
Is it a better idea to get a room close to the convention center that's comparatively expensive (say, $150-$200) versus a room at a motel 5-10 miles away for $50-$70? What is your experience in going to conventions and how these situations work out? I realize experiences are going to vary and there's no correct answer, just wanted some insight.
We can probably afford a more expensive room, especially split between several people, but the price of a cheap motel is very enticing. However, what kind of quality disparity will we see? How important is it that you're near to the con center?
I envision getting there and realizing we made a huge mistake one way or the other, and I'd like to avoid that!
Thoughts?
I and a couple of my friends are planning to go to Gen Con in Indianapolis. 4 day pass, August 4 to 7. It's about a 4 hour drive from where we live which is substantial enough that we want to get a hotel/motel room.
Is it a better idea to get a room close to the convention center that's comparatively expensive (say, $150-$200) versus a room at a motel 5-10 miles away for $50-$70? What is your experience in going to conventions and how these situations work out? I realize experiences are going to vary and there's no correct answer, just wanted some insight.
We can probably afford a more expensive room, especially split between several people, but the price of a cheap motel is very enticing. However, what kind of quality disparity will we see? How important is it that you're near to the con center?
I envision getting there and realizing we made a huge mistake one way or the other, and I'd like to avoid that!
Thoughts?
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PAY FOR THE CLOSE ROOM.
PAY FOR THE CLOSE ROOM!
PAY FOR THE CLOSE ROOM! (+fireworks, dancers, choreography)
What if it's 5 miles with a complimentary shuttle? Even then, the closer one's preferable?
When I first started going to events and crap and I was pretty young I chose the cheaper route, but for the last 6 years or so, and at the ripe old age of 28 I've been choosing to stay at/close to the event and have never regetted it. This is true for cons, disney world, weddings, and anything else I've been to.
I've been having to go to trade shows for work, and have had hotels both within walking distance (a block away) to the convention, and that had complimentary shuttles to the show, and I never felt like I was missing anything by going with the shuttle. Granted, I was basically stuck working our booth the entire time, so there's that.
Seriously, pony up the extra $30-$40 each and get a close room.
Well, the reason I assume the shuttle will be sponsored by the hotel and fairly frequent is that it's stated on the GenCon Hotel amenities page.
The other conventions I've gone to (only one's been close to the size of GenCon, though) with shuttle service have been about every half hour. We're planning on discussing this as a group sometime soon and I'm planning on giving the hotel a call to confirm the shuttle service prior to that.
Comparing working a trade show to going to a nerd convention is like saying that traveling for work and going on a vacation are the same thing thing. Get the closest hotel you can.
RIP Cincinatti Chili place.
Will your group split up at any point? Will there be any time when one person wants to rest and someone else wants to stay out?
Will you be eating or drinking at local bars or restaurants?
Do you have an arrangement for free parking?
Ask yourself all of that, and imagine which scenario is more convenient. I don't know what kind of budget you have, so I can't tell you if an extra $100 a night is something you can afford. I can say that, split 4 ways, $25 a night for the convenience of not driving, not parking, and not carpooling seems like a good investment.
Going with a group is a major factor. If you go alone the only complication is that you need to be able to drive to and from, so only an issue if traffic is a nightmare, parking is not available, or you want to do plenty of drinking.
When you're with friends, if one person wants to leave you suddenly have a dilemma.
Actually there are quite a few hotels in downtown Indy that are all connected to Circle Center mall & the convention center via some above ground tunnels.
If you decide to go with the far hotel because it has a shuttle, make sure you know when the shuttle runs. It will almost certainly not be an on demand thing, and you might get stuck with a shitty schedule, like leaving or coming back super early (or late), or making 26 stops between your motel and the con. Thereby turning the shuttle into a shittle. No one likes a shittle. This has happened to me, and it's no fun sitting in a smelly short bus with busted AC with 17 other fairly annoyed people for an hour+. Also, planning your trip around someone else's schedule is a bit lame. Do what you want and can afford, but do your homework.