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[EAST] PAX East 2013 Hotel Discussion Thread [link in OP]

SmallLadySmallLady Registered User regular
edited October 2012 in PAX East
mod edit: it appears that hotels are ready to go http://bit.ly/E13Hotels

Holy shit!! A Hotel thread a whole 7 months before PAX??!?1 What madness is this?

Well.. if last year is anything to go by, it won't be long before hotel registration is up, and I just KNOW you are all dying to impart your glorious knowledge of what hotels you've stayed and debate which one is best *cough* Westin. *cough*

For those of us joining us for the first time this upcoming PAX East, you can find the Hotel Registation information here at the Official PAX website. Once hotels go live, we will post about it here and we will list off all the hotels in our block.


Using this fancy Google spreadsheet you can easily compare hotels:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AvZ3-Fh1pM0NdFRhV2Fqb2l1T2dGbGJfRDZoaF9RS2c#gid=0

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Posts

  • PayneTraynePayneTrayne Canuck Registered User regular
    I think I stayed at the Seaport last year, something along those lines. If given the choice I'm going to be either there or the Westin (assuming they both make the cut). Seaport had a short walk and was just far enough away to completely distance myself from PAX.

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  • TheAggroCraigTheAggroCraig Ultimate Lucky Douchebag MassachusettsRegistered User regular
    I definitely need to shoot for the Westin again this year, but it won't be the end of the world if I have a small walk.

    But damn, I just got back from Prime on Tuesday and it's almost time to plan for East.

  • RicinRicin Registered User regular
    Does anyone remember if you had to remit first night's room and tax at time of booking?

    I am just curious because I have to book rooms for Dragon*Con and the host hotels do have that terrible policy.

  • TheAggroCraigTheAggroCraig Ultimate Lucky Douchebag MassachusettsRegistered User regular
    Ricin wrote: »
    Does anyone remember if you had to remit first night's room and tax at time of booking?

    I am just curious because I have to book rooms for Dragon*Con and the host hotels do have that terrible policy.

    The site has always mentioned a deposit, but I've never been charged for one.

  • RicinRicin Registered User regular
    I have re-read my e-mails. The Deposit that they require is only if you do not use a credit card to hold the rooms.

  • KorvasKorvas Registered User regular
    Oh man, pax east is getting close now, starting to feel the butterflies! I def want the westin again this year... hopefully I'm able to book it on time

  • cocowoushicocowoushi Registered User regular
    Always been at the Double Tree in downtown and not sure if that will change this year. Maybe the Seaport, but DT is close to all the delicious food of Chinatown!

  • jdixon1972jdixon1972 Registered User regular
    The Westin has been great for the past 2 years and I hope I can get it again this year. Plus, the Thur. night prePax game night was so awesome!!!! It was fun being able to go from your room, down the elevator, then BAM, second floor gaming goodness!!!!

  • InuFayeInuFaye Registered User regular
    edited September 2012
    Going to get into the Westin this year, I am going to be checking the hotel page everyday.

    Management at the Seaport were completely disrespectful to us last year.

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  • The_ReflectionThe_Reflection Registered User regular
    Seaport is already filled up. Most hotels are close to being booked. Act fast.

  • MarkJWMarkJW Registered User regular
    Keep in mind a lot of the rooms are taken by Reed/PAX itself, so if you try to book directly you're going to be told there's nothing available soon.

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  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    Seaport is already filled up. Most hotels are close to being booked. Act fast.

    Yeah this has zero to do with the blocked off rooms. The OnPeak system hasn't even been released yet for East 2013.

  • SlyxSlyx Registered User regular
    I am organizing a group of 5 to go this year (4 veterans, 1 noob). We'd all like to be in 1 room so it's cheaper; is this possible? Or would it be easier to just reserve 2 rooms? Sleeping on the floor or a rollaway bed is perfectly fine with us but some hotels are pretty strict about the 4 person limit. We stayed at a cheaper hotel last East that was far away and it was terrible. Looking to get in at the Westin or Seaport, if that makes a difference. Thanks for any advice you can give me!

  • xenardxenard Registered User regular
    I'm so going for the Westin again. Pretty much checking the site everyday

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  • TrandescentTrandescent Registered User regular
    edited September 2012
    Hoping to get the Westin again this year. Great hotel and i loved playing the board games with everyone in the lobby. If you can't get a slot for the westin, I heard that the Seaport was pretty good.

    EDIT: Oh, ouch, seaport already booked? Damn. Going to make getting a Westin slot harder..

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  • kemikalkemikal Registered User regular
    edited September 2012
    zerzhul wrote: »
    Yeah this has zero to do with the blocked off rooms. The OnPeak system hasn't even been released yet for East 2013.

    So I'm a little confused. You're saying that there currently are no rooms that are set aside specifically for East 2013? Or are you saying that the OnPeak system for East 2013 isn't up yet, so it may just look like hotels are completely booked? Prime was the latter, so I would've assumed East is the same...

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  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    kemikal wrote: »
    zerzhul wrote: »
    Yeah this has zero to do with the blocked off rooms. The OnPeak system hasn't even been released yet for East 2013.

    So I'm a little confused. You're saying that there currently are no rooms that are set aside specifically for East 2013? Or are you saying that the OnPeak system for East 2013 isn't up yet, so it may just look like hotels are completely booked? Prime was the latter, so I would've assumed East is the same...

    I am saying that OnPeak has rooms set aside. The previous person saying "OH SHIT YOU BETTER BOOK NOW" is mistaken in thinking there are no rooms available for PAX.

  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    edited September 2012
    To be clear since this ALWAYS happens.

    RESULTS FROM THE HOTEL WEBSITE DO NOT INDICATE AVAILABILITY FOR PAX

    The PAX OnPeak system will indicate availability for PAX.

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  • Josh5890Josh5890 ChicagoRegistered User regular
    It's my first year going and I haven't been anywhere in years so I'm going all out. Westin for me!

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  • tisaniantisanian HartfordRegistered User regular
    edited September 2012
    It's my first year too, do they tend to announce registration on twitter first? I have text notifications set up to be prepared. :D

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  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    tisanian wrote: »
    It's my first year too, do they tend to announce registration on twitter first? I have text notifications set up to be prepared. :D

    Twitter is historically the correct place to receive timely PAX updates from the official channels. Sometimes things hit the forums slightly before then, but twitter is the "public" announcement.

  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    Slyx wrote: »
    I am organizing a group of 5 to go this year (4 veterans, 1 noob). We'd all like to be in 1 room so it's cheaper; is this possible? Or would it be easier to just reserve 2 rooms? Sleeping on the floor or a rollaway bed is perfectly fine with us but some hotels are pretty strict about the 4 person limit. We stayed at a cheaper hotel last East that was far away and it was terrible. Looking to get in at the Westin or Seaport, if that makes a difference. Thanks for any advice you can give me!

    The OnPeak booking system allows a maximum of booking for 4 guests as far as I know for all the in-network hotels. Booking for 4 guests in one room is cheaper than 5 guests split between two rooms. Whether or not you will run into issues with hotel policy by stuffing 5 guests into a room meant for 4 is not something that can be adequately answered here, as all answers will be personal experiences and may not be consistent with what to expect for every individual circumstance. At the very least, it is likely breaking a fire code, so there may be more potential consequences for putting 5 guests in a room reserved for 4 than putting 3 guests in a room reserved for 2 (if the max capacity per room is indeed 4).

  • itzerokewlitzerokewl Registered User regular
    Seaport is an awesome hotel...and right across the street from a Dunkin! Going to try and book there again this year once bookings go live!

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  • LimondLimond Registered User regular
    Seaport is terrible and no one should ever go there in the history of ever. (Hopefully that bought a few seconds once registration is live)

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  • Crippl3Crippl3 oh noRegistered User regular
    I did Westin my first PAX, and now I'm spoiled. Did the Hilton Financial District last year, and it was alright, but there was no food in the hotel and nowhere to play games with other PAX goers. :v: Hoping to get back in to the Westin for next year, as is everyone else.

  • AylaviereAylaviere Overlord Vancouver, BCRegistered User regular
    Does hotel registration go up before/after/during the PAX badge purchases? (Sorry if this has been answered already!)

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  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    Aylaviere wrote: »
    Does hotel registration go up before/after/during the PAX badge purchases? (Sorry if this has been answered already!)

    Often before, but it's not guaranteed.

  • ClixClix This guy I know Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    Are room rates the same if you get a blocked off room or just book one normally?

  • zerzhulzerzhul Registered User, Moderator mod
    Imsorad wrote: »
    Are room rates the same if you get a blocked off room or just book one normally?

    Not usually. Usually the blocked off rooms through OnPeak are cheaper. There's no way to know for sure until the OnPeak system is released though.

  • MarkJWMarkJW Registered User regular
    kemikal wrote: »
    zerzhul wrote: »
    Yeah this has zero to do with the blocked off rooms. The OnPeak system hasn't even been released yet for East 2013.

    So I'm a little confused. You're saying that there currently are no rooms that are set aside specifically for East 2013? Or are you saying that the OnPeak system for East 2013 isn't up yet, so it may just look like hotels are completely booked? Prime was the latter, so I would've assumed East is the same...
    If you had read the comment right before his, you'd have gotten the answer to this already. ;)

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  • vttymvttym Ardent Gamer Northern NJRegistered User regular
    Seaport was fantastic last year and, as someone else mentioned, was close enough to be convenient, but far enough away to break from PAX if you wanted - for me traveling with my family, of whom I was the only one going to PAX, this was nice. I couldn't say enough nice things about the place. And seriously, the walk is 5 minutes, tops.

    As far as deposits and all that - Seaport charged the deposit for my room (that I booked with a credit card) in February.

    It's also worth noting that in prior years, people who booked outside of OnPeak were subject to getting bumped by the hotel in favor of those who booked through OnPeak. Bottom line: If you want to guarantee your room, go through OnPeak (I found it considerably cheaper than the hotel's standard rates anyway - seriously, you're getting 4 star hotels in Westin and Seaport at 2 star prices for Boston hotels).

  • rubykavalierrubykavalier pink is the new bacon Registered User regular
    I'm in the same boat as Crippl3; I did the Westin for my first PAX East and now I'm spoiled. Hotel to convention center in 2 minutes AND I don't have to lug a coat around all day? PLUS I can pop back over to drop things off anytime I want? PLUS all the tables on the 2nd floor for gaming goodness? Yes please. The only thing I disliked was that the Westin charged us the full reservation amount up front at check-in. Call me crazy but any other time I stay at a hotel, I'm charged at checkout. Not that it matters in the long run, but I prefer to pay for everything all at once, not room first and then any incidentals when I leave.

  • eloelo That guy over there... Smoke stack central, NJRegistered User regular
    Now the waiting for the OnPeak system to go live begins :)

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  • d0ughb0yd0ughb0y Registered User regular
    This will be my third. I've stayed way out in south boston at a cheap place. Last year I was in a nice downtown place next to the hospital at a moderate price. I'm considering the Westin or something very close this year, but I'm not sure I can beat the downtown hotel with the proximity to everything and a quick cab ride to the event.

  • GeekyPanda404GeekyPanda404 The Geeky Panda ConnecticutRegistered User regular
    I like to try to aim for a hotel right near the Convention but if hotels got shuttle I do not mind it either. Bringing your PC rig though for a LAN party might be interesting if you are in costume lol.

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  • Ana NgAna Ng Registered User regular
    Last year me and my buddies didn't book a hotel till January, that combined with a shoestring budget had us staying at the Boston Holiday Inn Express. The hotel itself was fine, staff were friendly and it didn't cost us extra to put 5 people in the room. The distance is what sucked.
    We hoofed it at least once to the convention center, but it was a bit of a long walk (30 minutes). One night after concerts we took a cab back and it was ridiculously expensive. Ugh. And the cab driver was really rude too, which sucked.

    Going to be watching like a hawk for hotels to go up, we're really set on staying at the Westin this year.

    For those asking about putting more people in your room than you officially book/pay for... swim at your own risk. I've done it before and nothing bad ever came of it but we also kept a low profile, didn't cause trouble, no loud parties in our room or anything. 1 extra person probably not an issue, but trying to double your occupancy is probably not a good idea. YMMV.

  • tvethiopiatvethiopia Salem MARegistered User regular
    Ana Ng wrote: »
    Last year me and my buddies didn't book a hotel till January, that combined with a shoestring budget had us staying at the Boston Holiday Inn Express. The hotel itself was fine, staff were friendly and it didn't cost us extra to put 5 people in the room. The distance is what sucked.
    We hoofed it at least once to the convention center, but it was a bit of a long walk (30 minutes). One night after concerts we took a cab back and it was ridiculously expensive. Ugh. And the cab driver was really rude too, which sucked.

    this is a really good point for those considering staying farther out who think they won't mind a little cab ride: boston cabs are infamous for being rude and sometimes just ripping you off (taking the longest route possible, getting "lost", etc). cabs can be a total headache, so keep that in mind.

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  • Browncoat565Browncoat565 Registered User regular
    the website should be updated before the on peak stuff goes up right? and what about tickets cause at prime they tend to put tickets up first is this the same for east?

  • Ana NgAna Ng Registered User regular
    tvethiopia wrote: »
    this is a really good point for those considering staying farther out who think they won't mind a little cab ride: boston cabs are infamous for being rude and sometimes just ripping you off (taking the longest route possible, getting "lost", etc). cabs can be a total headache, so keep that in mind.

    Yup, we were pretty sure that's exactly what he did. The hotel we were at was 1.7 miles from the convention center according to google maps, but he drove allllll around Boston to get there - the fare ended up being around $20+. Now I don't know much about taxis but that just seems insane.

  • CreamsteakCreamsteak Thrall Registered User regular
    That's not a Boston specific thing. That's every cabby ever.

This discussion has been closed.