Parking wise, I used the Gate ten this year and it was so convenient. $60 for five days of parking then a shuttle that takes you to your hotel.
$60 sure beats the extra $100+ for parking.
@austicke, angelhelly, britbrit: Thanks for the replies.
Parking Panda wasn't too bad seeing as it was split 4 ways this year so it came out to $36/person and the place we stayed was also split (came out to $250/person for the entire stay of Wed - Sat).
The really great thing about Embassy, which I have not seen anywhere else, is that there is a closable DOOR between the bedroom and the living room so that the stay-up-late-and-talk folks can do just that without disturbing the sleep-early-8am-game-and-still-want-breakfast folks. Plus with Embassy you can very comfortably sleep six to a double double.
Yes, it is showing its age, yes, it's faster to just walk outside instead of using the hamster tube, yes, the far ends of the convention can be a bit of a hike, but it is still very much easy walking distance, there are a ton of eating places nearby, it has a decent pool area, and best of all? The rooms are within clicking range of /three/ pokestops! *ahem* okay the last was slightly tongue in cheek, but...we like it very much. We're bringing a banner to hang from the balcony next year!
The embassy may be a bit dated, but it is my first choice without doubt because of the two separate rooms. They also have a nice breakfast, and the breakfast/bar area became a really fun gaming place (with a bar!) at night, though that was a few years ago so not sure if that still is the case. Anyone who got a room because of this should be very grateful. I am!
Anyone had any luck booking anywhere lately?
The thing to remember regarding Valet parking at Hotels is that they have the option of not charging you for it. In the lst 3 years I have not paid for Valet at the Hilton properties - Over the time staying there I chateed with the front desk manager and asked if ,as a Hilton Honors member, they cold do anything about the valet parking rates . The response was always " let me take a look " or words to that effect . Lo and behold no charges . I made sure that I had tipped the valet well before that conversation. Just a suggestion . It likely does depend on whether the property operates the Valet or subcontract it out . and what level of HH you are Remember -The answer is always no if you dont ask
I am coming in Thursday morning- going to the ICC, then heading to the hotel at check in time (probably a good idea to head there early). Hearing that Embassy overbooks has me scared that the hotel might fill up with Wednesday-nighters and when I go to check in it will be tough luck chuck and I am left scrambling. Someone put my mind at ease please!
I got that same response, i managed to snag the direct reservation afterwards alright. Based on reviews and other thoughts hotels.com scares me a little to be honest. At least you know you have a reservation in the embassy's system.
Even the regular king rooms aren't bad though...two room suite, fold out sofa, table, microwave, kitchenette. Only one bathroom though. Still.
Have the downtown Mariott hotels opened up for booking? I see that on the Mariott website you can select the dates for Gen Con 2017, but the downtown hotels don't show availability. Did I already miss the rush or are those exempted for now? Anyone have any idea?
*Sigh* Missed out on the super inexpensive Embassy Suites rush (what, something like $138/night before they locked the dates down). Westin's got rooms open on their website, but they're not cancellable, and I'm not going to risk 2 grand on a non-refundable room (tried calling directly to see if I could swing anything, but I got nowhere). Bit the bullet and reserved a cancellable stay at the Conrad for $438/night. At least I've got my backup in place, and it's not a bad backup at that. Expensive - like, ZOMG level expensive - but from what I've heard it's a damn nice hotel.
Time to see how the Gen Con block lottery works out. Here's to hoping!
How big of sticklers are they at the Embassy Suites regarding occupancy? We are a group of 4, but I have always booked single occupancy when booking hotel rooms for Gen con. Does the occupancy just come into play for the free breakfast?
i tried to book embassy downtown is full. can one of you send me the link to another local hotel not full?