A note I already have suitable arrangements, but I will say that there are a couple of AirB&B locations for 4 people, Wednesday July 31-Aug 5, for ~$200-300 just on the other side of the I-65 if someone is desperate. A couple of miles but still downtown, and AirB&B is iffy, but those are much better prices for 4 than I have seen for a while there. ~Komori
$75/night? Check for bodies under the mattress. ;-)
I did well in the housing lottery so we have a place from Tuesday night until Sunday night this year or else I was planning on going most of the way on Tuesday and leave about three hours on Wednesday and then reverse it on the way home. That would let me save money on a cheap hotel outside the city two nights. Since we did well on the lottery, we are leaving DFW around 6:00 AM Tuesday and should arrive in Indianapolis around 8:00 PM...
Fantastic. We are leaving on Tuesday and coming in on Wednesday, and checking out on Monday. Splitting it into two days means my two teen sons can sleep in and we can stop a couple times on the trip for meals and basically have a leisurely road trip. :)
Daaaaaamn. I've done 14 hour drives myself back when I was a college kid, but that's too much for me now. Thank goodness my trip to Indianapolis isn't anywhere near that long.
Oh! That whole 'from Dallas' thing reminds me: If anyone is taking a route through southern Indiana that uses I-69 this coming August, keep an eye out for news about construction. There's a segment between a small town called Martinsville and Indianapolis itself that is scheduled to be built (there's still a state highway there - I-69 turns into IN 37 there - so there are no worries about getting up to Indy, you just stay on that same road). Major construction isn't supposed to start until 2020, but there is auxiliary preparatory construction (upgrading local roads, creating access roads, etc.) that may take place this year. And it doesn't take much thought to conclude that it can impact current traffic to some degree.
Next year will be an issue. In 2020, that state highway will have a section entirely closed with traffic diverted to other state highways. I fear that'll be a friggin' mess in the short term, but it's supposed to mean faster construction and less pain in the long run. There's no word yet that I've found that says whether that closure will be end of July through start of August though, so maybe it won't be an issue? Fingers crossed.
tl;dr - If you're taking I-69 through southern Indiana, watch for news and allow for construction.
Sources and sites to use to keep up with this stuff:
Thanks for the heads-up. Last year I drop up from St. Louis and found a fair amount of road construction along the way.
Keep looking ;)
Just found a Skywalk Marriott King room in the housing portal. Picked it up, even though I am really looking for a 2 bed room as its better than the 8 mile out one I had previously. You never know when something will pop up.
~Komori
Also if you find a place inside the beltway (or loop, or whatever they call it in Indy), look into BlueIndy. They're rental electric cars and you only pay for the time between charging stations, and there are plenty of charging spots downtown. It may actually wind up being more cost-effective than paying for parking. You can buy membership by the week, so no commitment for the rest of the year.
question....when rooms open up...is it better to book one day or wait and try and get all 4 in a different hotel?
You have to have a Saturday night. Which won’t come available by itself as there is a minimum stay.
I just swapped out a room at the Hilton 5 blocks away for a room at the JW - so stuff does pop up. :)
Just reviving this thread as people are going to be moving reservations now that the events list is out, and even more so in 2 weeks once people do/do not get the events they want. Case in point, there is a Candlewood Suites 2.8 miles away that currently has an opening. ~Komori
Yeah. I was able to grab a king at the Hyatt a few days ago for wednesday through sunday. Was just in the portal a minute ago and the JW was available but someone snagged it up already. Stuff is moving a little it seems. Just keep trying is all I can say as well.
Cross Posting as I know there are interested people watching this thread: https://www.gencon.com/forums/43-travel-housing-and-dining-2019/topics/14973-out-of-block-downtown-ish-reservation-takeover-drawing
Our group had no rooms in the block but grabbed a room at the Westin for close to $500/night. Within the last three weeks, we got two rooms at the JW.
Keep trying. My friends thought I was weird for checking every day, but it paid off.