Alt.polycon 12 hotel
Apr. 10th, 2004 03:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rivkaWe've settled on a hotel for apc12. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
curiousangel and I met with our salesperson today to work out all the details over lunch. She's going to draft a contract and get her supervisor's approval on Monday, and then send it to us. (tammylc, I will absolutely take you up on your offer to look the contract over before we sign it.)
I couldn't be more pleased with the offer she's made us. It's a lovely hotel, the staff is very accommodating, and it's exactly the right size for a small (70-90 person) convention like ours.
After visiting several hotels, we've settled on the Tremont Plaza hotel in downtown Baltimore. (http://www.tremontsuitehotels.com) They're offering us an excellent package, and it's a beautiful hotel in a good location. We met with our salesperson today to hammer out contract details, and should be getting the draft contract to review on Monday. Here are the details:
General:
The Tremont Plaza is a 300-room all-suites hotel. It was completely renovated in the last year, so all the rooms have new furniture, etc. The decor is modern and very attractive. There are only five function rooms in the whole hotel, so people won't get lost looking for our space. There is a gym with single-sex saunas, but no indoor pool or hot tub. (Sorry.) Registration can be done online, with a typed-in code to get the con rate.
The level of service we've received from everyone connected to the hotel (salesperson, backup salesperson, food & beverage manager, front desk staff, bell staff) has been outstanding - very friendly, very courteous, very accomodating.
January is typically a very slow month for them, and they're eager for our business.
Guest rooms:
The basic room is a "studio suite," which has either a king bed and a seating area with a pull-out sofa, or two double beds and a seating area with armchairs. All rooms have a kitchenette with a refrigerator/freezer, a microwave, a sink, and some basic dishes and silverware. Rooms currently have dialup net access, but they hope to have DSL by the time of the con. Some rooms are fully accessible; they do a lot of business with people who are coming in from out of town for hospital treatments and are thus used to accommodating disabled customers.
We've been offered a room rate of $89/night, which is guaranteed in effect from the Wednesday before apc12 to the Tuesday after. For an additional $30, people will be able to upgrade to a "premier suite," which has a separate bedroom (with a door) and a large living room with a pull-out sofa. Premier suites would offer ample space for a craft room and/or game room - plenty of room for people to spread out.
Our salesperson says there should be no problem adding any necessary rooms to the block, locating everyone on the same floor or the same couple of floors, and not putting non-polycon guests next door to the consuite.
Consuite:
The "chairman's suite" has a very large living/dining room with comfortable seating and a large conference-style table. There is a kitchenette along one side, with lots of counter space, a full-sized refrigerator/freezer, microwave, toaster, and coffeemaker. The decor is comfortable and attractive, and there are great city views from the windows. The suite has two full bathrooms and two smallish bedrooms, one with a queen-sized bed and a large walk-in closet for storage, and the other with a king-sized bed. The hotel considers the suite to be a guest room and therefore does not restrict food & drinks brought in.
If we are able to pick up a total of 80 room-nights, including before and after the con, they'll give us the consuite at $89/night. Otherwise the rate will be $189.
Meeting rooms:
Our two programming rooms are located one above the other. Stairs and an elevator are both directly outside the programming rooms, so it will be easy and convenient to go from one to the other. The William Smith Room is roughly 35x20 and 696 sq ft.; the Plaza A is roughly 37x20 and 753 sq ft. (There was the option of a 1,063 sq ft room directly across from the William Smith room, but it has a large central pillar that we think will pose a barrier to lipreaders.) We'll have both programming rooms from 4pm-midnight on Friday and from 9am-1am on Saturday, and we'll also have the Plaza A on Sunday afternoon from 12-4.
The banquet room is a pretty standard hotel ballroom, roughly 86x20, with 1705 sq ft. of space. It can seat 100 people at round tables. We have it for Sunday brunch only. There is a larger banquet room that we can probably get in the unlikely event that more than 100 people preregister.
There will be no charge for the banquet room. She's checking on the price of the other programming rooms for us, but she anticipates that it will probably be a $100 setup fee per room. The hotel will provide a dance floor free of cost for the dance. We may bring in outside AV equipment without paying a surcharge.
Restaurants:
There are two dining options in the hotel itself. The hotel restaurant is informal and has tasty sandwiches & salads for lunch in the $7-11 range and dinner entrees for $16-25. (It's open for breakfast too, but I don't know prices.) There's also a deli in the hotel lobby that won a "Best of Baltimore" award. It's open from 7am to 8pm and has sandwiches made to order for about $5, several prepared salads, and a small selection of groceries: cheeses, deli meats, snacks, fruit, juices, ice cream, frozen entrees, and beer and wine.
Nearby, one block away: a coffee shop that serves breakfast and lunch (coffee, pastries, soup, sandwiches) but closes in mid-afternoon. Two blocks: a sushi bar and an Irish pub with good bar food and live music. Three-four blocks: a Thai restaurant, another sushi bar, a midpriced Italian restaurant, a very upscale Italian restaurant, and the best Chinese restaurant in Baltimore. Many local restaurants deliver to the hotel. The Inner Harbor area, which has dozens of restaurants at all price levels and of all descriptions, is about 7 blocks from the hotel. It's probably a ten-minute walk for people who are nondisabled.
Transportation:
We've been told that airport shuttle service runs approximately $18 per person roundtrip. (We'll check on that.) A cab to the airport would probably be $20-25 one-way. Valet parking is $25/night, or self parking is $13/night in the city garage next door to the hotel. The Amtrak station is about 1/2-3/4 mile away.
I've looked at budgets for apc10, apc9, apc7, and apc6, and this hotel package compares *very* favorably with what other cons have paid. The only one that appears to have gotten a better deal on function space is apc9, which was held during the post-9/11 slump in the travel industry. Some cons have paid a couple of thousand dollars in programming room space, and we'll pay - at most - a few hundred. $89/night is also a great room rate for a downtown hotel, and the kitchenettes will be useful for people who are on tight budgets.
Does anyone who is planning to attend apc12 have any questions they'd like me to ask the hotel rep? Can you see anything I've left out? Is there anything I haven't mentioned that we should be sure to include in the contract?
curiousangel and I met with our salesperson today to work out all the details over lunch. She's going to draft a contract and get her supervisor's approval on Monday, and then send it to us. (tammylc, I will absolutely take you up on your offer to look the contract over before we sign it.)I couldn't be more pleased with the offer she's made us. It's a lovely hotel, the staff is very accommodating, and it's exactly the right size for a small (70-90 person) convention like ours.
After visiting several hotels, we've settled on the Tremont Plaza hotel in downtown Baltimore. (http://www.tremontsuitehotels.com) They're offering us an excellent package, and it's a beautiful hotel in a good location. We met with our salesperson today to hammer out contract details, and should be getting the draft contract to review on Monday. Here are the details:
General:
The Tremont Plaza is a 300-room all-suites hotel. It was completely renovated in the last year, so all the rooms have new furniture, etc. The decor is modern and very attractive. There are only five function rooms in the whole hotel, so people won't get lost looking for our space. There is a gym with single-sex saunas, but no indoor pool or hot tub. (Sorry.) Registration can be done online, with a typed-in code to get the con rate.
The level of service we've received from everyone connected to the hotel (salesperson, backup salesperson, food & beverage manager, front desk staff, bell staff) has been outstanding - very friendly, very courteous, very accomodating.
January is typically a very slow month for them, and they're eager for our business.
Guest rooms:
The basic room is a "studio suite," which has either a king bed and a seating area with a pull-out sofa, or two double beds and a seating area with armchairs. All rooms have a kitchenette with a refrigerator/freezer, a microwave, a sink, and some basic dishes and silverware. Rooms currently have dialup net access, but they hope to have DSL by the time of the con. Some rooms are fully accessible; they do a lot of business with people who are coming in from out of town for hospital treatments and are thus used to accommodating disabled customers.
We've been offered a room rate of $89/night, which is guaranteed in effect from the Wednesday before apc12 to the Tuesday after. For an additional $30, people will be able to upgrade to a "premier suite," which has a separate bedroom (with a door) and a large living room with a pull-out sofa. Premier suites would offer ample space for a craft room and/or game room - plenty of room for people to spread out.
Our salesperson says there should be no problem adding any necessary rooms to the block, locating everyone on the same floor or the same couple of floors, and not putting non-polycon guests next door to the consuite.
Consuite:
The "chairman's suite" has a very large living/dining room with comfortable seating and a large conference-style table. There is a kitchenette along one side, with lots of counter space, a full-sized refrigerator/freezer, microwave, toaster, and coffeemaker. The decor is comfortable and attractive, and there are great city views from the windows. The suite has two full bathrooms and two smallish bedrooms, one with a queen-sized bed and a large walk-in closet for storage, and the other with a king-sized bed. The hotel considers the suite to be a guest room and therefore does not restrict food & drinks brought in.
If we are able to pick up a total of 80 room-nights, including before and after the con, they'll give us the consuite at $89/night. Otherwise the rate will be $189.
Meeting rooms:
Our two programming rooms are located one above the other. Stairs and an elevator are both directly outside the programming rooms, so it will be easy and convenient to go from one to the other. The William Smith Room is roughly 35x20 and 696 sq ft.; the Plaza A is roughly 37x20 and 753 sq ft. (There was the option of a 1,063 sq ft room directly across from the William Smith room, but it has a large central pillar that we think will pose a barrier to lipreaders.) We'll have both programming rooms from 4pm-midnight on Friday and from 9am-1am on Saturday, and we'll also have the Plaza A on Sunday afternoon from 12-4.
The banquet room is a pretty standard hotel ballroom, roughly 86x20, with 1705 sq ft. of space. It can seat 100 people at round tables. We have it for Sunday brunch only. There is a larger banquet room that we can probably get in the unlikely event that more than 100 people preregister.
There will be no charge for the banquet room. She's checking on the price of the other programming rooms for us, but she anticipates that it will probably be a $100 setup fee per room. The hotel will provide a dance floor free of cost for the dance. We may bring in outside AV equipment without paying a surcharge.
Restaurants:
There are two dining options in the hotel itself. The hotel restaurant is informal and has tasty sandwiches & salads for lunch in the $7-11 range and dinner entrees for $16-25. (It's open for breakfast too, but I don't know prices.) There's also a deli in the hotel lobby that won a "Best of Baltimore" award. It's open from 7am to 8pm and has sandwiches made to order for about $5, several prepared salads, and a small selection of groceries: cheeses, deli meats, snacks, fruit, juices, ice cream, frozen entrees, and beer and wine.
Nearby, one block away: a coffee shop that serves breakfast and lunch (coffee, pastries, soup, sandwiches) but closes in mid-afternoon. Two blocks: a sushi bar and an Irish pub with good bar food and live music. Three-four blocks: a Thai restaurant, another sushi bar, a midpriced Italian restaurant, a very upscale Italian restaurant, and the best Chinese restaurant in Baltimore. Many local restaurants deliver to the hotel. The Inner Harbor area, which has dozens of restaurants at all price levels and of all descriptions, is about 7 blocks from the hotel. It's probably a ten-minute walk for people who are nondisabled.
Transportation:
We've been told that airport shuttle service runs approximately $18 per person roundtrip. (We'll check on that.) A cab to the airport would probably be $20-25 one-way. Valet parking is $25/night, or self parking is $13/night in the city garage next door to the hotel. The Amtrak station is about 1/2-3/4 mile away.
I've looked at budgets for apc10, apc9, apc7, and apc6, and this hotel package compares *very* favorably with what other cons have paid. The only one that appears to have gotten a better deal on function space is apc9, which was held during the post-9/11 slump in the travel industry. Some cons have paid a couple of thousand dollars in programming room space, and we'll pay - at most - a few hundred. $89/night is also a great room rate for a downtown hotel, and the kitchenettes will be useful for people who are on tight budgets.
Does anyone who is planning to attend apc12 have any questions they'd like me to ask the hotel rep? Can you see anything I've left out? Is there anything I haven't mentioned that we should be sure to include in the contract?
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no subject
Date: 2004-04-10 01:00 pm (UTC)n.
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Date: 2004-04-10 01:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-04-10 01:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-04-10 02:01 pm (UTC)But lots of people go to the cons who don't read the newsgroup anymore!
no subject
Date: 2004-04-10 02:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-04-10 02:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-04-10 05:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-04-10 08:23 pm (UTC)We wouldn't miss this one for the world!
Yaaaay!
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Date: 2004-04-10 05:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-04-12 10:16 am (UTC)-J
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Date: 2004-04-12 01:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-04-13 10:43 am (UTC)