Alternative to hotels for NAC's

[journalmom]

I'm ready to venture out to options other than the hotels recommended by THS. I'm even thinking of renting a car to get to the venue each day if it means the accomodation is more comfortable and worth the drive. I read some prior posts of options regarding condos, suites, better hotels, and even houses. Any thoughts on these cities where 2007 NAC's will be held?

Tucson, AZ
Dallas, TX
Richmond, VA
Atlanta, GA
Charlotte, NC
Rosemont, IL
Portland, OR
San Jose, CA

Just taking an inventory of ideas from those fencing experts with prior experiences in staying at better places than hotels near the venue.

[fencer92]

We generally do not stay in the event hotel even if means renting a car. With the exception of Miami we usually try to find a Marriott Residence Inn. They have several options and all include refrigrators, microwaves and sometimes full kitchens. Always more room than a normal hotel and are often not that far from the venue. More options for eating and normally grocery stores close by. Very clean. Usually breakfast is included. In Denver the Residence Inn was right downtown within walking distance of the venue.

Good Luck!

[4qtrs]

We also stay at Residence Inn's. It is amazing how good it feels to walk into a quite environment and have a living room to relax in. Since there are four of us we get a two bedroom room (with living room seprating the two bedrooms) and most importantly two bathrooms. Most places it costs me the same as getting two hotel rooms at the THS price.

I can usually find a Whole Foods market (or something like it) within driving distance and we save a ton on making our own meals, including lunch (or doing take out).

[fencerbill]

The reason I have held off from these kinds of places to stay is parking. All right if you have a family member to drop you off and then park the car. I can't stand the uncertainty of having to find a parking space AND then drag a bag to the venue, specially with an early registration.

My ideal is to drag a bag through hotel corridors right into the venue.

[teacup]

The Omni and the Embassy Suites are the closest hotels to the Georgia Convention Center in Atlanta. Unfortunately both are more than the THS hotels, though at the Embassy Suites, the rooms are big and include full breakfasts.

[mlr2fence]

Other thoughts on selecting hotels: Social--Especially for older kids, they like to have their friends in the same hotel/nearby so that they can hang out during free time. (much easier on parents if they don't have to drive kids around)
Driving--It can be very stressful trying to navigate an unfamiliar city during rush hour, esp with an early check in.
Sleep--If you're fencing in early events it nice to be able to roll out of bed and be just minutes away. No fun having to decide what time to get up to make sure you arrive in time, but not too early for early check ins. It can be hard to gauge drive times, allowing for missing a turn, traffic, etc. This is especially important to determine if you have time zone changes.
Flight home--If the timing gets tight between finishing an event and having to catch a plane its usually quicker to hop a cab that drops you off at the 'front door' instead of having to go thru the car rental return stuff.

Bottom line--I think the best way is to plan each NAC individually pricing out everything (parking/gas/rental vs cab fares) along with hotel costs staying near vs further out; factor in start times and flights=whether staying close or further out is the better deal.

When all is said and done there's nothing worse than making the trip and missing close of check in.
Sometimes non-THS hotels can be found that are still within in walking distance for a better price.

[journalmom]

Yeah, staying near friends are nice for the kids and parents since they sometimes just hang out in the lobby or each other's rooms and we don't have to drive them around town. But having stayed at the Embassy Suites in Albuquerque really spoiled me. Two rooms with a microwave, a Fridge, and a small sink by the bar, two TV's, full breakfast, Manager's cocktail, AND the shuttle to the venue! It was great to be in a spacious hotel with a shuttle service. In fact, there was no problem coming back to the hotel after the POOL's to pick up something and be back at the venue before the DE's started.

So, I'm researching now for the upcoming season. All of the above points are well taken. Keep these coming for all of us to share.

[teacup]

Originally Posted by journalmom

Yeah, staying near friends are nice for the kids and parents since they sometimes just hang out in the lobby or each other's rooms and we don't have to drive them around town. But having stayed at the Embassy Suites in Albuquerque really spoiled me. Two rooms with a microwave, a Fridge, and a small sink by the bar, two TV's, full breakfast, Manager's cocktail, AND the shuttle to the venue! It was great to be in a spacious hotel with a shuttle service. In fact, there was no problem coming back to the hotel after the POOL's to pick up something and be back at the venue before the DE's started.

So, I'm researching now for the upcoming season. All of the above points are well taken. Keep these coming for all of us to share.

Check out the Embassy Suites in Atlanta then. I suggested to the USFA that they ask THS to include prices for suites. Due to double rooms being overbooked in Atlanta we got a suite at the Marriott and it was great.

[passata_sotto]

Originally Posted by journalmom

I'm ready to venture out to options other than the hotels recommended by THS. I'm even thinking of renting a car to get to the venue each day if it means the accomodation is more comfortable and worth the drive. I read some prior posts of options regarding condos, suites, better hotels, and even houses. Any thoughts on these cities where 2007 NAC's will be held?

Tucson, AZ
Dallas, TX
Richmond, VA
Atlanta, GA
Charlotte, NC
Rosemont, IL
Portland, OR
San Jose, CA

Just taking an inventory of ideas from those fencing experts with prior experiences in staying at better places than hotels near the venue.

We quite often use Residence Inn (I earned two free nights last season just from fencing trips) but when we are able we rent a house. We are renting the same house in Tuscon in Oct that we rented for the NAC there last year. We rented a great condo just south of Ft Lauderdale on the beach for Nationals at half the price of some of the hotels. There are several sites but two that we have used are:

http://www.homeaway.com/
http://www.a1vacations.com/

(These are actually the same company but sometimes different listings come up)