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So, AJ, have you made hotel calls yet? Has anyone done this? Because if no one gets back to me in another two or three days, I'M going to make arrangements.
(Note: this is a terribly ineffective threat, I realize. *laugh*)
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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Tom where do you think would be good? I was painting one of the bedrooms this weekend but it was running through my mind. I'm willing to make calls to get price quotes but I'm uncertain as to where we should target and how many rooms we should plan on reserving. I figure 30 people so maybe reserve what 10-12 rooms? I was also wondering if looking for hotels in Skokie would be a good idea since this would accomodate the orthodox jewish people much better.
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Skokie sounds great, especially if lots of things are all within walking distance. I'd say a hotel with a conference room (DEFINITE), free breakfast if possible, close to restaurants and such, for probably $75 a night, maximum. Is that possible?
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
Skokie sounds awesome. Accomodate as many as possible.
Also, I've been contacted again for Kama donations. Email me if anyone else is still interested -- we can do it privately, as a Welcome to the States gift pooled from all of us, or it can be a direct gift. No matter to me, I'm just your friendly conduit.
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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Kat I've got to check the train lines. Skokie is a nearer suburb than Rosemont by O'Hare but getting to the hotel might be problematic. And if it isn't on a El or Metra line its definitely out.
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btw in case everyone was wondering Skokie has a large orthodox Jewish community so kosher resturauts and delis abound. And you will probably be within walking distance of a synagogue thouth it might be a bit of a trek. There's also a significant Polish presence
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I'm still interested in coming, but I don't know... I have to talk to my family about it. The money thing's an issue at this point, too. Though I may have hotel money by the date, I don't now. And I don't want to put any jatraqueros out on my 'maybe'... (sigh)
Posts: 4816 | Registered: Apr 2003
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The Mooses (Meese?) said they'd be there the 11th through the 15th of August...I'm assuming it's the weekend involving those dates.
Posts: 1423 | Registered: Sep 2003
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Skokie is a bit away from O'Hare but not horribly so. It is a little north and about halfway between O'Hare and the City of Chicago proper. I don't think there would be giant problems in getting people there. At worst you would have to take the Blue El line into the city and then take the yellow spur back out to Skokie for a cost of about $6-8 I think. I also figure that an informal service will be run with my mini-van. The hotels themselves may have o-hare shuttles.
If this option appears too pricey I'll go back and start calling the OHare hotels too.
Right now I have a quote from Hampton Inn in Skokie. The nearest Jewish temple/synagoge is 2 miles away so it would be walkable.
A standard room with 2 queens at the group rate with 10 or more rooms is $99/night. If you would like a suite that includes a small kitchen it will be $149/night but it sleeps six. They reccommend this for families. The meeting room if <10 rooms is $250/day if between 10-20 then $125/day and if over 20 rooms are booked then it is free.
I'm guessing doubletree will be more expensive. I've still got to call Howard Johnson.
posted
Just a side-note for anyone doing planning -- the last time we stayed somewhere that had a price break for the group (wedding), the break was (as I recall) $109 for a room that was normally $129. The AAA member rate was $79. So sometimes those group rates aren't quite as cool as they sound. Be sure to look at all the options.
Just sayin'.
Oh, is someone organizing the purchase of Cubs tickets, too? Do they have a home game that weekend?
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The problem is, it is hard to get a conference room, which everyone agrees we need, if you don't go through their formal "group" arrangements. And if we don't get enough of a block of reservations they charge out the wazoo for the conference room. So it is a rock and a hard place situation.
The O'hare hotels may be cheaper. But Skokie is closer to the City as well which reduces traveltime a bit.
Are there hotels of slightly less posh quality there? Maybe not quite Motel 6, but, say, a La Quinta?
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
Holiday Inn is sounding better. $89/night up to 5 people per room. On hold for the conference room quote. (They will call me back with Conference room quote)
Clearly I need an Excel spreadsheet to organize the data.
Hampton Inn and Suites Conference room $250/day 10 rooms $125/day 20 rooms free 2Q @ $99/night Suite (sleeps 6) @ $149/night
Howard Johnson/Comfort Inn Complimentary breakfast Conference room $75/day poolside room w/pool view stairs only access to conf room (what about Diane?). Courtesy van to El line 2Q -$95 +tax
posted
You know, I don't know about Skokie. While I appreciate that it may be marginally more convenient to the two orthodox Jewish Hatrackers who're likely to show up, it's considerably less convenient for everyone else.
It's a fair distance from downtown, an hour from O'Hare by train, and so on. This concerns me only because the single major limiter on this get-together is going to be time, not space; the farther we are, then, from places people want to be, the less time people will have to do the things they want to do.
Placement in Skokie will pretty much guarantee that the con stays in the hotel, with perhaps a single excursion into the city. This is not a BAD thing, mind you, since I think we're perfectly capable of enjoying ourselves in a hotel, but I don't know if that's consistent with everyone's impression of the event.
If proximity to kosher establishments is a major priority, a hotel nearer to downtown might make more sense than a hotel in another suburb. The problem here is that ten or twelve rooms is NOT a heck of a lot of people for the purposes of "group rates," but is just enough that you can no longer take advantage of the typical Expedia rates.
One problem I think we're going to have, regardless of location, will be the cost of meeting facilities. If we want an open room -- which we do -- we're going to have to shell out at least $200-$300 downtown; the numbers get better the farther you get from the lake.
Here's the best quote I've found from a downtown hotel (the Essex, on Grant Park, which is walking distance from Museum Row and has free busing to the Art Institute every hour): $86/night per king suite (in a block of ten), with $250 per day for access to a 40-person meeting room from 9AM to 5PM. At ten rooms, that brings the total cost per day for facilities to $111/room, or $56 per person, per day.
I don't know how this compares to the hard numbers you're getting in the suburbs.
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Tom I don't think Skokie is that far away from the City. It shouldn't take much more time to get in than on the blue line from Ohare. And the blue line from O'Hare is like 25 minutes to downtown not an hour.
I'll start getting Ohare quotes tomorrow. I might be able to do some more this afternoon but horrors, I actually have to WORK too
quote:$86/night per king suite (in a block of ten), with $250 per day for access to a 40-person meeting room from 9AM to 5PM. At ten rooms, that brings the total cost per day for facilities to $111/room, or $56 per person, per day.
I think...that...sounds a little too expensive. Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
If we're going to balk at $56/person per day, I don't think we can afford a meeting room. They're simply not available for a group our size at less than $200/day, as far as I can tell.
That's not crippling, as we can always meet somewhere else (or arrange to purchase one large suite room somewhere that we USE as a meeting room, and then kick people out when it's time to sleep).
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If I'm reading Anna's spec sheet rightly, her quote from the Hampton sounds pretty good: the meeting room would be $125 with a block of ten rooms, and there are suites available that sleep six (which would help if we got significantly more than 20 people).
So far, it looks like Anna and I have both been calling on an estimate of 10 to 15 rooms. If there are more people interested, things get considerably cheaper.
quote:or arrange to purchase one large suite room somewhere that we USE as a meeting room, and then kick people out when it's time to sleep
Well, at WenchCon, people slept in the meeting room one night. I think this would be better if we can't find a place for less than $200 a day.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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I'm pretty sure that sleeping in a rented meeting room is a federal crime. I like the other way around -- meeting in a bedroom -- considerably better. *grin*
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
What I'd personally vote for so far is the Howard Johnson that is changing to a Comfort Suites in June. Their pool area is recently remodeled and the pictures look awesome. Though I realize it is stairs only access and we'd have to carry Diane in if it came to that.
(and after I just typed that Holiday Inn is looking better and better.) They just called me back for>10 rooms reserved it would only be $50/day for the Hospitality suite though we would be responsible for our own food.
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Saying that I'll be working in Beloit for the summer, I'm most definantly gonna be there. With my kite! People must bring kites!
Also, has anybody thought of hotels away from the city? If you go like an hour out of the city (on one of the buses) it might be cheaper...Rockford for example has the Clocktower, which is a conference hotel... Satyagraha
Posts: 1986 | Registered: Apr 2001
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posted
Touche, though it is possible as a last resort, if any other choices just cost too much. Satyagraha
Posts: 1986 | Registered: Apr 2001
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quote:They just called me back for>10 rooms reserved it would only be $50/day for the Hospitality suite though we would be responsible for our own food.
That's the conference room? THat's very reasonable. Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
Anna, that hospitality suite price is pretty decent. What amenities are included in the suite, and how large is it? If it can accomodate at least four full-length banquet tables with seating, I think that's an excellent deal; you're still talking $89/room with double occupancy, right?
I'm still not sold on Skokie, mind you, but I won't be a stick-in-the-mud about it. I can't say that it's part of the quintessential Chicago experience, but I suppose that experience is still 20 minutes away by train.
Re: Holiday Inn: I think the Hospitality Room is smaller. They said four round tables. Normally each of those tables hold 8ish people. I didn't ask about a DVD player for the LotR fanatics.
But it is holiday inn I'm sure they have such things and also a complimentary breakfast in the morning.
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QUESTION: Are we definitely going to a Cubs game? Because if we are, then I can probably convince my Dad to come along with me, and that may be the only way I CAN go. Even if I'm perfectly all right with spending the weekend in a hotel alone with scary internet strangers™, which, forgive me, I'm not quite... I most seriously doubt my parents will be...
Posts: 4816 | Registered: Apr 2003
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OK I'm not sure how much of an itnerary we actually need to have. There was debate over this before. But I know that several people wanted to go to a cubs game.
I think someone who wants to go should be in charge of that event. Mack, Ryuko? You can find most of the info online and if you need someone to make calls let me know and I'll do that locally so you don't have long distance. But give me all the info you can find first.
Then we can put Annie in charge of the art museum etc.
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I think the best plan is to not try to schedule too much for the whole group, but have smaller groups plan activities that people can choose from, with at least one meal and some social time all together.
Ryuko, would it help if you were staying with me, who both you and your mom have met, and possibly my sister, who you’ll be meeting next week? If ElJay does decide to come you could possibly hitch a ride with her, too.
BTW, KamaCon will be Bob and my . . . ::checks calendar:: . . . fourth date. Do you all think you can stand the goofy-in-love vibes we’ll be giving off all weekend?
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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In answer to your last question, no. I recommend you stay far away from all human beings until the toxic squishiness has faded all to dust.
And actually, it might help. I really should talk to my parents seriously about this soon. But I'm sure my mom would be more all right if she knew that you guys were going to be there..
By the by, have you checked your email??
Posts: 4816 | Registered: Apr 2003
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And I refuse to be in charge of every activity I'd go crazy if I tried. I've already got a wedding I have to help with at the beginning of July and the Christy thing going on.
I'll do the best I can but I really think it would be too much work. You are mostly highly intelligent adults and should be able to figure out activites via the internet quite well. The small groups like dkw is talking about is probably the best bet.
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Email me if anyone else is still interested -- we can do it privately, as a Welcome to the States gift pooled from all of us, or it can be a direct gift. No matter to me, I'm just your friendly conduit.
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I think this would be better if we can't find a place for less than $200 a day.
