Most of the time When I am at a Hotel for FUN it is for a SciFI con. The Con is there the only reason I am in the Room is to Crash!
If there due to work. I am there ONLY to sleep! Or else I would not be in the Hotel. That is Boring!
@mycya4me Not a Con man here and probably too old to get the young people lingo, but I had always thought crashing and sleeping were the same thing. Is the difference just whether you had a little beer & ramen or wine & steak just before falling into unconsciousness?
@kuoh@macromeh Crashing is mostly you have put yourself as hard as you can, & can’t go any more, you drag yourself back to your room & Crash. sometimes with your still on, shoes removed.
@kuoh Hey I am not that young any more. When I was younger 20-45 I could bring a sleep bag & share the room with 6 others, Yes I would be on the floor. Now that I am 60+ I must have a Bed, I could have 2 beds in the room & share the other bed/ split the cost 50/50 (where before it was 1/6 the cost)/ nite.
Yes I have been going to cons for 30-40+ years, Local one mostly. within the state. Yes I wish I could do some of the out of state ones! Like DragonCon/ SDCC. But I am limited to the east coast – $$$
FYI I only want to do the Fan Run ones, the Commercial ones are outside my Budget! Like GalaxyCon.
I have very little experience staying at hotels. The best experience was The Royal Plaza on Scotts in Singapore. Beautiful hotel with great rooms and a famous buffet that was free because I was staying for two weeks.
Next I would say was Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego CA. Great all around and beautiful surroundings. Others were a nice convention center and hotel in Orlando and the Hilton at the airport. None were disappointing in the least.
@PooltoyWolf Could have been Hyatt. Shrug. The convention hotel was the Rosen Plaza Hotel. I was able to find it on Google Maps because we could see the upside down Wonderworks building from our room window. I took a picture of it and sent it to my granddaughter with the text: “OMG!! Huge earthquake!!”
@tweezak Ha, good old Wonderworks! Yeah the Rosen is one of the three big I-Drive hotels, the other two being the Hyatt Regency (old Peabody) and the Hilton. And yeah the airport hotel inside MCO is also a Hyatt Regency.
@macromeh
Hostels used to be a lot more fun. You’d meet new people from around the world, be best friends for three or four days, and then you both move onto your next destination.
Now people are so asocial and hardly even speak to each other. When people are in the room, they’re on their phone.
@kittykat9180@macromeh Isn’t that how you get robbed or wake up in the bathtub with stitches in odd places and missing some important internal body parts? If you wake up that is.
@kuoh@macromeh
People can get their stuff stolen if they don’t properly secure it, just like anywhere that people are around.
You’re more likely to get robbed on the street than in a hostel.
I’ve never experienced anyone getting murdered or dying in their sleep at a hostel.
@kittykat9180@kuoh@macromeh
Friend of mine stayed in a hostel in Miami and on the first night he got robbed and had everything stolen. Had to sleep on the beach for 3 nights before his parents could get to him and beg people for food. He said it was the worst experience of his life and from that I’ll hotel it.
@kittykat9180@macromeh Yeah, we can not put the genie back in the bottle. But cell phones have sure made it hard to just socialize with strangers. That was/is the favorite part of traveling for me.
@Star2236
I stay in hostels for weeks at a time each year. I’ve been doing so for over 20 years. I’ve never personally encountered a problem. I have heard stories from people I’ve met but I’ve also heard stories of people being robbed/stolen from and women being raped in hotel rooms.
Hostels are the only way I can afford to travel for 6 weeks at a time. I exercise caution but I don’t let fear control me.
@Star2236 For me, Miami is 100% no-go for anything other than transfer to next conveyance. You will not find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.
For me, Miami is 100% no-go for anything other than transfer to next conveyance. You will not find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.
So sorry you feel that way, but will have to respectfully disagree. I enjoyed my recent stay in Miami even though it was only an overnight prior to a cruise. Had a great time, ate an awesome meal at a Cuban restaurant, walked on the beach at night. Overall a great experience.
Transfer to the port was a PITA due to construction but that was not a huge surprise.
Yeah, we can not put the genie back in the bottle. But cell phones have sure made it hard to just socialize with strangers face to face. That was/is the favorite part of traveling for me.
FIFY… Seems everybody is so busy talking to strangers on-line they “don’t know” that they don’t bother to talk to the real live people that are right next to them.
Case in point… This forum.
And yes, getting to talk to people about their locale or strangers you meet in new areas and places is half the fun of traveling
@rancho@kittykat9180@Star2236
Stayed in hostels while leading student tours a good bit when our kids were young. Haven’t done it recently since it’s only SWMBO and I and she prefers a private room with ensuite bathroom.
Stayed at Formule 1 a bit and always felt safe (Accor property now hotelF1).
@BioBill 1000% with you on this statement. Very often for the two of us (Mrs. H. & I) we’re up & going by 8am & often don’t get back to the room before 10pm. Renting a bed & a shower for $150+ per night is borderline crazy in my opinion.
@BioBill Interestingly enough, I have stayed in hotels for conventions, both SF/F and work related, and for pleasure. I stayed in my first I paid for it hotel in 1973, we had 8 or us in a room and we paid about 10 bucks each (it was for a convention). I stayed in a hotel the last time late last year. It was 99/night before all the weird taxes and stuff (again for a convention, the pre-meeting). I have reserved a room at the Anaheim Hilton for the World Science Fiction Convention in August (the one across from Mickey Land) and the pre-taxes and shit rate was 179 a night.
I really feel like true hotels, not motels, have not gone up as much in price as gasoline, food, etc, but do have less amenities and rare free food except mediocre breckkies buffets at the mid-rate suite hotels.
@BioBill@Cerridwyn
I always found it interesting that the higher the hotel class the less you generally got included.
Frequently high-end hotels don’t include many basic amenities like breakfast, off-street parking, Wi-Fi, etc, without charging an extra fee.
For us staying at a hotel is borderline stupid. Much of our vacation travel is multi-generational where renting through a service like VRBO to get a 3-5 bedroom home where we can gather as a family is really the only way to go. Can save big bucks and not only on a place to stay but for food as well. We do dine out but also cook family meals and it’s nice to get up and just walk to the kitchen for breakfast.
If you have conferences for pleasure or work - sure, hotels have their place - but not so much for us.
When I do my cross-country Amtrak trips, for the fun of being on the train, “annoying but necessary” describes it perfectly. I would be content to get on the train in Boston and not get off until ten or so days later when I was back in Boston – well, except for visiting friends along the way – but unfortunately train schedules mean I have to do an overnight here and there. Most notably, I always end up with a late arrival in Emeryville, Cal., the station that is just over the Bay Bridge from San Francisco, followed by an early morning departure. It’s about $175 just to have a bed to sleep in.
Hotels usually mean vacation and vacation is usually somewhere warm with a beach and ocean. So I rather like hotels bc of all that comes with it. But I always do my bed bug check. After working at psych hospital and seeing how fast they spread, I’m not taking those home.
I’m not really a fan. Having managed both front desk and housekeeping departments, I have seen behind the curtain and find it difficult to relax in them. I typically prefer airbnbs or condos as they have kitchens and more personal space.
@chienfou it definitely is easier on many fronts. Though I will say I can now enter a room, I no longer immediately inspect the thing from top to bottom. Old habits are hard to nix but I’m finally over that one.
How many stars? And, where is it?
All these factors matter. A 1 star hotel in the middle of projects is very different from a 5 star hotel on the beach.
@hchavers Yeah, I’ve been a few sketchy ones, but mostly good. Still …
“Fun sometimes”?
Under your legal names?
Flock Safety knows…
It depends on if I am there on Pleasure or Work,
Most of the time When I am at a Hotel for FUN it is for a SciFI con. The Con is there the only reason I am in the Room is to Crash!
If there due to work. I am there ONLY to sleep! Or else I would not be in the Hotel. That is Boring!
@mycya4me Not a Con man here and probably too old to get the young people lingo, but I had always thought crashing and sleeping were the same thing. Is the difference just whether you had a little beer & ramen or wine & steak just before falling into unconsciousness?
KuoH
@kuoh @mycya4me Hmm, and here I thought crashing was often a result of sleeping.
@macromeh @mycya4me Quite possible when behind the wheel or yoke, depending on whether you shelled out for the autopilot option.
KuoH
@kuoh @macromeh Crashing is mostly you have put yourself as hard as you can, & can’t go any more, you drag yourself back to your room & Crash. sometimes with your still on, shoes removed.
@kuoh Hey I am not that young any more. When I was younger 20-45 I could bring a sleep bag & share the room with 6 others, Yes I would be on the floor. Now that I am 60+ I must have a Bed, I could have 2 beds in the room & share the other bed/ split the cost 50/50 (where before it was 1/6 the cost)/ nite.
Yes I have been going to cons for 30-40+ years, Local one mostly. within the state. Yes I wish I could do some of the out of state ones! Like DragonCon/ SDCC. But I am limited to the east coast – $$$
FYI I only want to do the Fan Run ones, the Commercial ones are outside my Budget! Like GalaxyCon.
I have very little experience staying at hotels. The best experience was The Royal Plaza on Scotts in Singapore. Beautiful hotel with great rooms and a famous buffet that was free because I was staying for two weeks.
Next I would say was Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego CA. Great all around and beautiful surroundings. Others were a nice convention center and hotel in Orlando and the Hilton at the airport. None were disappointing in the least.
@tweezak I wonder which Orlando hotel you stayed in? Also the one in MCO is a Hyatt, not a Hilton (unless you meant something else?)
@PooltoyWolf Could have been Hyatt. Shrug. The convention hotel was the Rosen Plaza Hotel. I was able to find it on Google Maps because we could see the upside down Wonderworks building from our room window. I took a picture of it and sent it to my granddaughter with the text: “OMG!! Huge earthquake!!”
@tweezak Ha, good old Wonderworks! Yeah the Rosen is one of the three big I-Drive hotels, the other two being the Hyatt Regency (old Peabody) and the Hilton. And yeah the airport hotel inside MCO is also a Hyatt Regency.
I’m leaving a Hilton now after being here since Monday. I only stay at hotels for work. Otherwise it’s hostels.
@kittykat9180 Have you ever encountered any hostiles at hostels?
@macromeh
Hostels used to be a lot more fun. You’d meet new people from around the world, be best friends for three or four days, and then you both move onto your next destination.
Now people are so asocial and hardly even speak to each other. When people are in the room, they’re on their phone.
@kittykat9180 @macromeh Isn’t that how you get robbed or wake up in the bathtub with stitches in odd places and missing some important internal body parts? If you wake up that is.
KuoH
@kuoh @macromeh
People can get their stuff stolen if they don’t properly secure it, just like anywhere that people are around.
You’re more likely to get robbed on the street than in a hostel.
I’ve never experienced anyone getting murdered or dying in their sleep at a hostel.
@kittykat9180 @kuoh @macromeh
Friend of mine stayed in a hostel in Miami and on the first night he got robbed and had everything stolen. Had to sleep on the beach for 3 nights before his parents could get to him and beg people for food. He said it was the worst experience of his life and from that I’ll hotel it.
@kittykat9180 @macromeh Yeah, we can not put the genie back in the bottle. But cell phones have sure made it hard to just socialize with strangers. That was/is the favorite part of traveling for me.
@Star2236
I stay in hostels for weeks at a time each year. I’ve been doing so for over 20 years. I’ve never personally encountered a problem. I have heard stories from people I’ve met but I’ve also heard stories of people being robbed/stolen from and women being raped in hotel rooms.
Hostels are the only way I can afford to travel for 6 weeks at a time. I exercise caution but I don’t let fear control me.
@Star2236 For me, Miami is 100% no-go for anything other than transfer to next conveyance. You will not find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.
@kittykat9180 @macromeh Hmmmm …
/showme Guests at hostel are ignoring everyone else and hostile towards their smartphones.
@cfg83 Here’s the image you requested for “Guests at hostel are ignoring everyone else and hostile towards their smartphones.”
@Star2236
Situational awareness is obviously the key. I agree with you that most places are a lot safer than many people have (unreasonable) fear of.
@werehatrack
So sorry you feel that way, but will have to respectfully disagree. I enjoyed my recent stay in Miami even though it was only an overnight prior to a cruise. Had a great time, ate an awesome meal at a Cuban restaurant, walked on the beach at night. Overall a great experience.
Transfer to the port was a PITA due to construction but that was not a huge surprise.
KRULL! A SKULL! BRETT HULL! AWESOME!
@rancho
FIFY… Seems everybody is so busy talking to strangers on-line they “don’t know” that they don’t bother to talk to the real live people that are right next to them.
Case in point… This forum.
And yes, getting to talk to people about their locale or strangers you meet in new areas and places is half the fun of traveling
@rancho @kittykat9180 @Star2236
Stayed in hostels while leading student tours a good bit when our kids were young. Haven’t done it recently since it’s only SWMBO and I and she prefers a private room with ensuite bathroom.
Stayed at Formule 1 a bit and always felt safe (Accor property now hotelF1).
Expensive for what you get.
@BioBill 1000% with you on this statement. Very often for the two of us (Mrs. H. & I) we’re up & going by 8am & often don’t get back to the room before 10pm. Renting a bed & a shower for $150+ per night is borderline crazy in my opinion.
@BioBill Interestingly enough, I have stayed in hotels for conventions, both SF/F and work related, and for pleasure. I stayed in my first I paid for it hotel in 1973, we had 8 or us in a room and we paid about 10 bucks each (it was for a convention). I stayed in a hotel the last time late last year. It was 99/night before all the weird taxes and stuff (again for a convention, the pre-meeting). I have reserved a room at the Anaheim Hilton for the World Science Fiction Convention in August (the one across from Mickey Land) and the pre-taxes and shit rate was 179 a night.
I really feel like true hotels, not motels, have not gone up as much in price as gasoline, food, etc, but do have less amenities and rare free food except mediocre breckkies buffets at the mid-rate suite hotels.
@BioBill @Cerridwyn
I always found it interesting that the higher the hotel class the less you generally got included.
Frequently high-end hotels don’t include many basic amenities like breakfast, off-street parking, Wi-Fi, etc, without charging an extra fee.
For us staying at a hotel is borderline stupid. Much of our vacation travel is multi-generational where renting through a service like VRBO to get a 3-5 bedroom home where we can gather as a family is really the only way to go. Can save big bucks and not only on a place to stay but for food as well. We do dine out but also cook family meals and it’s nice to get up and just walk to the kitchen for breakfast.
If you have conferences for pleasure or work - sure, hotels have their place - but not so much for us.
Always a fun adventure for me!
When I do my cross-country Amtrak trips, for the fun of being on the train, “annoying but necessary” describes it perfectly. I would be content to get on the train in Boston and not get off until ten or so days later when I was back in Boston – well, except for visiting friends along the way – but unfortunately train schedules mean I have to do an overnight here and there. Most notably, I always end up with a late arrival in Emeryville, Cal., the station that is just over the Bay Bridge from San Francisco, followed by an early morning departure. It’s about $175 just to have a bed to sleep in.
Hotels usually mean vacation and vacation is usually somewhere warm with a beach and ocean. So I rather like hotels bc of all that comes with it. But I always do my bed bug check. After working at psych hospital and seeing how fast they spread, I’m not taking those home.
I’m not really a fan. Having managed both front desk and housekeeping departments, I have seen behind the curtain and find it difficult to relax in them. I typically prefer airbnbs or condos as they have kitchens and more personal space.
@sillyheathen
Given a choice we will usually pick an Airbnb, but sometimes (especially for short stays) motel/hotel is much simpler.
@chienfou it definitely is easier on many fronts. Though I will say I can now enter a room, I no longer immediately inspect the thing from top to bottom. Old habits are hard to nix but I’m finally over that one.