Author Topic: SDCC 2020 Hotel Discussion  (Read 74441 times)

Offline paul

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Re: SDCC 2020 Hotel Discussion
« Reply #135 on: January 19, 2020, 10:55:33 AM »
Anyone interested in sharing accommodations at the Marbrisa in Carlsbad? I’m looking at options running from $297 per night that sleeps 4 to $418 per night that sleeps 8.

Offline alyssa

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Re: SDCC 2020 Hotel Discussion
« Reply #136 on: January 19, 2020, 11:59:11 AM »
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Anyone interested in sharing accommodations at the Marbrisa in Carlsbad? I’m looking at options running from $297 per night that sleeps 4 to $418 per night that sleeps 8.

it's a little far away for most folks attending SDCC ;)
maybe before or after con
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Re: SDCC 2020 Hotel Discussion
« Reply #137 on: Today at 02:49:16 AM »

Offline lliving

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Re: SDCC 2020 Hotel Discussion
« Reply #137 on: January 19, 2020, 12:18:06 PM »
To people new to the hotel lottery(AKA hotelpocalypse), please keep in mind that the lottery is not the only time that you can secure a hotel stay through Onpeak(the organization that runs the lottery).  After hotelpocalypse, Onpeak will eventually open up access to the reservation website to all and release rooms as people return them or the hotels release blocks.  But, you really have to watch the site like a hawk. Downtown rooms can pop up at any time and disappear quickly.  So, try to get some type of accommodation during the lottery, and monitor the Onpeak website afterward to look for an upgrade.  I’ve seen Bayfront and MGH rooms become available as late as 2 weeks prior to SDCC. Also, people will often offer hotel room reservations in the forum.     You might have to reimburse the person for the non refundable deposit.


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Offline paul

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Re: SDCC 2020 Hotel Discussion
« Reply #138 on: January 19, 2020, 02:33:11 PM »
It is a bit of a distance. I figured we would take the coaster train from Carlsbad to downtown. It is close to the resort.

Offline alyssa

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Re: SDCC 2020 Hotel Discussion
« Reply #139 on: January 19, 2020, 02:44:16 PM »
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It is a bit of a distance. I figured we would take the coaster train from Carlsbad to downtown. It is close to the resort.
i understand but it's a bit of a hike for folks who are attending the con. a lot of folks want to be as close as possible to the con. If not in the gaslamp then in mission valley on the shuttle's
the reality is that most of the folks here will see this as two different vakas; lego land vs sdcc. If you want the beach experience, try finding something in La jolla or pacific beach.
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Offline chocolateshake

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Re: SDCC 2020 Hotel Discussion
« Reply #140 on: January 19, 2020, 06:50:10 PM »
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It is a bit of a distance. I figured we would take the coaster train from Carlsbad to downtown. It is close to the resort.

I think you are underestimating how far away it is.  I know someone who lives in Carlsbad that gets an hotel downtown because it's so far away.  The coaster is an hour away.  Then you'll have to take the trolley to get to the convention center from Santa Fe Depot.  Depending on how long you have to wait for a connection, that's another 10-20 minutes.  Factoring the time it takes you to get to the station in Carlsbad, let's just round it off to a 1.5 hour commute each way.  To add to that, the last Coaster heading north leaves at around 7pm.  You'll miss out on all the night time activities unless you find another way home.  That would be an expensive Uber ride.  Yes, there are other ways other than the Coaster to get from downtown to Carlsbad on public transit, but those ways take much longer.

Offline Iris

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Re: SDCC 2020 Hotel Discussion
« Reply #141 on: January 19, 2020, 07:45:09 PM »
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I think you are underestimating how far away it is.  I know someone who lives in Carlsbad that gets an hotel downtown because it's so far away.  The coaster is an hour away.  Then you'll have to take the trolley to get to the convention center from Santa Fe Depot.  Depending on how long you have to wait for a connection, that's another 10-20 minutes.  Factoring the time it takes you to get to the station in Carlsbad, let's just round it off to a 1.5 hour commute each way.  To add to that, the last Coaster heading north leaves at around 7pm.  You'll miss out on all the night time activities unless you find another way home.  That would be an expensive Uber ride.  Yes, there are other ways other than the Coaster to get from downtown to Carlsbad on public transit, but those ways take much longer.

Can confirm, I live in Carlsbad at the moment (probably moving further south soon) and I get a downtown hotel every year for the con even though I have more than enough room for my friends to stay with me. If I weren't interested in anything but going casually, I might stay at home but I want to do a ton of stuff downtown specifically and camp out too.

There's nothing wrong with staying further away, but there's unlikely to be too many people who would join you, if you're looking to share honestly.
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Offline dcole

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Re: SDCC 2020 Hotel Discussion
« Reply #142 on: January 19, 2020, 08:03:09 PM »
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I think you are underestimating how far away it is.  I know someone who lives in Carlsbad that gets an hotel downtown because it's so far away.  The coaster is an hour away.  Then you'll have to take the trolley to get to the convention center from Santa Fe Depot.  Depending on how long you have to wait for a connection, that's another 10-20 minutes.  Factoring the time it takes you to get to the station in Carlsbad, let's just round it off to a 1.5 hour commute each way.  To add to that, the last Coaster heading north leaves at around 7pm.  You'll miss out on all the night time activities unless you find another way home.  That would be an expensive Uber ride.  Yes, there are other ways other than the Coaster to get from downtown to Carlsbad on public transit, but those ways take much longer.
Indeed. I live in San Marcos and if I don’t get downtown parking, then I’ll park along the trolley line.

Of course, I still keep trying for a downtown hotel in hotelpocolypse to avoid that drive home each night. One of these days... 😬

Offline waltbionik

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Re: SDCC 2020 Hotel Discussion
« Reply #143 on: January 20, 2020, 06:29:01 PM »
Any word on when Early Bird hotels will be offered. I don't think I'm gonna do the lottery this year. I can no longer take the stress and "not knowing."

Offline kihou

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Re: SDCC 2020 Hotel Discussion
« Reply #144 on: January 21, 2020, 08:57:38 AM »
I have no idea if this is a glitch, but if anyone is staying longer than a week, try going to the Hilton site for Hilton Bayfront.  I was just able to book our two rooms for $270 a night each for July 18-28!  I am so excited I'm shaking!  I'm traveling with my (divorced) parents, a friend, and our (will be) 18 month old so securing the room close by is such a relief.  Hopefully they don't cancel on me or something @_@

Offline DaveG

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Re: SDCC 2020 Hotel Discussion
« Reply #145 on: January 21, 2020, 09:27:56 AM »
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I have no idea if this is a glitch, but if anyone is staying longer than a week, try going to the Hilton site for Hilton Bayfront.  I was just able to book our two rooms for $270 a night each for July 18-28!  I am so excited I'm shaking!  I'm traveling with my (divorced) parents, a friend, and our (will be) 18 month old so securing the room close by is such a relief.  Hopefully they don't cancel on me or something @_@

Good find.  I hope it works out.  I was able to do something similar at the Manchester Hyatt several years ago.  That prompted a run on rooms.  They closed the loophole, but did honor any reservations already made.  It worked out great.  On the other end of the scale I did something similar for a different con at an Embassy Suites and they cancelled the reservations citing an unintentional glitch.  At least there I complained and while they didn't reinstate the reservation, they did give me vouchers for two free nights at any Embassy Suites in the future.

Offline kihou

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Re: SDCC 2020 Hotel Discussion
« Reply #146 on: January 21, 2020, 09:39:29 AM »
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Good find.  I hope it works out.  I was able to do something similar at the Manchester Hyatt several years ago.  That prompted a run on rooms.  They closed the loophole, but did honor any reservations already made.  It worked out great.  On the other end of the scale I did something similar for a different con at an Embassy Suites and they cancelled the reservations citing an unintentional glitch.  At least there I complained and while they didn't reinstate the reservation, they did give me vouchers for two free nights at any Embassy Suites in the future.
I did just test it out - it appears that the Saturday (July 18) is key.  If I move it to be Sunday to Tuesday, the price jumps to $787 per room per night!  But for some reason including the Saturday works.  So if anyone can swing going the weekend before, try that out!

When did they let you know about the glitch (like hours, days, weeks after)?  I am nervous about it.  I have a backup hotel from hotels.com that is a bit further out and for more, but is cancellable/refundable.  I may just keep that one until I am in the clear here.  I really just want to avoid doing the hotel lotto for rooms.

Offline sessionka

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Re: SDCC 2020 Hotel Discussion
« Reply #147 on: January 21, 2020, 09:52:27 AM »
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I have no idea if this is a glitch, but if anyone is staying longer than a week, try going to the Hilton site for Hilton Bayfront.  I was just able to book our two rooms for $270 a night each for July 18-28!  I am so excited I'm shaking!  I'm traveling with my (divorced) parents, a friend, and our (will be) 18 month old so securing the room close by is such a relief.  Hopefully they don't cancel on me or something @_@

hmm...

It looks like they'll take the reservation, but when I check for July 18 - 26, they give the following rates for the room I selected

Jul 18 - 21 . - $218/day

Jul 22 - 25   - $402/day

Also, there is a deposit required that is NOT refundable for any reason
« Last Edit: January 21, 2020, 09:57:05 AM by sessionka »
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Offline kihou

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Re: SDCC 2020 Hotel Discussion
« Reply #148 on: January 21, 2020, 09:59:50 AM »
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hmm...

It looks like they'll take the reservation, but when I check for July 18 - 26, they give the following rates for the room I selected

Jul 18 - 21 . - $218/day

Jul 22 - 25   - $402/day

Also, there is a deposit required that is NOT refundable for any reason
Interesting! I think that the price we got must have been an average then (like above).  And good point, there is a deposit.  We decided to go for it but that is a good point that it is non-refundable!  When I checked hotels.com they had similar rates but offered a refundable rate, but it was over the deposit anyway so we decided to go for the non-refundable deposit one.

Offline dcol

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Re: SDCC 2020 Hotel Discussion
« Reply #149 on: January 21, 2020, 10:20:54 AM »
I see much larger pricing. Also, If you don't check in on the arrival date you lose your room and the deposit.