Most gamer friendly hotel in Indy during Gen Con?

[Ghostwind]

So now that this year's Gen Con is done, it's time to start thinking about next year. Next year I plan to stay in a downtown hotel again rather than clear out on the north side 30 minutes away. In your opinion, which hotel downtown offers the best value for the price and is the most gamer friendly? In previous years, I've stayed at the Marriot, Westin, and Hyatt and found them all lacking in one thing or another.

Your thoughts?

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Well, it was my first GenCon, so take this for what it's worth...

The Westin (where I stayed) seemed pretty ambivalent. They were getting a lot of 'official' spillover from the convention center, but they didn't seem to do anything out of the ordinary for the gamer crowd. Plus they had some other problems. It was very convenient, though -- it was a matter of a few minutes to go from my room to anywhere in the convention center. The amenties were lacking as well, although the bed *was* nice and comfortable.

The Hyatt seemed the most gamer friendly -- nice big tables set out for gamers, jugs of water and plastic cups to drink from, the Subway and McDonalds downstairs kept longer hours (or longer than I would have expected, anyway -- don't know what they normally do).

Embassy Suites seemed ok, and tolerant of extra-curricular activities. I was only there briefly for Canadiana and a game at Old One's suite, so I don't know if they did anything special. I don't think they had as much room as the Hyatt, so laying out lots of tables and such probably wouldn't happen.

Given one year's experience, I will probably try and stay at the Hyatt next year.

 

[yangnome]

I didn't have any problems with Embassy this year. Having the suite was nice for both gaming purposes and letting us spread out in the room. The free breakfast was very good--too bad I slept through it on most days.

 

[Psion]

I hate to advertise lest rooms fill up, but the Embassy has always been my favorite.

Plenty of tables in the lobby for pick up games and casual conversation.

Nice suites for mini parties. With Fridges for food & other chillables.

Complimentary breakfast and manager reception -- load up with protein in the morning to keep you going through the day.

Not as conveniently located as the Westin, Marriot, and Hyatt, but once you figure out the quickest way there from the convention center is to walk through the Hyatt, the walk's pretty tolerable. (I did stay at the marriot 2 years ago and the location was great, but I'd still rather the embassy.)

 

[Jdvn1]

In previous years, I've stayed at the Marriot, Westin, and Hyatt and found them all lacking in one thing or another.

What were they each lacking in?

 

[Hand of Evil]

As this year the rain fell and fell hard I will always stay in a hotel that has a direct skywalk connection.

 

[hexgrid]

I hate to advertise lest rooms fill up, but the Embassy has always been my favorite.

I like everything about the Embassy except the elevator situation. They're annoying slow and crowded when it's busy, and you don't even have the option of taking stairs instead.

 

[Vrecknidj]

I didn't find the Radisson particularly good or bad. It's a little bit of a walk, and some other folks I know had some AC problems (minor ones). I had an AWESOME view out my window, and that's worth at least something.

But, the hotel wasn't particularly gamer friendly, and I was not at all happy about the restaurant options in the hotel ($15 for breakfast? I don't think so).

Dave

 

[Ghendar]

Stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, located almost right next to the huge war monument/monolith. Very cool btw, if you didn't see it.

Hotel was good. Walk was manageable. Rain was a problem though. Free coffee every morning and for someone like me who is used to Dunkin Donuts (None in Indy apparently) that was a nice perk. We had a two room suite. Plenty of room, AC worked well. Plenty of food (bbq, pizza+, Quiznos, chocolate, etc) nearby, CVS nearby, Borders nearby

Not bad over all. Pretty happy with it.

 

[Old One]

I stayed at the Embassy Suites and echo everything already said about it...

The suite was great for the Wed. PM Canadiana party, Rel's Thursday night Sky Galleons game and my Friday AM Grim Tales/Mythic Heroes game.

The big breakfast was nice...I managed to hit it about every morning and didn't really have a need to eat lunch, which helped keep food costs down. They definitely lost money on me with the evening manager's reception. Free booze...even if bottom shelf free booze...is pretty nice.

The atrium area was always very active with all manner of pick-up games, yet it never seemed too crowded.

The elevators did suck, badly.

That said...I really liked the Hyatt set-up, with nice large tables on both the lower level and balcony. Lots of food places within jumping distance and a good place to "see" other ENWorlders wandering through.

~ OO