68 replies to this topic

[Sarahbridget]

reddragon, on Jan 14 2010, 07:49 PM, said:

PlayfulHeartMonkey, on Jan 14 2010, 06:20 PM, said:

showmasters, on Jan 14 2010, 04:05 PM, said:

The Hub 5 will be taking place at the Park Inn Hotel, Northampton on Friday 1st and Sunday 3rd October

Just a quick thank-you to Jason here!

I avoided the Hub 3 as it was at the Hilton and I am not a fan of theirs so I will be back for #4 and #5 now you have moved the convention 'back home!'

I don't know why you say that, I much prefer The Hilton - its nearer for me and the staff are much nicer.

The Hiltpm is closer for me to and i went to the hub 3 when it was ther. I much prefer the park inn as everything is at 1 level (i am a wheelchair user), everything is closer together and easier to get to and i found the staff very helpful. only problem was the lifts which hopefully will be fixed by october (fingers crossed).

[BeatrixKiddo88]

Not being at an event at the Park since Hub 2 I had forgotton how good it was lol


But also forgotten how annoying one lift was lol A problem we cant fault the Hilton on, as they have ALL the lifts lol


Also I know a lot of people had major room card problems on sunday, hopefully the system, and the lifts, are all fine next time.


I'm booked into the Ibis for the next one though, so wont affect me either way.

Edited by BeatrixKiddo88, 13 April 2010 - 11:53 PM.

[etmuse]

I was very lucky in that we were only on the first floor - we only took the lift going up about 3 times the whole weekend, and down once (with luggage).

Hopefully they'll at least have two working lifts by October.

But other than that, I did love being back there. No walking for miles to get places, town centre a couple minutes away, staff that actually seem happy to have the con there...

[TurkFox]

There seemed to be a lot of disabled people on the 7th floor, I kept meeting them when they were waiting for the lift back down. It was alright for me, I could just go down the stairs (even went up them a couple of times for some reason) but it was a bit cruel putting them up there with only one lift working! Silly hotel...

[scoop1107]

etmuse, on Apr 14 2010, 08:54 AM, said:

Hopefully they'll at least have two working lifts by October.

And maybe they won't stop on the 1st floor EVERY time they go up, even without anyone pressing that button.

I was on the sixth floor so I did use the lift where I could, but if there was a queue I just plodded slowly up the stairs. I skipped the auction to get some food and managed to get back to the hotel just as everyone was queueing for the lift so I definately used the stairs then!

[Twoodiegal]

what i don't get is why Birmingham or Northampton.  Hellooo Torchwood, Cardiff, Wales????????

[Blackbird]

Twoodiegal, on Apr 15 2010, 03:20 PM, said:

what i don't get is why Birmingham or Northampton.  Hellooo Torchwood, Cardiff, Wales????????

I would dearly love to go to a Hub in Cardiff!

[Chelle2009]

I think Birmingham seems more feasible than Northampton, it just seems like a very random place! It doesn't bother me where it is though.

xxx

[etmuse]

Birmingham would be okay if the events weren't ACTUALLY held in the middle of nowhere NEAR Birmingham. Having practically nowhere to buy food other than the hotel is a big downside.

[TerraHawk]

It's only 10 minutes walk from International station, which in turn is a hopl over to the airport Burger King etc.

[etmuse]

If you only have say 45 minutes break, 10 minutes walk each way then getting to airport and back has just eaten most of your whole break.

(And when you have a friend who can't necessarily always manage even a 10 minute walk...)

Compared to a 2-3 minute walk into the centre of town, it definitely counts as a hassle to me.

[timecake]

Northampton is definitely more accessible in terms of going to buy food. The nearest food place to the Hilton Metropole in Birmingham is the Subway in the International station which is quite a walk away to get some food.

[angelkitty]

I'm with etmuse here! And I live in (and do rather like) Brum.

Part of my job involves booking hotels for conferences etc, and City Centre ones are very expensive, mainly because they are so perfectly situated. On average, bedrooms start at about £75, and can go up to over £100 (and yes, they are very plus, but still!)

Also there is Birmingham's first 5 star hotel being built, which means that all the other hotels are upgrading in order to compete. And as a lot of them deal with large business conferences, I don't know whether they would be ameanable to the idea of a convention - some of them are very snotty!

I have a feeling that if you asked hotels in Cardiff and then added either Dr Who or Torchwood to the con, the price may well go up, after all, Cardiff is the new spiritual home of one of the most successful sci-fi francise in the UK! They would be utterly daft not to capitalise on it! And that could well be part of the reason!

[Twoodiegal]

it's a shame though that the conventions can't even once take place at the one home of the sci-fi franchise. Think of the income Cardiff would get and 2. There are LOADS of hotels in Cardiff and all within close vacinity of each other. There would not be such a first come first served hotel issue. There is one on St Mary Street for example for £30 a night. PLus some Torchwood actors have a house or flat in Cardiff themselves so it would be easier for some guests to get there whilst still being near their homes.

[DavidB]

ME have very good relationships with the hotels that they've used for a while now, and it's far easier for them to do business with them than it is to search for a different hotel for every convention. It'd be like starting all over again.

[Rhianydd]

I deliver wedding cakes to the majority of hotels in Cardiff, and while I would LOVE conventions to be held there, it is stupidly expensive

You would end up in a hotel on  the outskirts of cardiff and still have to catch lengthy bus journeys in to get to the city centre.  I cannot imagine the hotels in the centre considering being a convention venue.  Similar reason as someone has quoted for the centre of Birmingham hotels.

Most of the city centre hotels in Cardiff are trying to get their star ratings raised, so turning into a convention hotel wouldnt give out the impression they are going for

The only real convention hotel in the centre of cardiff is the Mcdonald holland house, and to be honest, the prices for that are through the roof, they are (I think, but could be wrong) a 4 star+ (cant get any higher as they dont have any grounds)

You could have conventions in hotels like the Village, which is lovely, and very accessible being right by the entry to Junction 32 of the m4, but I think that would be expensive too, and you wouldnt gain anything as you would still need a bus journey into the centre of cardiff, or a 15-20 minute walk into Whitchurch, a tiny Village/suburb of cardiff, with really not that many amenities.

I love Cardiff, but not all flights go into Cardiff airport either, and our car parking is ridiculous.

I spent less money parking in hammersmith london and travelling by tube all day than I did getting into cardiff and spending the day parked up and shopping.

They have upgraded carparks recently with the newly opened St Davids 2, so I am hoping that parking costs will drop loads (they have for the evenings for gigs which is awesome!)

We do have the CIA though (Cardiff International arena) which is right in the centre of Cardiff,  and loads of cheap hotels around it, so that is a possibility, but I would imaine that it is rather expensive to hire, and not really that big when you compare to  Earls court and olympia, and obviously not suitable for an ME event as the hotels are accross the road, so it could be a collectormania style event there  

That said, if SM/ME decided to hold an event in cardiff I would be over the moon

[angelkitty]

DavidB, on Apr 16 2010, 11:56 AM, said:

ME have very good relationships with the hotels that they've used for a while now, and it's far easier for them to do business with them than it is to search for a different hotel for every convention. It'd be like starting all over again.

This! ME has worked hard to build up relationships with the hotels, in the same way that we (at work) do. A convention is not like a 'normal' hotel practice and there are several hotels that would not even entertain the idea of it.

Whereas a business conference generally involves taking over 1 room, with the possibility of a few breakout areas, a con can take over an entire hotel. Sadly I think most of, if not all of the Brum city centre hotels would actually turn a con down, or make it completely impossible financially!

As Rhianydd says above, a lot of hotels in city centres are trying to up their star ratings. As staycations become more popular, it is likely that people will want premium hotel accomodation, plus the better the hotel, the easier it is to attract business clients!

When it comes down to it, I think that ME does the best it can for the con goers.

Besides moving it to Cardiff would be a total pain for those flying in etc, as stated above. And it's an insane city to drive round!

[Rhianydd]

Yup!  Even locals get lost in Cardiff now, cos they have re-routed most of the city centre

Plus, if ANYTHING happens in the city centre, they seem to close off roads which is a nightmare!!!

More one way systems and no entries than I care to mention


That said, I do love Cardiff    How could I not being a local




I love the Park inn in Northampton, easy to get food etc  Friendly feel to the place too

[Blackbird]

There are lots of good points being made about the ins and outs of trying new hotels, and some very informative insights into what's currently going on with the hotels in Cardiff. (Thank you for those, Rhianydd.)

Personally, though, I'll just go on record as saying that as one who must fly from the U.S. to get to any Hub event, and who has made the drive from Heathrow to Cardiff and contended with the traffic and parking issues there, I'm okay with the fact that flights into Cardiff are not always practicable. Everyone's different, of course, but for me, it would be worth it to have a Hub event in Cardiff or somewhere else in Wales, should the opportunity look good to the crew at ME.

As an aside, much as I love the staff and the vibe at the Park in Northampton, getting there is much more vexing for me than getting to any place in Cardiff because the driving directions at a key point never seem to work!

[Rhianydd]

Youre welcome!

Oh no!  I hate getting lost driving anywhere!    Thats not fun!


and I have a ridiculously short few hours to drive compared to a US commute!


Cardiff has loads of plus sides, the Dr Who museum for starters, plus the fact that almost everywhere you go in the centre and in the bay has been in filming at one point or other lol

We always have a giggle when we see hotel locations around south wales used for filming, (like Gwens wedding in torchwood), and even more so when they drove over the drawbridge for Cardiff castle and ended up in Tower Bridge london, or the fact that they show cardiff landscaping with the London Eye somewhere inthe background with Big Ben, - I wish it really was that quick to get from Cardiff to London

I just never seemed to be around when filming was going on though!  

My hubby managed to get photos of David Tennant and Cathering Tate filming outside his office when he worked in Cardiff - Me?  Zip !


Oh and he got a pic of the Tardis on top of Caerphilly castle