RosiePosieDanderfluff Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 Have already cancelled one other event to concentrate on saving for another show and am feeling pretty stupid now. It's not exactly want we wanted to find out. Especially late last night. Did we misunderstand the info SM gave us originally? Might it have been a bit clearer? Have there been some crossed wires somewhere along the way? Guess it'll still all be our fault for being impatient or something... Well, no. I don't think we were being impatient or even unreasonable at all. I just find it difficult to grasp that all of sudden every single room is fully booked on the Saturday night. And yes - it will really **** the rest of us off is if loads of people get their rooms through some other source and proceed to brag about it. This whole thing is a farce and frankly if it goes spam-up, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised. At least we're booked into the hotel next door now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyT Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 I should point out though, that I telephoned the hotel directly. I think some hotels pre-let batch rooms to different agents for them to sell on, so it is quite feasible to maybe find vacancies on an outside website, (although I have already tried a few, including Expedia, Opodo, Trip advisor, amongst others)..I just don't have the time really to trawl through the many websites to see if i can find any vacancies. I've tried and the following have no availability: all Radisson sites www.frommers.com www.laterooms.com www.findlondonhotel.com www.hotelclub.net www.dilos.com www.booking.com www.milesfaster.co.uk www.expedia.co.uk www.hotels.co.uk www.activehotels.com www.all-hotels.com www.opodo.co.uk www.travelocity.co.uk are not listing this hotel beyond 18th November at present, which suggests that maybe in the next week or two they will be listing the another show dates, although I suppose it's moot if they will have any avaiability. http://www.londontoolkit.com/lhr/heathrow_hx.htm seems to have availability for that weekend, but I didn't pursue the booking path very far. The other thing is that booking through an agent might mean that you can't get the convention discount. The other possibility is that if the hotel have pre-let batches of rooms to booking agents, they may get returns nearer the time. But it's far from ideal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosiePosieDanderfluff Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 (edited) http://www.londontoolkit.com/lhr/heathrow_hx.htm seems to have availability for that weekend, but I didn't pursue the booking path very far. The other thing is that booking through an agent might mean that you can't get the convention discount. I tried to get a booking through this site last night Tommy. Unfortunately they demanded full payment up front. Plus I was told that the Saturday night was fully booked, so....*shrugs* Edited May 19, 2007 by RosiePosieDanderfluff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Hi Guys, Just to let you know, I booked into a Travelodge on the M4 (only about 2.5 miles from Heathrow). I had to pay up front but it was only £15.00 a night yesterday, and the one across the way was only £26.00 a night. I don't know how long these prices are valid for, but at least you won't lose an awful lot if everything does go belly up. Or you know, you could even use the room anyway and go to Legoland or something?!!! It's only in Windsor! Hope this helps, Phi xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankslittlemachine Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 (edited) Hello. We phoned the hotel direct (as showmasters told us too!!!) NOT the internet or the radisson edwardian reservation line and we managed all three nights at the reduced rate! Call the hotel NOT anywhere else!! Seriously people, actually read what Showmasters wrote and STOP blaming them for everything, For example they told us too phone the radisson NOT use the internet, i mean come on apart from actually doing everything for you what else do you want? and before people jump down my throat I have purchased 3 gold passes (£1200!) for this event so I have alot of money and time tied up in it! Edited May 20, 2007 by frankslittlemachine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeltz-lass Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Not fussed now, personally - have booked in somewhere cheaper and just as nice... Hello. We phoned the hotel direct (as showmasters told us too!!!) NOT the internet or the radisson edwardian reservation line and we managed all three nights at the reduced rate! Call the hotel NOT anywhere else!! Seriously people, actually read what Showmasters wrote and STOP blaming them for everything, For example they told us too phone the radisson NOT use the internet, i mean come on apart from actually doing everything for you what else do you want? and before people jump down my throat I have purchased 3 gold passes (£1200!) for this event so I have alot of money and time tied up in it! But Strider did phone them direct, as I understand it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankslittlemachine Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Cool, that is totally the main thing See you there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosiePosieDanderfluff Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 (edited) Hello. We phoned the hotel direct (as showmasters told us too!!!) NOT the internet or the radisson edwardian reservation line and we managed all three nights at the reduced rate! Call the hotel NOT anywhere else!! Seriously people, actually read what Showmasters wrote and STOP blaming them for everything, For example they told us too phone the radisson NOT use the internet, i mean come on apart from actually doing everything for you what else do you want? and before people jump down my throat I have purchased 3 gold passes (�1200!) for this event so I have alot of money and time tied up in it! Well, bully for you! If you read Strider's post, you will see that they phoned the hotel directly as I later did, I before I made a decision to book into another hotel. Edited May 20, 2007 by RosiePosieDanderfluff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeltz-lass Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Okay, that's it. I'm not being funny, but my tiny brain can only take so much and this is getting a tad bizarre now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankslittlemachine Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Ok, Ok!!! I'm sensing a wee bit of animousity toward this situation rosie! So all i'm gonna recommended is that when i called i had to speak to the buiness manager to actually get the rate for the nights, the normal guys you speak don't really know about it!!! I'm sorry to have annoyed you Rosie but I was just trying to help others hopefully my advice above will help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosiePosieDanderfluff Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Not animousity, sheer bl**dy frustration at the lack of being properly informed! Without sounding condescending, if we were informed in the bl**dy first place that by speaking to the Business Manager to book the rooms directly would guarantee us a booking, it would have saved us a lot of hassle and me trying to find alterative accommodation at 2am in the morning. As it goes, we've found another hotel cheaper and far nicer than the Radisson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankslittlemachine Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 I'm really glad that you found somewhere else so you don't have to miss out!! And I am in total agreement about the lack of information, we found out about the business manager after pestering the hell out of the front desk staff!! Still, at least were all going!! See you there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeltz-lass Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 ...we found out about the business manager after pestering the hell out of the front desk staff!! Hang on a minute. Am I missing something here? Surely you shouldn't've had to pester anyone to get a room? Good way to conduct business on their behalf. Not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyT Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Without sounding condescending, if we were informed in the bl**dy first place that by speaking to the Business Manager to book the rooms directly would guarantee us a booking, it would have saved us a lot of hassle and me trying to find alterative accommodation at 2am in the morning. As it goes, we've found another hotel cheaper and far nicer than the Radisson. Debit where debit is due If a hotel is offering a discount code for a group/bulk booking, I would expect it to be known to all the booking staff, not something I had to speak to a specific manager to obtain. Certainly I've never had to do that anywhere else for conferences, conventions, weddings etc where such a discount has applied. As for alternative hotels, I'd have to say that for somewhere that was "Best Airport Hotel in the World" in 2004, the Radisson gets quite a kicking on tripadvisor.com... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 (edited) Yes, Rosie you understood correctly..I DID phone the hotel directly, and even told them about the discount thing, but they still said there were no vacancies on the Saturday whatsoever, (Friday and Sunday were available). They then proceeded to offer me rooms at the Park Inn, (I think), but I didn't know anything about this hotel, so left it until I could check it out, (I use Tripadvisor too TommyT ) In the end, we plumped for the Holiday Inn down the road. Again you have to pay up front, so even if rooms DO become available at the Radisson, it won't make any difference as I will still be charged for cancelling..but I have priority club membership for ICH, and got an ok room rate including breakfast, and we can use the free bus service to get to the Radisson and back...(it has a pretty good rating on Tripadvisor too). It's not ideal, I would have preferred to be at the Radisson, just for the convenience, but it's the best of a bad situation for us. Incidentally, Frankslittlemachine...had you already booked rooms at the hotel PRIOR to receving the discount code..and only spoke to the manager to get the code implemented...or did you book rooms after the code was posted on here...and got all 3 nights anyway, despite others being told there were no vacancies? Edited May 20, 2007 by Strider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swan Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 another show will have a special rate at the Radisson Edwardian Hotel where the event in being held. The rates and a codenumber which will need to be used to access this special rate will be announced here in the next couple of days. To be honest... Showmasters made the above statement in February - 3 months ago. There would have been none of this fiasco if they had followed through with their announcement instead of abandoning it. I'm not impressed, and may just not bother to attend if I cannot get a room at the hotel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankslittlemachine Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Hi strider, Yeah I called them on friday afternoon, about 4pm and i didn't have a booking prior to this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ealena Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Hi strider, Yeah I called them on friday afternoon, about 4pm and i didn't have a booking prior to this Aye, same here, though I booked about an hour ago (and completely punished my credit card in the process *g*). If you ring 020 875 963 11 you'll get through to the hotel directly, and there are rooms available for all weekend. The single quoted to me was £60 a night plus VAT, so I'm guessing it'll hit around £69 for those interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyT Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Aye, same here, though I booked about an hour ago (and completely punished my credit card in the process *g*). If you ring 020 875 963 11 you'll get through to the hotel directly, and there are rooms available for all weekend. The single quoted to me was £60 a night plus VAT, so I'm guessing it'll hit around £69 for those interested. £60 + VAT is £70.50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ealena Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 I was almost right. The above being evidence as to why I didn't take Maths beyond GCSE. hehehe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voronwe Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Been out this weekend so didn't catch up with this thread 'til now. AAAAGH! Couldn't get through to book via the hotel and no joy with their internet site , but didn't want to risk waiting any longer so I have booked thru ww.milesfaster.com who have twin rooms there at £101 per night. Thats only £50.50 per head so not too bad and at least we are now booked! See you all there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ealena Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 That's a shame Voronwe - I got straight though, and the lady who took my reservation was so helpful; knew about the code and everything - though she did throw me out when I gave her the code and she said "Is that for the Autographica event?" Um.........no, it's for Ring*Con, but that's what I was told. That said, I'm in a Single Room.....somewhere *g*. All I need now is a meal ticket thingy; if SM are planning to arrange something of the sort with the hotel........otherwise I'll be venturing forth to find meals elsewhere. *grin* I'm so glad I got in there though; it'll save me having to haul things around all day, as I'll just be able to return to my room and dump things etc. etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen_Sindel Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 If the hotel guys are busy, sometimes they will put you through to the central reservation line anyway when you want to make a booking directly with them. I don't know if that has been the case here, but it's happened to me before at other events. That may be an explanation why Strider was told the hotel was fully booked for Saturday night. It may sound odd, but sometimes pestering people at the hotel to not put you through is indeed the only way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Oh well..whatever the reason, there is nothing I can do about it now. At that time, I had no alternative but to book elsewhere, before it got too late for that and I found myself without any accommodation at all...like I said, not happy about it, but there was nothing else I could do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GondorGirl Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 Hello!! I also had problems booking as I phoned the central reservations line and they didn't know anything about it!! And they tried to tell me that I meant Autographica!! So they gave me the hotel's direct number! I booked the room with them (£69 per night) and then I got an confirmation email from them saying that I'd booked a hotel for the 18th of May!!!!! I phoned the hotel and was like what the hell? They were even going to charge my card because I didn't turn up on the 18th!! I was furious!! Particularly considering I booked it at 3:30 on the 18th! Luckily for me they said their buisness manager will phone me on monday to discuss "my options". Frankslittlemachine - I see what your saying about phoning the hotel direct because noone else from Raddisson seems to know what's going on! I think that it's lovely to think that Showmasters could organize EVERYTHING, but I think that at the end of the day, the hotel is a complimentary gesture more than a actual service in which they have expertise. If it was a main part of their service I dare say you could book it direct with them. Oh well, wish me luck for my little chat on monday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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