The Hub 5

[jenzo66]

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

[Blackbird]

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!

[jenzo66]

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.

[dragonsanddaffodils]

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]

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!

[dragonsanddaffodils]

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!

[dragonsanddaffodils]

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

[forgiveninasong]

No Hub 5 for me or Shel this time. We're off to London to see Wicked for my birthday, which is the last weekend in October, and we cannot afford to do both. I went to see Wicked last week, and got so hooked, I've decided to go for my birthday. And because London is London, we don't have the funds for both!

[Chelle2009]

Just booked our tickets!

 

xxx

[armitage374]

Booked my ticket (gold, baby ) a couple of months ago. Got a room at the Park this time. Am booking flight July 1st.

 

This is going to be my second hub. The first one was Hub 1.

 

Hopefully I wont sugar crash this time.

 

Oh darn. Just realised that I'll need to watch Series 3 again. (Wails and teeth gnashing).

[timelord81r]

Im holding off on this one, I really want to go to a hub, especially the last one :-( funds stopped tyhat, this one, humm, its on during a busy time at work, so I dont want to try and call in a favour to get it off until I know Im going.

 

Indira Varma is brilliant but all this money for one guest is to much

 

main cast is needed for me, I know its unlikely but naoko please,

 

if this is to be the last hub, they really need to try and get the main cast reunited, would be a shame not to if its the last, which it proberly will be, at least until the american series lifts off

[etmuse]

Well, Massive Events have already said that with the announcement of s4, even with it being international instead of only based in Cardiff, Hub 5 will not be the last one.

 

I do, to be honest, doubt they'll manage to get Naoko back for a while, but we've got the 4 guests we have so far which is a nice start.

[timelord81r]

ok guys can you help, looks like i can get this off, whats the deal with the con hotel? online there are no rooms or rates, do i need to call on the phone? do ME have a discounted price? or are they full? if so what is the nearest hotel within walking distance?

 

thanks

 

R

[Queen_Sindel]

ok guys can you help, looks like i can get this off, whats the deal with the con hotel? online there are no rooms or rates, do i need to call on the phone? do ME have a discounted price? or are they full? if so what is the nearest hotel within walking distance?

 

thanks

 

R

 

Yes, you need to call.

 

All hotel info can be found here: http://www.massiveevents.co.uk/hub5/info.php?venue

 

There is a discounted price of 65 pounds. I haven't seen posts yet that the hotel is sold out, so it's definitely worth to try and ring.

[x_moonshine_x]

I've no idea about the Park Inn, as I can never afford to stay there on con rates (thanks to them wanting you to pay up front and everyone booking early), but the nearest hotels are the IBIS and the new Travelodge that opened a few weeks ago. They're both around the same distance away.

 

Edit: Well, there's your details about the Park Inn then lol ^^^

Edited August 12, 2010 by x_moonshine_x

[timelord81r]

thanks guys, once i get the 100% ill book travelodge, 32.5- a night, looks 5 minutes down the road

 

still hoping for more guests and a dream back to back appearence of naoko just for me (a guy can dream)

[TheAngelicOne]

I want my payday now then I can get my Silver ticket.