Dragoncon help

Hi,
I myself and some of the members from Tampa Bay are going to try and come to Dargoncon in Aug. We could use some helpful info. We will be driving and staying Fri. & Sat. night. we will have to leave Sun. to get back to Fl. for work on Mon. I am currently looking for hotels/motels and staying near the convention hotels. It looks pretty straight forward to get to downtown Atlanta on I-75. If there is any info. you can help us with it would be appreciated. If you are having some sort of a Sat. meeting we would like to meet with you all.
Thanks for any info.
Marie Rankin -aka Sereana Knightstar
Tampabay FF

 

We have always found it best to stay at the convention hotels, if you can afford it. It's also a good idea to share a room with one or more people to help defray the costs.

However, if you do not wish to stay at the Marriott Marquis or the Hyatt Regency, there are other hotels nearby. Unfortunately, I do not know much about them, as I have never been to any other hotels downtown, other than the convention hotels.

Do any other Hothlanta Rebs know anything about the other hotels near the con?

 

It really depends on how long you're willing to drive and such.

Last Dragon*Con, some guys I know stayed right near my place at the Comfort Inn in Union City. It's off exit 64 on I-85.

 

Marie, last year I stayed at a Best Western hotel that was only 4 or 5 blocks from the convention hotels. The price was about half of what you would pay at the Marriott or Hyatt and the walk was not a big deal. As Mandy said if you have 2 or more people sharing a room the expenses are easier to deal with. I also found it alot more quiet away from the main hotels if that is something that you find important. I have trouble sleeping with alot of noise, so that is a big consideration in my planning. I hope this helps.

 

We are coming up from Charleston,SC. Most of us are staying at the Amerisuites Peachtree. I've stayed there for the past 4 years. It is only one block from the hotel. There is two double beds,a sofa or sofa sleeper, kitchen with fridge and microwave, desk, big walk in closet, and a decent continental breakfast. Rates are abuot $99 a night. You can fit 6 people comfortably in these rooms. Website is:http://amerisuites.com
Another option at the same price range is the Best Western at the Peachtrees. Just regular rooms, not suites, but about the same distance.
Days Inn on Spring Street is about 2 blocks away, but a straight shot up Harris and right off the interstate. Rates should be around $100 maybe less if you have AAA. No Breakfast.
The last option for even more budget minded people is the FairField Inn on Cortland. I got a price through Travelocity.com for $77 a night for 4 people. This also includes a breakfast. It is about 4 blocks away. Still walkable, but a little bit of a hike.

DragonCon may have some of these listed as overflow hotels in which case they'll have a shuttle come around.

This is my 7th DragonCon and I've never stayed in the Con Hotel. To me, it's a place to sleep and change my cloths. I can do that just as well for less money. Plus the Hyatt especially has elevator issues. If you don't mind waiting 20 minutes to get to your room, and 20 minutes for an elevator to get down then it is ok.<lol>

One other super budget option would be to check the subway routes and get a hotel on the Permetier and take the train in. It's only like $1.85. Parking garages down town are about $10 a day. We did this last year and our hotel was about $44 a night. But I have to say this was a bit of a pain especially if some of your group want to go home before others.

Hope this helps.
Janet

 

Thank you for all the info. this does help a lot. We are 5 people and plan on renting a mini van and driving on Fri. and have to be abck to work Mon. Keep the info. coming as this will be our first Dragon Con and we may be the ones representing our chapter. I beleive the Amerisuites sounds like the ticket with 2 boys and 3 adults. Since the Mom will be staying in the room and myself, Kevin and the boys going to the con.
Keep any more info. coming and if you have a get together please let us know.
Thanks,
Marie

 

When you get to the Con, go right away to registration. It'll take a while epecially on Fridays. They have gotton better at it, but it's usually a wait.

Luckily there is a food court between the two hotels where you can get decent food at good prices. There are some medium priced sit down places with in walking distance. We usually only eat one big meal at lunch time because no time to eat again<lol> I suggest bringing snacks to munch on back at the hotel, drinks too since you'll have a fridge.

We'll have 3 adult woman, and our daughters ages 9 and 11, both big Star Wars fans. This will be my daughter's 4th DC so she is a vet. I spent the last 4 years working on the Star Wars programming staff so I'm glad to be free to actually enjoy the con and meet up with all the Fan Force members coming from everywhere. It will be a blast!

Janet

 

Too bad you don't have oof from work on Monday, Labor Day.

Saturday and Sunday are HUGE, like 2 Saturdays into the wee hours inf the morning on Monday.

The Star Wars Costume Contest and the Dawn Look-a-Like contest are on Saturday, but the DC Masquerade isn't until Sunday night.

THe last few years I've stared at the Quality Inn, a few blocks away fromt he Hyatt, but They charge like 10 bucks a day for parking. So this year I'm just staying at a motel near the airport, and I'll drive in and park and a parking lot near the Con.

 

Hi,
We are not leaving until sometime Mon. and I figure it won't be until about 1pm, so we may get to see what goes on then. According to the schedule it looks like things wind down about 1pm. We get as much out of it as we can, but, my friends all have school on Tues. morning, actually so do I, but my class is online and work is not until 9pm Tues. pm. So I am glad I am a night nurse!!!
Thanks,
Marie

 

There's some stuff happening until 5:00 I'll be hitting several tracks so there's always somethign to do.

I can't believe Chase Masterson is appearing in the last slot of the Trek Track.

Plus, the last day is always a good chance to cruise the Dealer's Room looking for bargains.