BRPT '10 Hotel Reviews

[Agnt006]

Hi all, before I start working on hotel blocks for next year's tour, I wanted to give everyone a chance to let me know if they had any problems (besides the hot water issue in Sparta, THAT I am aware of) with the hotels we stayed in this year. I did get a message this morning from the Sales manager at the Ashville hotel saying that we only picked up 5 rooms within our block, even though we had approximately 40+ cars there. If anyone can clue me in as to how that happened, I'd really appreciate it! lol..
At any rate, if you could please let me know what you thought about the hotels, I'd really appreciate some feedback before I sign more contracts.
Thanks!! :victory:

Melissa

[jcauseyfd]

I did get a message this morning from the Sales manager at the Ashville hotel saying that we only picked up 5 rooms within our block, even though we had approximately 40+ cars there.
Probably because you had to actually call the hotel in order to book with the block. And iirc, I had to call back at least one time b/c the first person I talked to didn't know how to book a block. I much prefer to do my stuff on-line, so calling is always a pain.

As far as reviews:

Hampton Inn - excellent, if a bit pricey.
Alleghany Inn - what I expected
Quality Inn - ok, but lots of little problems that would put it on my thumbs down list, especially for the price paid

If BRP is done next year and it is south to north, good luck on finding the hotels. The mileage/stops don't work quite as well in that direction.

[Agnt006]

ok, what happened at the Quality? Because that was the only hotel I DIDNT have a problem with. Do we want the rates lower for next year?
and I've been told that we're sticking with North to South again next year, so could be the same hotels if people had decent experiences. If not, Ill look around more.

[jcauseyfd]

ok, what happened at the Quality?
- room key sort of worked on first trip up to room, then stopped working after that
- missing lightbulb in one of the fixtures
- TV was a blurry mess
- Internet slow
- pool closed too early
- shower leaked all over the place
- stupid square pillows!!!

[Agnt006]

lol.. (@ "stupid square pillows) I just talked to the Sales Manager, she said that they were at full occupancy that night, which probably had something to do with the internet being slow. The rest, I dont know. So we didnt like that hotel? I thought it was pretty nice. :/
Anyone else?

[Sgt Pepper]

My $0.02 worth:

Hampton Inn: Excellent location with quick access to the interstate, good parking, and it was nice having a fridge in the room!

Allegheny Inn: Perhaps the check-in process can be better expedited next time? Other than that and the hot water issue in certain buildings, no problems.

Quality Inn: I didn't really experience any issues to speak of, but I agree with Jeff about the funny square pillows. What was up with that? :blink:

Admittedly, I didn't use the TV's much or attempt to use Wi-Fi except once at the Hampton and a couple times at the Allegheny. I think the Allegheny may be our only option in Sparta for a group our size, I'm good with it again next year. Perhaps we should look at an alternate hotel for Asheville next year?

I'd also like to express my appreciation to Melissa on behalf of the club for all the work she put in arranging the hotel blocks for this year's trip, and then jumping right back in with eagerness to get next year's lined up! Thanks!! :ms_thumbsup:

[eagle65]

I thought the Hampton Inn was exactly what you'd expect. Nice facility and about what I thought we'd have to pay.

Sparta-Other than the registration delays and some issues with our keys, it was OK. I really didn't have the water issue. It was about what I expected for a privately owned motel (not a chain). I think that's probably the only choice if you're staying in Sparta.

Quality Inn-I thought it was OK. Didn't use the pool. Called to make my reservation, no problems. Too tired to notice the shape of the pillows!

Thanks for making all the arrangements.

[slimjimtell]

Quality inn. I called less than 1 week prior to staying and they said all the rooms under TM block were booked. The standard rate was 109.00, they gave me a 99.00 rate over the phone. I negotiated an 89.00 rate when I got to the hotel.

Now, I do A LOT of traveling and stay in usually much nicer hotels than this. but for the price the room was acceptable had no issues at all.

I opted out of dinner on Saturday evening with the group since I was a late entry and only did the sparta to aheville leg, but everyone missed a great opportunity right across the street from the hotel at the very nice mall much like Birkdale Village in Lake Norman. There are great restaraunts...PF Changs, Brixx, Hickory Tavern and there was a great band playing, families enjoying the nice weather and some cold adult beverages within' walking distance. Just a little tip for NEXT BRP 2011.

Great Job putting together the lodging...I know it is always hard to please everyone!

[yaemsiri]

If we do North to South with stop over at Sparta next year, Bob Bamberg, Alleghany County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, mentioned to me that he would like for us to parade through town and he will set up a MINI car show with live music that evening. Also Max and Wendy Haner would like to help with any arrangement in Asheville area.

[Agnt006]

I was telling Mike this evening that I can line things up with Bob in Sparta for our "The Minis are Coming" festivities.. If Max and Wendy have some suggestions for Asheville, I'm all ears.

[maacodale]

Melissa, you did a great job. I know how much of a pain it is doing hotel planning. The only real issue I had at Asheville was that my room cards didn't work. Luckily, I had two, one would work the outside door and the otehr would work the room. Not a big deal, but annoying.

Sparta was almost a disaster for me. I waited for the rush to die down at registration. When I got my room, I noticed the window was open. I looked around and didn't see any others with open windows. When I got inside I saw an air purifier running. A noisy one at that. Then the smell hit me. Not sure what it was, but all I could relate it to was cat wee wee. I quickly put two and two together and figured the window and the freshener were trying to rid the room of the smell. I work in a body shop all day, so smells aren't a big deal. This was. Remember the no vacancy light was on, so there were no other rooms. The lady in the office that night said there was one room that the people hadn't guaranteed yet. Finally at 11 PM they called and canceled. She called my cell phone and gave me that room. I was prepared to drive another 30 miles to a Hampton Inn. Luckily, the room opened up. All was fine after that, but it was worrisome. Other than that it was fine.

I've stayed at worse, so I'm fine with any of them. You pick, I'll reserve! And thanks again.

[Miniboomer]

Melissa,
We only booked for Sparta and Asheville. The Alleghany Inn was adequate as expected from previous visits. I had no problems except for the long check-in wait. It was nice to be able to gather together in the parking lot. We splurged and booked a suite at the Quality Inn. I tried to get credit for the block when I called, but they said it was not the type of room included in the block so they did not give THMMC credit. Loved the room but unfortunately having to be at Biltmore by 7:30 am didn't give us much time to sleep in and enjoy it.

Thanks for all your effort.

[Agnt006]

Thanks everyone!!! Dale, thanks for letting me know about that, I was planning to call the owner today and discuss a few ideas that may make things go smoother next year. In my past experience working in hotels, those guests who arrive first get first priority, especially if the other reservation wasnt even guaranteed. No bueno. Between that, the two hour wait to check in, and the desk lady telling me "These things happen sometimes" when I asked if they were planning to do anything for those guests who had just taken birdbaths in lieu of showers, I am less than impressed. Unfortunately, we have no other options for Sparta, and hey, The town is going to throw a party in our honor, so lets go!! lol..
I'll leave this thread going for another day or so before I start working on contracts. :) Were we ok with the rates overall, or do they need to be lower?

[TWISTER]

I'd like them to be around $90 or less

[Agnt006]

with or without tax? The rates were there this year but I didnt figure in the taxes.

[gregd]

The Hampton was excellent.
The Allegheny, well it is what it is. FWIW, we had plenty of hot water.
Quality Inn was ok.
It is too bad we don't have Hampton Inns available be at all stops.

[Mimzy]

Coming from a Hotel/Motel background, I tend to be a bit critical of places I stay. However, I can honestly say that i slept well at each and every hotel this trip. Hampton Inn, Alleghany and Quality all had excellent beds (and that's a HUGE compliment considering I sleep on temper-pedic at home).
Hampton Inn let-down - they boast being "green" and all things associated with that but use standard, incandescent bulbs? Continental breakfast eggs = powdered garlic mashed potatoes?
Alleghany let-down - check-in time was pathetic - otherwise, cost=what we get.
Quality Inn - our room was pretty moldy in the bathroom - i emailed the gm directly about it.

Next year...if we can garauntee 30+ room blocks - there's no reason Hampton/Quality can't do a $79-85 rate. Especially Quality simply b/c there are so many other choices in Asheville.
Also, I think for a group our size, the meeting/board room would be a great bonus for us to do our raffle/breakfast/gathering.
It would be an idea to consider having an evening dinner catered as well - something simple. If the caterers could get the cost to about $9/person - that is a pretty significant savings over the kind of money spent at the restaurants.

I'd be glad to help in any way I can - you just let me know.

[Agnt006]

I'll do the best I can to get next years rates a little lower, but this year, the lowest I could find in Asheville was the 89 we got (in a decent hotel that is). Under that Im concerned we'll end up with three stops like the Alleghany. That said, we cant really "guarantee" 30+ rooms. We can shoot for it, but the only way to guarantee that many and use that to get the lower rate is to have every room on someones credit card, something I'm totally not willing to do. I'll shop around a little more for next year's trip.
As for being "green", hotels now have a relatively low minimum amount of effort put forth to be entitled to the "green" badge. They can do as little as change their wash habits, put out those "if you're going to use these towels again we wont wash them...", change a few bulbs or even just commit to changing them, and put out recycle bins. Kinda dumb.
In regards to the catered dinner, I'm not opposed to it, but it would cut down on people's ability to say "hey I'm feeling like Mexican tonight instead of the catered thing" without sticking someone else with the bill. And we'll need someone to coordinate it with a caterer. Just a thought.

[Mimzy]

yah, i feel you on that. Heck, so long as we got someone carrying enough beer and wine - all three nights can be an alleghany inn if you ask me!
Keep up the great work!

[jcauseyfd]

If you get some historical data from the first three BRPs, you should be able to make a decent case that we'll fill x number of rooms. When I did the second year, for the Boone hotel I really had to do a lot of playing different properties off against each other to get the rate down to something reasonable.

For the dinner, we actually discussed something as simple as ordering a bunch of pizzas when we got somewhere.

[Agnt006]

I'm not opposed to that at all (the pizza that is) ... I made the mistake this year of asking for the same number of rooms as minis. We requested 45-50 rooms for each hotel, and ended up with 46 minis. What I didnt plan on was so many people doubling up. So looks like next year I'll request 30 from each hotel and we'll be all good.

[TWISTER]

Proposal:

1 welcome dinner Thursday Evening - with normal happenings
Following lunches and dinners a-la-carte

[Agnt006]

lol isnt that what we already do?? Who's in charge here??! ;)

[Cocasteve]

First off - what a great job you did. It was nice not having to search for our own hotels. The first hotel - we did not get the lower rate - we did call after the date - but I liked that the other hotels cutoff date was past the tour reservation cutoff date. The room was fine and loved having the fridge inside. The second night - everyone else has mentioned the check-in and hot h20 - but we actually liked that we all sat outside and talked and drank, etc... that was missing for the most part in the other hotels. Again - we had a terrific time - and let me know if I can help with anything.

[MINIFIED]

Good job on selections, and thanks. And as a participant in BRP1 the hotel selections this year far exceeded those of BRP1. Yes, we paid more for them, but at least we could close our eyes to sleep .. (Alleghany Inn was the same both years, of course)

FWIW, there are a couple of people who did not attend this year who prefer the South to North route (maybe for pre-BRP Dragon purposes) so tho I have read it's planned to be N -> S again next year for accommodation purposes, I just wanted to mention that consideration ..