ConFuzzled Forum
ConFuzzled Forums => Feedback => Topic started by: Nidonocu on August 12, 2011, 19:37:09
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We've announced our new venue, the Barceló Hinckley Island Hotel! Please take a look at our venue pages (http://www.confuzzled.org.uk/premiere/venue/) and let us know your thoughts and any questions in this thread!
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Q: Why are we being forced to discuss this here rather than on LiveJournal? :P
(It seems like great news, disabling comments on posts is just a pet peeve of mine . . .)
Edit: Link text on these forums is also hard to distinguish from regular text. If we can't have an underline, it would be nice if the colour were more distinct.
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Q: Why are we being forced to discuss this here rather than on LiveJournal? :P
(It seems like great news, disabling comments on posts is just a pet peeve of mine . . .)
Edit: Link text on these forums is also hard to distinguish from regular text. If we can't have an underline, it would be nice if the colour were more distinct.
We're trying to encourage people to use the forums! I'll see though if we can't improve the look of links since they are indeed a bit hard to spot.
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I'll see though if we can't improve the look of links since they are indeed a bit hard to spot.
fixed
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Hopefully you could prod them to have vegetarian sausages available for the buffet breakfast, since the one thing I do note from current reviews is the lack of them at the moment.
That, and posting people at the 'crossroads' of the two main corridors to keep it clear and avoid getting clogged with people, is all I can think of to make a good hotel choice better.
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That, and posting people at the 'crossroads' of the two main corridors to keep it clear and avoid getting clogged with people, is all I can think of to make a good hotel choice better.
This would probably be done by the security team, who are constantly patrolling the hotel, though we can't stop people from stopping there at all. It's also important to note that the corridor heading from front to back is much wider than the corridors at the old venue were and so it shouldn't be a huge problem.
Also, the more volunteers we have the easier it will be to keep any possible bottlenecks from clogging up. I'm sure details on how to volunteer will be made available as we get closer to the con so keep an eye out :)
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This would probably be done by the security team, who are constantly patrolling the hotel, though we can't stop people from stopping there at all. It's also important to note that the corridor heading from front to back is much wider than the corridors at the old venue were and so it shouldn't be a huge problem.
Every Con I've been to, and volunteered for, at the Hinckley Island has had this problem. Usually a few minutes before each hour when the indecisive will get to this crossroads, then stop in a huddle with their friends to take out their mini-programs to look to see which event they want to go to and where it is. Then it turns into a narrow roundabout as people go around them... It's worst whenever a big event ends in the Paris Suite, since the majority of people are going to head through the crossroads.
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I could always bring along my parking tickets? Anybody standing still too long is removed pending a fee of several cookies.
Just have to see how things go in the first year, it's hard to plan for everything that might happen.
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I think the new venue looks absolutely fantastic. I can't wait to see it for myself!
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Every Con I've been to, and volunteered for, at the Hinckley Island has had this problem. Usually a few minutes before each hour when the indecisive will get to this crossroads, then stop in a huddle with their friends to take out their mini-programs to look to see which event they want to go to and where it is. Then it turns into a narrow roundabout as people go around them... It's worst whenever a big event ends in the Paris Suite, since the majority of people are going to head through the crossroads.
I'm currently researching and looking in to this problem of making sure flow issues don't occur in the crossroads area. Hopefully we might be able to surprise you!
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I'm currently researching and looking in to this problem of making sure flow issues don't occur in the crossroads area. Hopefully we might be able to surprise you!
Great, it shouldn't need that much more than someone that monitors the cross roads, and politely asks people to move on if they're standing in a huddle. (Rather not have someone shouting 'Move along there! Move Along!' tho) And asking people not to leave all at once after big events in the Paris Suite.
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As long as venue exclusivity really means exclusivity this time, it'll be awesome :D We don't want people walking in on the art auction again...
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I think they were more annoyed than we were ;)
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As long as venue exclusivity really means exclusivity this time, it'll be awesome :D We don't want people walking in on the art auction again...
I had very harsh words with the management during our feedback session regarding the sale of rooms to outside guests. This was in breach of contract and also nearly caused a very embaressing moment as they walked into the auction just moments after some adult work had been sold.
My overall impression of my contacts at the Barcelo are of a whole new level of professionalism. They know what is meant by 'exclusivity' and point of fact, it was a very focused topic of negotiations. For reasons I will not devulge, I know from the hotel that they wanted to offer us exclusivity as much as we desired it, so it was a happy meeting ground.
The one thing that does need to be taken into consideration is that the bar and restaurant are public facing and as such, can and will contiue to offer trade. However, agreements are under negotiation regarding the use of our own security team to manage access. The hotel were not objectional to us restricting access, but it needs to be agreed on how to best manage it. However, this should be transparent to our attendees and we will continue to work on this issue in the background.
Regards,
Rizzo
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I was as foreigner tourist on CF in 2011 first time and I was very satysified. I liked the venue, and all there... and I was looked forward for come again in 2015.
Now I will not come (prop.90%)
The new venue is bad choice for me as foreigner
- looks to cold with atmosphere - glass, metal (same mistake like EF did), more luxury but less cosy
- it is far from public transport - when I come to con to foreign country I'd like to see also some cities or travel a little (Visit Coventry will be interesting quite a lot eg). I will flight in and in case of this venue without car all tourist activities will be a problem...
- rent a car is a problem (expensive and I refuse drive on left)
- no choice (without own car) for eating - i need stay in hotel and eat there - and do not know, ahead, about menu and prices in restaurant and bar (there is no info on CF web and also no on hotel page) - do not like if have no choice
- more expensive to stay longer before and after
so I am disappointed and propably will not come...
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I was as foreigner tourist on CF in 2011 first time and I was very satysified. I liked the venue, and all there... and I was looked forward for come again in 2015.
Now I will not come (prop.90%)
The new venue is bad choice for me as foreigner
- looks to cold with atmosphere - glass, metal (same mistake like EF did), more luxury but less cosy
It really isn't a 'cold atmosphere' at all, the rotunda in particular turns into a very nice hub for people sitting down to chat between events.
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Despite the old venue's many good points, it was a little bit Fawlty Towers at times. One morning I joined a table where we were discussing the faults in our respective rooms. The new venue looks much more modern in it's provision for guests and the accomodation seems to be far superior in quality.
We'll see how they cope with several hundred furs in one go :)
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When I was at EF, at one point Kage was in the lift at the same time as me and he was critisising the old hotel, can't get a more ringing endoresement than that XD. I was actually unaware that there were any non-con guests staying in the hotel, that really wasn't on seeing as we were meant to have had it exclusively... though i guess the hotel couldn't resist the extra money. Though I'd have felt just as awkward walking into the auction at that point at they did...
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I was as foreigner tourist on CF in 2011 first time and I was very satysified. I liked the venue, and all there... and I was looked forward for come again in 2015.
Now I will not come (prop.90%)
The new venue is bad choice for me as foreigner
- looks to cold with atmosphere - glass, metal (same mistake like EF did), more luxury but less cosy
- it is far from public transport - when I come to con to foreign country I'd like to see also some cities or travel a little (Visit Coventry will be interesting quite a lot eg). I will flight in and in case of this venue without car all tourist activities will be a problem...
- rent a car is a problem (expensive and I refuse drive on left)
- no choice (without own car) for eating - i need stay in hotel and eat there - and do not know, ahead, about menu and prices in restaurant and bar (there is no info on CF web and also no on hotel page) - do not like if have no choice
- more expensive to stay longer before and after
so I am disappointed and propably will not come...
Hi Greylion,
I wanted to address some of your points for you to hopefully give you some more information
1. The reason that there is currently no information regarding the menu on the website is at this time, it hasnt been agreed with the hotel what will be on offer. The format of how has been settled on but there are currently other items of priority that need to be resolved before we can start to explore menu options further with the hotel.
I can tell you now that they are willing to be rather flexible and will be quite adaptive to our clientel, so I can envisage good things. Having sampled their food on three seperate occassions now, I can assure you and the other attendees that the food quality is infinately better than that of the Britannia and so will certainly be worth the spend this time around. In addition to this information, I can tell you that we will get a consession on some prices at the bar, but what and how much again at this time are not agreed, so this information cannot be made public on the website.
2. Regarding travel, there are plenty of options available to you to get to the Barcelo althought slightly less direct than at the Britannia. The travel page does detail all the local facilities such as airport, train stations, and also highlights that we are investsigating the option of a shuttle service. This is again, not fully agreed yet but is in the final stages of negotiation so very soon hopefully we can confirm this service. This will make life easier for many peopel travelling to the stations.
More information regarding travel is available here: http://www.confuzzled.org.uk/premiere/venue/travel-instructions/
Please note that as more timetables and information becomes available, we will updatae this page for our attendees.
3. Believe it or not, although from a birds eye perspective it looks further out, the distance from the Britannia Country House Hotel to the nearest food outlets, and from the Barcelo to the closest outlet are actually the same, 0.6mi. This is the same walking distance, albeit it looks further out for the Barcelo because of the empltier surroundings.
Britannia: http://bit.ly/nlTQN9
Barcelo: http://bit.ly/qqEatn
The options were better surrounding the Britannia, this is definate, but what we aim to do this year is try to negotiate some partner rates with local businesses in the area to ensure the best price for any take aways etc.. Again, this is information that will become availabel over time, and will eventually be available in your con pack.
4. Unfortunately, we have had to increase our prices marginally based on the increased price and quality of the hotel, this was sadly unavoidable. However, if you are room sharing, this cost for early and late should not be dramatically increased. The most expensive option is that of a single room occupancy.
I hope this has given you some positive feedback and of course if you have any other questions you want to put our way, please do so.
Feel free to DM or email me if you have any other queries you would like help with.
Kind Regards,
Rizzorat
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Venue Liaison
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When I was at EF, at one point Kage was in the lift at the same time as me and he was critisising the old hotel, can't get a more ringing endoresement than that XD. I was actually unaware that there were any non-con guests staying in the hotel, that really wasn't on seeing as we were meant to have had it exclusively... though i guess the hotel couldn't resist the extra money. Though I'd have felt just as awkward walking into the auction at that point at they did...
The issue with outside guests was apparently a head office mistake and the were booked in via another hotel. As sympathetic as we were to this, we still fined them for this breach and it was another negative element to add to the serious issues we encountered with the Britannia this year just gone. That said, it was still a very positive home and very welcoming to the convention. If they had completed the refurbishments on time, which should have been done 2 years prior, it might have been a different story. We shall still look back fondly at our time with them.
:)
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Having been to all the previous ConFuzzleds so far, I can honestly say that the new hotel looks fabulous - a big upgrade on previous years!
Don't get me wrong - I think the previous locations were both great. But this one is something else!
And I'm definitely going to be seeing it for myself next year! To quote Arnie: "I'll be back..."