Hotel Help

angelsong21

I'm getting a bit lost on hotel stuff and wondered what your recommendations are. 

- What's the average room rate you found when you were checking out different places?

- If your room rates were $129 or a bit higher, were your guests okay with the price or did they prefer a more "budget" hotel ($79-99 per night)? (Trying to decide if people would usually rather pay a bit more for better service and location or if they prefer budget and proximity)

- How far were your guests willing to travel to their hotel?  5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes?

- What hotel did you end up blocking and how did your guests like it? 

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Holiday Inn Express is definitely not happening at this point.  Got a quote from Marriott at Shops of Legacy and it's $149/night + $12.50/day self-park free (seriously, a self-parking fee in the 'burbs?).  They seem to have awesome customer service though, great rooms, and great food (including evening appetizers and drinks).  Also has the bonus of being in the Shops of Legacy to entertain the guests while not at WR stuff.  Our venue is in Plano off 75 & Spring Creek.

juliebug1997

We got $99 at the Doubletree Campbell Center and you could park for free.  We were no more than 15 minutes from the church and 8 minutes from our reception site.  Everyone seemed extremely happy with the rate and the hotel. 

FebDallasBride

I don't think I am much help on this considering the only hotel we blocked was our reception site, but from my experience with my cousin's wedding in Austin....

Her hotels were a La Quinta and a Holiday Inn Express. Both were priced competitively - about $99/night, and were 10 minutes or so from the church/reception site.

I'd block off the Marriott and see if you can find something on a lower tier for anyone who may be looking for something more budget-friendly (La Quinta, and a few others, have a good hot breakfast and not just continental)

prlmrg08

I am planning a wedding for a friend at the moment and we just booked a block of rooms at the Courtyard Marriott Cityview in Fort Worth for $85 a night for choice of double queen room or king room. 

aeliza06

Have you look at Marriott Courtyard in the shops at Fairview (in Allen). There is a ton to do there including movie theater, bowling, and lots of shopping. They quoted us at 99$ a night (when we were first having our venue in Fairview). That might be too far for you and your guests though. 

Nylo Plano is also very close to shops at legacy and usually offer rooms at 75-100$ a night. It is very modern and fun for a budget price. 

We just agreed on an budget price (89$ pn) and are leaving it to our guests if that is not budget enough for them. Our hotel requires $17 for valet/day- but it is downtown- there will be charges for parking no matter what.

MarieSD

I blocked rooms at $119/night at the HIE in Fort Worth (with free parking and free shuttle) and $129 at the Embassy Suites in FW (plus $$ for parking). All rooms in my block sold out at the HIE. Nobody booked at the Embassy Suites.

But, I knew in advance that my group preferred cheaper rooms and a shuttle. Actually, I knew they'd prefer a much cheaper room (around 70-80) but I couldn't find anything nearby for that price. Nobody complained about the cost.

fallbride1109

Our room rate was $129 and no one had a problem paying it. Only 1 couple opted for a different hotel.

courtski2004

We ended up scoring really great rates in Addison at the Spring Hill Suites ($59, including hot breakfast) and Hawthorn Suites ($65, with continental breakfast). The hotel was about 10-15 minutes from the church and less than 5 from our reception venue. I was more worried about people having an easy trip back to the hotel since it would be past dark than I was with the route to the church in daylight. I think anything over 20 minutes is too much for OOT-ers, TBH.

angelsong21

Thanks for all of the input!  FMIL had talked to a few people who preferred a more budget-friendly hotel.  Just having a more difficult time finding something in-between that's in close proximity to the venue.  I couldn't decide if budget tended to be more important or if people usually preferred a nicer room in an area with more things to do.  I think 20 minutes max is about as far as I'd be willing to travel myself -- just wanted to make sure that was considered reasonable to others as well.

Has anyone had an experience with Homewood Suites?  They have a contracted rate with our venue for $89/night.  Might go up and check them out this weekend.  It's either that, a La Quinta in Allen, or the Hilton Garden Inn in Richardson.

professorscience

We did $89/night at the Doubletree, and MIL blocked rooms at Palomar for (I think) $199/night.  Mostly her friends and BIL/SIL stayed there.

Your wedding is in the Plano area, right?  I know there are lots of Hampton Inns up there.  And as aeliza said, NYLO would be nice.

courtski2004

I stayed at a Homewood Suites in Kansas City, MO a few years ago and remember that it was nice. I tend to prefer a 'suite' if I am staying anywhere for more than a day--that extra room is nice to have. If you have a lot of OOT guests  in town that know eachother it would be nice to have a sitting area separate from the bedroom to hang out in.

aeliza06

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_texas-dallas-ft-worth_hotel?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:102Discussion:5e6dc67e-7a5d-4423-9582-8cceeeda58a2Post:106de0c1-a64c-4076-9af8-6d6c4e53d462">Re: Hotel Help</a>:
[QUOTE]Thanks for all of the input!  FMIL had talked to a few people who preferred a more budget-friendly hotel.  Just having a more difficult time finding something in-between that's in close proximity to the venue.  I couldn't decide if budget tended to be more important or if people usually preferred a nicer room in an area with more things to do.  I think 20 minutes max is about as far as I'd be willing to travel myself -- just wanted to make sure that was considered reasonable to others as well. Has anyone had an experience with Homewood Suites?  They have a contracted rate with our venue for $89/night.  Might go up and check them out this weekend.  It's either that, a La Quinta in Allen, or the Hilton Garden Inn in Richardson.
Posted by angelsong21[/QUOTE]
I usually stay in a Homewood Suites when I travel for business to DC. They are pretty nice- and as courtski said, it is nice to have some extra room. The beds at the one in DC were super comfortable and the breakfast wasn't too bad either. 

Jen6862

We did the Homewood Suites by DFW for $129, but the rate was $99 if it was just for the weekend. There suites are really nice for visiting and they have amazing breakfast. We got nothing but compliments on this hotel. They also provided shuttle to the venue (10 minutes away). Most Homewood Suites I've been to our the same--but I would still visit any hotel you are considering. 

FYI, some people stayed at the La Quinta for $89 but they did that themselves, some people booked the $49 Days Inn on their own--and guess what?--they hated it and slept on the floor of peoples rooms at the Homewood because the Days Inn was sooo sketch. I was so embarassed about the extra people at the Homewood because it was so obvious we hadn't booked that many people and they were mooching off of the breakfast and everything!

I would try to get something at the $79 or $89 for people who don't want to pay a lot.

roseofdeborah

I work for Hyatt Hotels..the Hyatt Regency North Dallas is right there. I'm not sure how their hotel works, but mine is a Regency as well and for wedding weekend rates many times they do a $99 rate if you try to work with a sales person wth a block of rooms. I've never seen it over $109. Might be different at this property, but we all tend to work similarly.