Crowne Plaza O'Hare Issues Presented

Last year at G-FEST XV, we were told that the Crowne Plaza O'Hare Hotel would be undergoing remodeling during the year before G-FEST XVI. We were told that it is possible the ballrooms may be reconfigured, etc.

At one of the Godzilla Yahoo! Groups, this was posted (I did some editing to make it more readable):

Hey all. Just wanted to make you aware of some bad things at the hotel this year so you can be ready and/or prepared.

My family got here Tuesday and tried to check in. First of all, they screwed up our room. This was remedied after 3/4 of an hour but that doesn't have too much to do with this post.

But this does.

They have a new policy concerning check-in. Last year they had a policy where they put a $100 dollar hold on your credit card for 'incidentals' for things you may use in your room (phone calls, drinking $8.00 bottles of water, etc). This year their policy is $50 A DAY! This will be a hold on your credit card and money you can't use at the Fest. If you don't use this 'incidental money', it will be held on your card and won't clear for 7-10 days after checkout. So this is (for us) $350 we can't use at the Fest. They never made us aware of this policy until we tried to check in and it was too late for us to do anything about it. [$8.00 for bottled water?! This is amusing since the Tokyo hotel I generally stay at (Hotel Asia Center of Japan) has free bottled water in the lobby. - A.]

Secondly, the hotel is under extreme remodeling -worse than last year. It seems that possibly the 4th floor and maybe the whole 5th is under reconstruction.

AND at least half of the parking lot is off limits for us (it is reserved for the construction people). So when you all get here, you'll probably end up having to park in the parking garage next door which is a far walk to the hotel.

Also, the rooms have 'undergone a beautiful renovation' as the lady at the desk kept telling us. The rooms are now smaller, they have no place to store your clothes (the big armoire-type tv stands are gone). The lady said we can hang our clothes in the closet(!!!) or there are 2 drawers next to our bed to put clothes in. These drawers are part of the bedside tables. Not condusive to clothes storage, bright-desk person. We are in a suite and those rooms have been drastically reduced in size also so be warned suite renters.

That is just a few of the issues here. I really just wanted to warn you all of these issues and especially the new hold policy on your credit cards.

In this day and age where the economy is screwed up, this hold really can screw a lot of people over (like us). The hotel should at least told us of this when reservations were made so we (you) could have saved extra money for it. I mean, we thought we had all this money FOR the Fest but now we are screwed out of $350. I'm glad this is the last year at the Crowne O'Hare. This place has gone downhill since we got here. Every year it is some new Bullsh#t.

I really hope J.D. finds a new place and doesn't subject us to another year of Hell in this place (nothing against you, J.D). This place just sucks. G-Fest needs to find a new home. You've been warned, G-Festers Lets try to have a good Fest despite where we are and lets look forward to someplace new (hopefully) next year.

Kaiju Bros Zero 3

I will be arriving at the Crowne Plaza tomorrow afternoon, so it will be interesting to see what changes there are and if the above complaints actually come to pass.

Most convention-goers don't usually just stay in their rooms. So the size of them shouldn't really be an issue. Unless, you pack in several people in them.

If I can handle the tiny rooms found at Japanese business hotels (one was about the size of my work cubicle), then this should be no problem (at least for me).

I can understand the gripes over the $50/day deposit. I never indulge in the overpriced water and other items. Having that money held is an inconvenience, especially if one finds that special toy in the dealers room.

Many of us complained over the years about the overpriced restaurant food, etc. Maybe it is time for a change. If time permits, perhaps we can scout other hotels in the area for future G-FESTs. But the bottom line is that J. D. Lees has to make the decisions. Your input would be a big help.

NOTE: I forwarded this to the Crowne Plaza O'Hare and invited them to comment or clarify their changes and policies.