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| Above, Charlotte was a nice city to hold a convention. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
As I have a few more hours to kill before I head to the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, I thought I'd post a few more photos and add a few thoughts. The Nakajimas left the hotel to head back to Japan about two hours ago.
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| Above, the main entrance to the Blake Hotel. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Bearing in mind that this is the second convention the organizers put on, there are a few bugs that need to be addressed. People learn from experience. I've seen conventions improve over the years with fewer and fewer problems as organizers become more adept.
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Above, the main building of the Blake Hotel. I had a top floor room with a balcony (second from left).
The Nakajimas were in the room next to mine at left. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
There needs to be better communication between organizers and the guests. The guests need to have a printed schedule telling them where to be and at what time. The guests were left in the dark on different events and only found out about them when their helpers found flyers with printed schedules. Things need to be in writing and clearly communicated, especially for Japanese guests.
The V.I.P. room has to be solely for the guests and nobody else. The celebrities had to share the V.I.P. room with R.I.P. people (who paid $200 to be first in line at events, etc.) and had no reliable meals. They were left on their own. What food was there was gobbled up by non-celebrities. The celebrities are there to draw attendees, so it would be self-defeating for them to have to leave the hotel for a meal.
These are the main problems that immediately come to mind, which is a good thing since this is a young convention.
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| Above, the massive dealers room. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
As for the Blake Hotel, I was pleased with my room with a big balcony. I was in the original building and only the top (the 14th floor) had balconies. Unfortunately, despite advertising to the contrary, there were no coffee makers in the rooms. The hotel restaurant was only open for breakfast. The only other eating place was the bar with maybe ten food items to choose from. The prices were about the same as other hotels (a bit pricey). The maids started knocking on doors (or just entered) starting at eight in the morning. That is too early. There are no racks for towels in the bathrooms. It was annoying to try to find some place to put them. Some people complained of mildew or musty odors in their rooms.
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| Above, NASCAR headquarters view from my balcony. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
The ballrooms and other convention facilities were massive. There was plenty of room. In general, the hotel staff were very helpful and courteous.
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| Above, the backside of the distinctive stiff (staff) t-shirt worn by the volunteers. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
