Question about rooms in Seattle

[Guest sintid58]

I called tonight to make reservations at the Hilton and was somewhat disapointed to be told that no rooms were available for the BCA convention other than King. They will not allow more than 2 people to stay in one of these rooms and I am planning to take my 14 year old son along and maybe my 20 year old daughter if she has time off from work. I took the available king room for now although I may change to a double queen room at a much higher rate so my kids can go along. My son is nuts about cars as is my daughter (ask the people from the BDE about Robert) and I would hate to leave them at home but also didn't want to pay an extra $60 per night. I could just about get another king room for that. Any idea why there are no family rooms available at Seattle according to the person I made the reservations with there never were any. Thanks

[Centurion]

Sid, I believe that there were initially rooms available with two queen beds.

I'd like to recommend the alternate host hotel to you -- the Red Lion. The two hotels are literally right next door, and the Red Lion seems to have a wider variety of rooms available. Some of the meetings during the meet will even be held at this hotel.

Especially for those who plan to arrive Wednesday and did not reserve rooms at the Hilton shortly after they became available, the Red Lion is a better option in terms of room availability at the National Meet rate. (Wednesday is sold out at the Hilton at the National Meet rate.)

Sid, select "Hotels" from the menu here at the National Meet website:

http://www.nwbuicknational.com/

Please let me know if this works out for you. I'll help you in any way that I can.

[Guest sintid58]

I was online last night on the Red Lion website and it said there were no rooms left there that matched my search (2 queens beds for 4 people) so I called the Hilton and could have gotten a room like that there for $149 per night but that ads up to another $120. If we come we will be on a budget so every $ counts and I am thinking of leaving the kids home. I would like to keep them interested in the hobby. I will call the red lion and see what they have.

[Centurion]

Sid, let me know if you do not obtain the room you want at the Red Lion. I'll then talk to the folks who are dealing with the hotels to see whether something can be worked out. Obviously, this would be an issue for other families as well, and it needs to be addressed.

[Guest sintid58]

Thanks Centurion, I was a little surprised when I was told by the hotel that the BCA had no double rooms reserved at all. I will try the Red Lion a little later tonight. Do you know if it is possible they are also full. I did try to register online last night and the self registration said there were no rooms that fit my search there either.

[Centurion]

Sid, when I made my personal reservations at the Hilton early on, I was given a choice of a king room or a double queen. I believe that the double queen rooms were available. If some of those double queen rooms remain available at a higher rate, I think we need to go back to the hotel to persuade them to add them to our room block at the negotiated rate.

I spoke to the chapter director last week, and inquired about opening up the Sheraton Hotel (just beyond the Red Lion) to the meet. The director indicated that there are still plenty of rooms at the Hilton and Red Lion, so I do not believe that the Red Lion is booked up. Again, please let me know what the Red Lion says about the availability of a double queen.

[Centurion]

Sid, I've contacted the hotel committee to request that the Hilton Hotel add some double queen rooms to the BCA's room block. If I learn of any progress in that regard, I'll be sure to let you know.

[Guest sintid58]

I am tempted to keep my King size room I already have at the host hotel and see what happens. I would much rather stay there than away from the action. Maybe if all else fails when the time comes I could persuade them to allow Robert to stay in the room with us or maybe when it gets closer to the actual meet I could swap with someone who doesn't need a double or a double might come open. For now I am just going to keep what I have I think. Hopefully everything will work this year and we can come. I have been in Seattle hundreds of times since 1977 in trucks but you don't get to see much when your driving a 70 foot tractor trailer. My wife and I have always wanted to take a vacation to that area and stop at Lake Coeur D Alene to look around. Right now we are negotiating on the purchase of another car so we have one to drive and it looks good for us to go. We plan on sending registration shortly after the 1st of the year, do you know if there are still spots for the Cruise. Thanks again.

[Centurion]

Yes, Sid, there is still room for the boat cruise and all of the other tours. Really hope that it works out for you to come. Would be great to see you and Tina again.

[Guest imported_Thriller]

I'd have to check my confirmation, but we have a double queen, as well as a cot (or some sort of extra bed) reserved as there are 5 of us. It seems to me though that I got Wednesday at a higher rate.

[Guest my3buicks]

I have a room with 2 queen beds - I will not be attending so if you are interested in my room, it is available - let me know - I have it Wed thru Sat night, I think it's $109 a night

[Guest sintid58]

Thanks to Keith I got the double room at the Hilton. I also canceled the king room I had which according to them was the last room available in the BCA block at this time. It is now available again so anyone wanting a room should call asap. Thanks again Keith.

[Centurion]

Hi Sid, I also learned that the Hilton is at or very near capacity, which explains why you initially had difficulty obtaining a double queen room. The BCA's contract with the hotel called for availability of both king rooms and double queen rooms.

If you're making hotel reservations now, I recommend that you book at the Red Lion. Some of the meetings for the National Meet will actually be held at the Red Lion, and, as noted above, it is directly next door to the Hilton.

[variablepitch]

My wife contacted the Hilton and they only had Saturday night at the BCA rate, so we decided the Red Lion would be where we are staying. They had everything we needed at the BCA rate. We'll be staying there, next to the Hilton. That's fine with us since we are "walkers" anyhow. We'll be in our Lucerne since it will be part of our vacation. I did start our '60 Invicta and drove her around some today. It was a bright sunshiny day here, so I warmed her up and filled her up with gas. We're looking forward to meeting a great collection of Buick people from everywhere! I'm sure it will be a great time for all!

...from the East side of Washington.

LeeB #2204

[Centurion]

Lee, I'm really pleased that it will work out for you to attend!