Planning for possible SE event in March

Tom Lorenzo is calling the Hampton I indicated to try and get a block of rooms.  It is 

Take it easy and take BP pill....It's not even Turkey Day yet, it will get done on Lane's time line.

One thing that would make activity planning easier is to find out who is coming when, and for how long.  So if you think that you will be making this trip please post here when you would arrive and when you would leave.  That way I know what sort of activities we can get in and how many people will be involved.  Let me know as soon as possible so I can get some ideas out to y'all.

So far I am thinking one day with a cruise to and tours of a couple of local plantations.  I will also poll some friends in local clubs about good drives in the country.  How many of you are interested in Charleston activities such as walking tours and harbor cruises that don't involve our cars?

As for meals, we have an embarrassment or choices here, so that's easy, and two of the dinner locations are already tentatively chosen.

Gentlemen,

I just called the Hampton Inn (contact info. at closing of this msg) and was told that Megan Hart, Group Rates will not be in until tomorrow.  Left her v/m to return my call.

From my research on HHonors website, Lowest Available shows $249/night; but AAA Rate of $236/night.  I will check tomorrow with Megan and see how much they can shave off of this price?

Asked following questions:  how many rooms in property A: 120 rooms; Parking Lot size:  medium size (number of spaces unkown), but if additional parking required they have a grocery store across the street with plenty of spaces (ie. trucks w/ trailers).

I will update everyone tomorrow, after speaking to Megan at property.

Hampton Inn -Mount Pleasant/ Isle of Palms

1104 Isle of Palms Connector, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464

Property phone:  843-856-3900

I am assuming about 12-15 rooms? But, we all know what happens with A$$umptions.  Per Lane's request about arrivals/departures, can we get an idea of how many would want to stay at this property?  Even if they don't discount much?  Appreciate the feedback.

Tom Lorenzo

Holy CRAP!  On the website I saw rates of <$100.  What did I miss?  Thanks for being on top of this, Tom.

Some plans coming together. We've picked Friday and Saturday dinner spots and I have tentative plans for Saturday that include the local Cars and Coffee and then cruise to some local plantations. I still need to know who plans to be here on what days so I know how to distribute activities. Unlike Carlisle, y'all drive the schedule here with arrival and departure times, so please keep me posted.  It will be difficult to firm up any sort of schedule with no idea of when folks arrive and depart.

Damned pricey.  I haven't seen rates like that at Hampton Inns before and we use them almost exclusively.  Must be something big going on for those dates..  The Marriott at Carlisle last time was $139.

Yeah, I was shocked when I verified that the same room you can book today for $97 is $249 in April.  Unfortunately that seems to be normal for springtime in Charleston.  The weekend before is a big activity (Cooper River Bridge Run), but I can find nothing on the chosen weekend that would indicate why the rates are so high.

UPDATE: I think I found out why...

http://www.charlestoncvb.com/e...tart_date=03/01/2016

So...  We can stick with the date we have or try to more it earlier, which means back into March.  We still have time to decide.  I don't think moving it later in April is a viable option due to proximity to Carlisle.  I would rather leave it where it is, but then I'm not getting a hotel room.  What say yee?

Ok, spoke to Megan Hart about hour ago.

The area has a Family Run and Tennis Tournament that weekend.

I would suggest we keep the Hampton Inn- Isle of Palm as our Event HQ and people can book elsewhere, if so desired.  I have looked into the Holiday Inn and other Hilton properties in the area, and ALL are in the same range of $250-$300/night for that weekend.

Here is the Rate that Megan confirmed for me:

1.  Individuals make their own reservations.

2.  AAA or AARP or Senior Rate of $236/night.

3.  Plenty of rooms available as of today.

4.  Plenty of Parking space on property Lot and across the street.

I will confirm my reservations today.  Normally we have 72 hrs before start of reservation to cancel with NO penalty; in case of better rate found at later date.

Can we, please, get an idea of how many who have expressed interest in coming are OK with this plan, and will be reserving at this Hampton Inn?  See previous post with complete contact information for this property.

Thanks.

Tom Lorenzo

Yeah, I kind've swallowed hard when I saw that.

I don't really want to buy the bed, just sleep in it. That'll teach me to shoot off my mouth.

BTW, Kayak or Expedia, etc. have rooms in "the Area Mount Pleasant" for approx. $120-160 range for that weekend.  

Challenge is:  NO idea which property (Motel 6 or the like) they will put you into. Second, the cancellation policies are not "change of plan" friendly; meaning once booked you own that date/location.

Just an FYI.

Tom L.

$250-$300 to run the shower and jiggle the tank handle is over the top but it is what it is.

If you're looking for more modest accommodation, don't forget about Empi's handy Speedy Pop-Top - just $189.95.

Mitch,

I like your thought.

Good old American enterprise!  For those in the group with Class A RVs, they bring to Charleston (towing the Speedy behind of course) and we pay the going "Hospitality Rate" for sleeping and Jiggling (as Alan put it) their handle in the head!

Ok, who is coming with the RV then?  

Tom---any idea of rates for other dates?  $250-$300 is not gonna work for me.

Wyndam in Mt Pleasant is rated 9.2 "Excellent" and it's $175 for April 8, 9 &10.

Jack,

IMHO, it seems like most in the group have shown that the Weekend of April 8-10 seems to work for most.  I hesitate to open a can of worms with changing the date and starting to have people change their mind.

Now, most of the time we should be "mobile" cruising or seeing other places, correct?

So, the Hampton Inn-Charleston AFB 

4701 Saul White Blvd., North Charleston, South Carolina, 29418 (7 miles from downtown) is ONLY $134/night with AARP and AAA.

I will call them this afternoon and see if a Group Rate can be negotiated at this location for that date?

Thanks for the suggestion, Jack.

Tom L.

Of those two I would recommend the Wyndam as North Charleston is not finest of areas.  I checked the Wyndam earlier and thought it was expensive, but if you can get it for $175, that's what I would do.  It's only a couple of years old and is well located.

Jack,

I just looked at the Wyndam Garden at 1330 Stuart Engals Blvd,  Mount Pleasant,  SC and the lowest AAA is $215/night.  Advance Purchase is $195/night.

I found no option for $175/night?

My concern with booking with "Advance Purchase" is always that cancellation or changes are NOT allowed later.

Many thanks, Tom.

I think we're going to have to accept that ~$200 is where we are unless we can get some discounts.  I hope it doesn't prevent folks from coming, but there's not much we can do about it.  Once we hit March Charleston becomes a busy place.

Your Hosts Pam and Lane  ( but I don't think Pam knows about that ..just yet that is :~)

Um....  Yeah, well I live in a gated community that doesn't allow RVs to be parked in driveways or on the street.  Or in yards - I know how y'all think.

Me & my crew playing a gig in Palm Springs earlier this year...

Lane wrote: "Um....  Yeah, well I live in a gated community that doesn't allow RVs to be parked in driveways or on the street.  Or in yards - I know how y'all think."

What?  No "Cousin Eddy" at your place?  

Has anyone looked outside of Mt. Pleasant?  MP is a very nice area off to the East/NE of Charleston, proper.  If you're planning on visiting the Kiawah Concours, THAT's way out beyond John's Island (a nice vacation home/resort island, BTW) to the South of Charleston a bit.  You might look at hotels along RT 17 South of Charleston and I-526, as they might be a bit cheaper.  You could also look out towards Goose Creek and Summerville along I-26, but that's off towards the north.

I just looked on-line at the Hampton Inn on 678 Citadel Haven Dr, Charleston, SC (RT 17 South), for those dates and "booked" a room rate for $192/nite.  Of course, it looks like you're discovering that what you "book" online and what the real rates are may be different.

As you get farther away from Charleston (like south on RT 17), hotels will get scarce unless you look out on the sea islands (John's, Kiawah or even Sullivan's Island, closer to Mt Pleasant) BUT they might get pricey out there.  And if you look at Edisto because it looks close, there's no easy way to get there and the ride down RT 174 takes 45 minutes from RT 17 to the resort town with nothing in between.

The Low Country (Myrtle Beach all the way down to Savannah) is popular that time of the year for tourists seeking warmth, golf and pretty flowers so rooms often get booked at least 6 months in advance.  

Good Room Hunting, guys!

We're looking outside of Mount Pleasant and finding somewhat lower rates unless you go downtown where they're $100 higher (or more).  Details on this to follow...

As for activities, dinners Friday and Saturday are pretty much chosen.  One night we'll be at Bacco, a good Italian restaurant owned by a friend and fellow track day driver.  The other night we will eat at the Wreck of the Richard and Charlene.  Lots of atmosphere, but I warn you that the parking lot is crushed shells and anything but flat.  Be careful in it as some dips could swallow a Speedster.  I'll decide which night at which place shortly.

As for activities, Saturday will start with Cars and Coffee, after which we'll go through Charleston and down to some of the plantations.  Look up Middleton Place and Magnolia Plantation.  Sunday will be a partial day for many, so I'm still working on that one.  I can recommend anyone of a number of things for anyone coming in early and/or leaving after Sunday.  I will probably take a day of vacation and join anyone who is here longer.

Lookin good, Lane!

Lane we can Uber over to the Seashell place.

Pam and I could use her SUV and carry some folks as well.  Parking is tight and the fewer cars, the better.

Ok, so please see the List below of the 11 Properties (in the cluster of hotels mentioned by Lane).  Please use the map feature on say "Kayak.com" to see the location of each within the Bypass 17 corridor East of the bridge, in Mt. Pleasant.

Red Roof Plus   $135

Holiday Inn Xpress  $241

Holiday Inn      $211

Clarion Inn       $120

Sleep Inn         $136

Extended Stay   $126

Quality Inn       $145

Hilton Garden    $249

MainStay Suites  $104

Hampton Inn      $209

Days Inn           $119

There it is, the Cluster within one block or so of each other.

The Shem Creek Inn is within one mile for $269 +; for those looking for upscale ambiance.  

Can we please see if we can reach a consensus of " SOC Central", with others staying in their property of choice?  Once we have a property of interest, I will call them and see what a group rate would look like.  

http://www.kayak.com/hotels/Ch...16-04-10/2guests;map

There we go, a link to the Map referenced in previous post.

This is an excellent location and the prices for some are quite low.  Since the "threshold of pain" appears to be $200 I recommend that we go for the Quality Inn.  What sayeth yee?

...sound of crickets...

I'd vote for Quality Inn.  Let's hear from the rest of you.

Lane---Is that at 196 Patriots Point in Mt Pleasant??

That's the one.

Jack,

I second your vote for Quality Inn.  From pictures of property, and location on map, it looks like more space in rooms and newer property.  Also, by itself away from the cluster of other hotels in the same area.

I haven't looked at the property, but $145 seems a lot better than a hundred bucks a night more.

I looked at the website---Back in the day I wouldn't hold interviews for $150k positions there, but for a Speedster gathering it looks way more than adequate.

Pretty good reviews too.

Their website has $100 and $119 prices.  Contact should be made to see what a group rate might be and we really do need some head count in order to make that inquiry.

Alice and I will attend and Russ and Brenda might also.  That's 4.