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Walking Reno's Hotels
Aug. 17th, 2008 02:30 amLisa and I went over to the Atlantis and Peppermill Hotels in Reno, to walk around the properties and form our own personal assessment of them as potential sites for a Worldcon.
Before I continue with my opinion, here are some disclaimers:
1. I'm a Friend of the Bid for both bids.
2.Seattle's bid asks me for advice on WSFS issues. Reno's bid has so many experts on the subject that they don't need my assistance. But any group of fans can always ask me for WSFS advice, which I'll freely give until they are sick of hearing from me.
3. I'm chairman of next year's WSFS business meeting. Although it's highly unlikely, there is a very small chance that I could get involved in adjudicating any dispute over the election. Therefore, don't expect me to come out with an absolute endorsement of either site.
There is no perfect Worldcon site, no "Tucker Hotel." Every site is good and bad in different ways. How you should make your decision depends on what things are important to you. I know about some of the things I consider important, and about some of the things people have told me are important to them. You might well be surprised at what other people consider vitally important, and indeed, you might consider their choices trivial or even silly.
This report consists of both my and my wife Lisa's observations. She and I have been known to differ considerably on what we consider critical elements of what makes a good Worldcon site. Although I'm the one with the keyboard, I'm going to try and be fair about expressing Lisa's views, and she has read this before I posted it.
( Now, on to the site visit )
Will this space support a Worldcon? I think so. It is perfect? No. The secondary hotel is a lot further away from the primary hotel than, say, the Anaheim Marriott is from the Anaheim Hilton. And being a casino/resort property, we'll be sharing it with a lot of non-convention attendees. But it does seem to me that we could be pretty comfortable here, especially for those who end up staying in the Atlantis, who will have the opportunity to stay indoors for the entire five days, if that's what they want to do. Those who want to drive their RVs to the con will be able to do so without being told "Park at the airport and take a shuttle" (something someone once told Lisa). People who fly or take the train will have convenient access to the site. It won't be part of an interesting downtown area with lots of things to do within easy walking distance, but I see no fatal flaws in the site, either, especially if there is no other event in the portion of the convention center we aren't using.
Finally, I want to reiterate that I am not speaking officially for anyone or any group. I represent neither the bids nor the administering convention. These are merely my personal observations about the site through the eyes of an experienced Worldcon runner and his wife, who isn't so much a conrunner as a canary in the coal mine who is good at spotting flaws that those of us who run too many conventions may miss.
Before I continue with my opinion, here are some disclaimers:
1. I'm a Friend of the Bid for both bids.
2.Seattle's bid asks me for advice on WSFS issues. Reno's bid has so many experts on the subject that they don't need my assistance. But any group of fans can always ask me for WSFS advice, which I'll freely give until they are sick of hearing from me.
3. I'm chairman of next year's WSFS business meeting. Although it's highly unlikely, there is a very small chance that I could get involved in adjudicating any dispute over the election. Therefore, don't expect me to come out with an absolute endorsement of either site.
There is no perfect Worldcon site, no "Tucker Hotel." Every site is good and bad in different ways. How you should make your decision depends on what things are important to you. I know about some of the things I consider important, and about some of the things people have told me are important to them. You might well be surprised at what other people consider vitally important, and indeed, you might consider their choices trivial or even silly.
This report consists of both my and my wife Lisa's observations. She and I have been known to differ considerably on what we consider critical elements of what makes a good Worldcon site. Although I'm the one with the keyboard, I'm going to try and be fair about expressing Lisa's views, and she has read this before I posted it.
( Now, on to the site visit )
Will this space support a Worldcon? I think so. It is perfect? No. The secondary hotel is a lot further away from the primary hotel than, say, the Anaheim Marriott is from the Anaheim Hilton. And being a casino/resort property, we'll be sharing it with a lot of non-convention attendees. But it does seem to me that we could be pretty comfortable here, especially for those who end up staying in the Atlantis, who will have the opportunity to stay indoors for the entire five days, if that's what they want to do. Those who want to drive their RVs to the con will be able to do so without being told "Park at the airport and take a shuttle" (something someone once told Lisa). People who fly or take the train will have convenient access to the site. It won't be part of an interesting downtown area with lots of things to do within easy walking distance, but I see no fatal flaws in the site, either, especially if there is no other event in the portion of the convention center we aren't using.
Finally, I want to reiterate that I am not speaking officially for anyone or any group. I represent neither the bids nor the administering convention. These are merely my personal observations about the site through the eyes of an experienced Worldcon runner and his wife, who isn't so much a conrunner as a canary in the coal mine who is good at spotting flaws that those of us who run too many conventions may miss.
