Where to Stay for Races

[April]

Not sure if this is in the right place but since I'm a beginner at "away races", I thought I'd post here. I'm probably doing Around the Bay 2010 and was wondering if there were any preferred hotels near the race, and how far in advance should I be booking. And since I have you on the line, it may be far off, but I'll ask the same about Ottawa. If I'm going to put in months worth of training the last thing I want to do is be left like Mary and Joseph.

[Sandy]

Book ASAP.  Patti can help with ATB and Jane should be able to help with Ottawa.

[patti]

The Sheraton in Hamilton, on their site, is the host hotel and very convenient.  The buses for those relaying pick up right in front and it is around the corner from Copps for the expo and the start and finish lines.
That hotel fills up very quickly don't wait.  I know that Jane, Cathy and Petra have stayed at a different hotel close by so hopefully they will post too.

patti

[April]

I was on the ATB website earlier and the Sheraton is already full.
Has anyone stayed at the other hotels they recommend? Or have you found a hidden gem somewhere near by? Man, look at me, here I am more stressed out about a hotel then the fact that I have never run that distance before. I have total faith in the training program Sandy is setting up for me. Thank you for that.

[Jane]

I was trying to reply but got busy and didn't get it finished.  Yes, it says on the ATB website that The Sheraton is sold out already.  You could try and call them to see if they are taking a waiting list.  I know that last year there were rooms booked by people in Trenton that got cancelled at the last minute.  In the meantime, you could go ahead and book another hotel.  I looked at the Staybridge Suites site and it says that it is all booked up too!  It is the absolute BEST place to stay, but when I looked a few months ago, they had jacked their prices up considerably -- I am talking going from $139 a night to about $189 a night in 2010. 

Last year we stayed at the Crowne Plaza which was a fair bit of a walk, but definitely not as far as we walked in Philly!  The best thing to do would be to book a room asap, as long as you have the cancellation option.  That way, you have it, and if you decide not to go, you just cancel it ahead of time. 

In Ottawa I have always stayed at the Cartier Suites which is about two blocks from the race start.  It is getting a little dated, but the rooms all have kitchens with fridges/stoves, etc and the prices were reasonable.  We went to NCM in 2008 and had to book at the Albert at Bay.  These are all suites as well and are very big, but a good warm up walk from the start.  Probably a couple of kms. 

As I said, the best thing you can do is book a reservation asap.  They can always be cancelled.  Just make a note though, so you don't forget to cancel and end up getting charged for a room you didn't use!

[The Moose1]

In Ottawa, I either stay at a friends, on the Algonquin campus.  Cheap like dirt, full size fridge, kitchen sink, no rowdies.  You can try at U of Ottawa, but I couldn't find the number the last 2 years, and they throw you out early...
Mike