SamuelS

I'm booked for Saturday and Sunday at the Hyatt as I got a much lower rate than the host hotel and it was sold out in any event.

Its possible to attend several events with purchase of the event pass without staying at the host hotel. But staying at the host hotel is a little bit easier from a purely logistical perspective (especially if you plan to "gear up")

I may end up having to cancel, will make final decision tomorrow. I'm also going to Vegas for opening of WSOP on Wednesday so its a bit of a time crunch. Maybe I'll just have to wait til Folsom

jamesteroh

My friend made a backup reservation for $119 a night with the Grabby rate at Hard Rock and we are staying there instead. I figure it will be fun seeing all the porn stars and they will be pretty open to the leather crowd with being the Garrby's host hotel. When I cancelled with Congress Monday she told me they had a very long waiting list

SamuelS

Haha, that's too funny. That will be quite the riot over there. I had no idea it was same weekend...

jamesteroh

It's always the same weekend and usually is at the hard rock. There is some bear event in Chicago this weekend as well at another hotel in the same area

Dieuwer

[........]

samonyc

I wouldn't stay at the Congress Plaza again for any reason, and if, as I heard, IML will be there next year too, I will skip it. It's an awful hotel, and it compromised the experience for me.

Dieuwer

Agreed. It was a much to "cramped" experience: Leather Market spread all over the place in tiny rooms, only two elevators available, no real dining options around, small rooms, etc.
I will only be back if it is at the Hyatt (or Marriott) again.

jamesteroh

I was SO happy my friend and I stayed at Hard Rock and just walked to Congress for the events.

Some friends of our were staying there and said the elevators weren't working in their tower Saturday morning and they were on the 11th floor. I hated how cramped the Leather Market was. I think most of the events were held offsite and there was no bar shuttle this year.

The only shuttle they had to the bar was the recon event at Jackhammer Saturday and that was only one bus that ran hourly. $20 cover and over a half hour wait to get downstairs and it was so packed you couldn't move and really hot temperature wise.

I was told by a friend that is a volunteer at the LAM that it was going back to Congress next year and it will be the last year it's there. Hopefully they get enough complaints they will move it next year.

It was such a bad experience I am not sure if I am going to go next year unless they move venues

samonyc

What I heard was that an oncology conference had eaten up some 30,000 rooms from Chicago's hotel inventory starting Monday night, leaving the Congress Plaza as the largest with block availability through Tuesday. With that leverage, you can see how the hotel could force a two-year deal.

OTOH, I really enjoyed the tapas restaurant a block away at the Blackstone. I might never have ventured that far down Michigan Avenue if not for being stuck at the Congress Plaza.

jamesteroh

I've talked to a couple people that went and the ones that stayed at the Congress said if they go back next year for it, they are staying elsewhere, can't say I blame them if the elevators weren't working and no compensation was offered over it. I don't expect compensation very often, but if I was on the 11th floor and the elevator wasn't working I would be expecting a discount off my bill.

I hated the leather market layout and wouldn't be surprised at all if some vendor's refuse to come back next year or a lot of them demand a decrease in their booth rental space.

We booked a reservation at the Congress and a backup at the Hard Rock with the Grabby Rate, and am so glad we chose the Hard Rock, it was $50 a night less and a lot nicer hotel. I know I won't be staying at the Congress next year and was so turned off by it I may not even go next year and with the exception of 2013 when I couldn't travel due to an injury, I have been to every IML since 2001.