Pinkfest Lodging planning

[Valerie]

Well, an opening night reception at that property is not an option. First, I finally saw a note they had on their listing stating that gatherings were not allowed. Second, the hosts finally responded and reported they are not accepting reservations past August because they will be putting the property up for sale. I'm assuming that's a legit response rather than a veiled rejection of transgender clients.

I'll look for other properties...however, I haven't had a single hint of interest expressed from anyone on this forum, so I'm not particularly hopeful. It is almost 6 months away, so my disappointment may be premature.

[annie]

Thanks for the note. We did have an announcement of this planned for the DLV general mailing which will go out tomorrow, but I'll edit it to make it a more generic note regarding more popularly-priced accommodations.

> I haven't had a single hint of interest expressed from anyone on this
> forum, so I'm not particularly hopeful. It is almost 6 months away, so
> my disappointment may be premature.

Historically, the interest in the Pinkfest event builds up in the months and weeks immediately leading to the event, as in mid to late summer, August and September timeframe, as opposed to the interest in the DLV event which is more consistent over the calendar year.

As to why I'm not personally jumping on this bandwagon, this may sound like a variant of the old "It's not you, it's me" line, but one thing I do enjoy about Pinkfest (and various other events) is to be able to get away, run on my own schedule, and (yes, it's a bit selfish) have my own space and such. LOL, if I'm in someone else's home I always think I'm gonna break something.

Now for Pinkfest specifically, I've found by trial and error that I enjoy it most if I just hold my nose and pay a few more $$$ for a nice midscale (Hampton, HIE, Hilton Garden) downtown hotel which is centrally located and has the typical modern semi-spacious hotel room with the expected amenities which all work as expected. Over the Pinkfest years I've done the older budget hotels with the tiny rooms, flaky heat, low water pressure, and iffy fire protection. I've done the Super-8 out in the toolies, and I've done the "compromise" nicer place in the burbs but within walking distance of the El. I find myself always circling back to the River North Hampton/Hilton/Holiday type of place and enjoying things more there.

I do, however, appreciate your initiative in checking things out. Ginger had very good luck with AirBnB last year, even brought her "landlords" to a couple of Pinkfest functions as you know. Thanks again for doing this.

[annie]

> The Oak Park location looks good and except for long train ride

I actually timed the Green Line ride last year. It was only like 22 minutes from when I left the Clark/Lake station until my foot was on the Oak Park platform. I do admit it seems longer.

> The hosts could not have been better and even gave me a little
> going away present.

Those guys were sweeties! They even followed us up to Big Chicks that night.

> I've been waiting until the first of the month to buy my air fare and
> that is next week already!

I guess I should book mine. I've been holding off too and prices have dropped a bit. I've been checking continuously. As of this minute and second, American is cheapest for me, but Southwest appears to be catching up. I like flying into Midway much better than O'Hare, so I'll probably go with Southwest.

[debbiebrown]

I would be happy to share, would also be happy to have some advice on where to stay, this will be my first ever visit to Chicago.

[annie]

> I would be happy to share, would also be happy to have some advice on where
> to stay, this will be my first ever visit to Chicago.

I can give you all kinds of hotel advice from the perspective of a frequent visitor. If you let me know what type and scale of hotel you are looking for I can make some specific suggestions.

I'm not at all familiar with the B&B scene, however.