The Quizbowl Resource Center

To Maryland people or others who know, do you recommend staying in the "official" Marriott hotel for ICT? It looked like there are only a couple other hotels (Best Western and Quality Inn I think) in walking distance of the tourney buildings, though they don't have sparkling reviews. Any thoughts by people in terms of price and convenience to the metro and the tourney site?

As far as walking distance goes, the hotels on Route 1 are going to be the closest to the actual tourney site. The "official" Mariott is actually on the other side of campus entirely. The two hotels you mentioned are going to be the closest. There are some south of campus on Route 1 as well, but are a little bit farther walk. I spent a drunken night in the Quality Inn and had no complaints - though I was drunk at the time so take that with a grain of salt. They seemed generally competent though.

Convenience to the Metro is a give and take, as the closest stops on the Green Line aren't necessarily all the safest. Greenbelt is one stop north on the Green Line and there are several hotels nearby, some of which may or may not offer shuttle service to the Metro Station.

If you have access to a car, I'd suggest also looking in the Beltsville area, as there are several hotels in that area and are a relatively short (10-15 minutes) distance away.

The hotel listed on the NAQT site is literally right on campus, albeit on the other side of said campus from where the tournament is. As far as price goes the special rate that NAQT has negotiated is pretty good, though you might be able to do better in one of the hotels farther away from campus. Actually the Quality Inn is probably a little closer to the buildings where the tournament will be, plus it's closer to "downtown" College Park so you can get food before/after the event more easily. That one is also fine-- I know people who've stayed there with few complaints. Beyond those two, you will probably have to have a car to get to and from the other hotels in College Park.

Unfortunately, the Metro is way the hell out in the boonies relative to ALL of the hotels in CP. Happily, UMD runs a free shuttle service from campus to the metro stop, and failing that there are also a few metrobuses that run to/from the station as well. So yes, you WILL be able to get down to DC, you just might not want to hoof it.

Cheers,
Brad

mrsmiley4 wrote:Happily, UMD runs a free shuttle service from campus to the metro stop

Yes, but UMD, in its infinite wisdom, chooses not to run this shuttle bus to campus before noon on the weekends. If you're trying to come into the tournament on Saturday morning, you're hoofing it from the metro station, trying to catch a metrobus from the station, or taking a cab.

mrsmiley4 wrote:The hotel listed on the NAQT site is literally right on campus, albeit on the other side of said campus from where the tournament is. As far as price goes the special rate that NAQT has negotiated is pretty good, though you might be able to do better in one of the hotels farther away from campus. Actually the Quality Inn is probably a little closer to the buildings where the tournament will be, plus it's closer to "downtown" College Park so you can get food before/after the event more easily. That one is also fine-- I know people who've stayed there with few complaints. Beyond those two, you will probably have to have a car to get to and from the other hotels in College Park.

Unfortunately, the Metro is way the hell out in the boonies relative to ALL of the hotels in CP. Happily, UMD runs a free shuttle service from campus to the metro stop, and failing that there are also a few metrobuses that run to/from the station as well. So yes, you WILL be able to get down to DC, you just might not want to hoof it.

Cheers,
Brad

Other advantages of the official hotel are 1) there is a free shuttle from the Metro to the hotel and 2) the hotel is owned by the state of Maryland, so there are no state taxes, which you will have to pay at any other hotel in the area.

If you have other questions about the hotel, feel free to email me at [email protected] .

Joel Gluskin
ICT 2006 Logistics Coordinator

jagluski wrote:Other advantages of the official hotel are 1) there is a free shuttle from the Metro to the hotel and 2) the hotel is owned by the state of Maryland, so there are no state taxes, which you will have to pay at any other hotel in the area.

(1) is a good argument. (2) is not, since those taxes probably get effectively rolled into the cost of each room. It is the same as the difference between advertising a burger for 1.99 (plus tax) and 2.09 (tax included).

Dan Greenstein wrote:

jagluski wrote:Other advantages of the official hotel are 1) there is a free shuttle from the Metro to the hotel and 2) the hotel is owned by the state of Maryland, so there are no state taxes, which you will have to pay at any other hotel in the area.

(1) is a good argument. (2) is not, since those taxes probably get effectively rolled into the cost of each room. It is the same as the difference between advertising a burger for 1.99 (plus tax) and 2.09 (tax included).

(2) is not true...at least among the hotels considered to be the official hotel, this one had the same rate(if not lower) than any other offered to NAQT before taxes were considered