2013 Worlds Tickets info

[4rkidz]

We're looking for an Hotel and I would like to know where did you book ? Thank you so much!

Country Inn on baseline..there are a few of us there but seems that they might be full now - but likely worth being on a waiting list?

[CoyoteChris]

Does Country Inn have a waiting list? I am still on the list for rooms at the Residence Inn by Marriot. Quality Inn Suites has a list and they will call you when they open the rooms up. I think the Day's Inn on Wellington one has to call them when they open up the rooms.....The North/South buss routes look like they could get busy!!!!

[Vash01]

I don't have a problem with Omaha for the US nationals or with London for worlds. I have not been to either city and would love to visit them for a majpr FS championship. I don't feel that these opportunities to host should be reserved for only glamorous cities.

[bluestocking]

I booked with Maritime Travel and they put us in the Windermere Manor hotel, which is on/near the campus of the Univ of Western Ontario. We've been told that SkateCanada is providing bus transfers to the venue, because parking is going to be "scarce."

I've never been to London so this is all new to me.

[CoyoteChris]

Scored a room! (I think) After four hours, here is what I found out.
The country inn, the holiday inn, the London hotel, the Best western lamplighter and the four points sheridan are all full. Quality suites and days inn arent taking reservations yet but are being bombarded with requests.
Quality Inn will put you on a list and call you when the rooms are released. Days inn wont.
HOWEVER, The Residence inn by Marriott only five blocks away is taking order numbers. Mine is in the 50s. If you give them a credit card number, you then will be automatically confirmed when they go through the numbers in march. Rooms will be $159 to $179.

....

Update March 3rd. I called the Residence Inn by Marriott and there seems to have been some sort of mistake. Instead of having a waiting list for rooms when they open up their reservations, as they told people on Feb. 14th, they now say that they are full and the waiting list is to fill cancelations only. At this point, it seems the only options are to stay four miles south on Wellington and take the bus or a cab.

[professordeb]

For those going and not finding any hotel, has anyone considered bed & breakfast? I stayed at a lovely place a couple of years ago and mostly enjoyed my stay. Healthy, filling breakfast every morning helped set the tone for the day.

[sharpblade]

The city of Woodstock is about 30 min. east of London and has plenty of hotels. All are just off Highway 401...take Norwich St. exit. There's a Holiday Inn and Suites, Quality Inn, Super 8, Microtel. Ingersoll ( 20 min. east of London ) has a Comfort Inn, Elmhurst Inn etc and all just off the 401 as well. So there are plenty of other options within driving distance of London.

[CoyoteChris]

The city of Woodstock is about 30 min. east of London and has plenty of hotels. All are just off Highway 401...take Norwich St. exit. There's a Holiday Inn and Suites, Quality Inn, Super 8, Microtel. Ingersoll ( 20 min. east of London ) has a Comfort Inn, Elmhurst Inn etc and all just off the 401 as well. So there are plenty of other options within driving distance of London.

Thats fine if you have a car but please be very careful when you check on parking....a little birdy told me that there isnt nearly enough. You could park at White Oaks mall and ride the bus as one option, or another lot, for instance.

I just booked at the Motel 6, which is one of the bigger ones, near the Mall.
It costs $60 Can a night plus Canadian taxes. For that kind of money, I can take a limo, a cab or the #13 bus (Wellington). Most major hotels are double or tripple that. It is possible that I can find a better place, but many in this area are full already, like the Four Points and the London suites.

As we get closer, I am wondering if we should set up a post on getting together and combining transportation. There is nothing wrong with the bus except the mass transit system may not realize just how many people from the 10 hotels in this area of the mall want to ride at once. I wouldnt mind sharing a cab with one, two or three others or giving someone $10 or ? to ride with them in their car to the arena area.

Here is an interesting factoid. The Hilton near the JLC has I think about 350 rooms. That's not enough to cover the Japanese team, their media, and the Japanese fans, for instance, so there are many in the same boat as we are who didnt get close rooms....

Hopefully, London will have a skatin' shuttle to the mall area. But if not, The people at the bus service seem very nice and I have requested a guide to the buss and informed them that if there isnt a fan shuttle, they might consider running more buses, like Spokane did for their nats.

[heinz]

I mentioned this a while ago on the thread, but in case it was missed- for those with vehicles, the City of St. Thomas is about 20 minutes south of London and also has hotels and bed and breakfasts.

[CoyoteChris]

I mentioned this a while ago on the thread, but in case it was missed- for those with vehicles, the City of St. Thomas is about 20 minutes south of London and also has hotels and bed and breakfasts.

I think those outlying towns are a good choice instead of fighting with the rest of us for rooms if you have a car. Besides the mall lot, there is a major hospital lot where you could park and take the shuttle/mass transit buss.
Maybe my little birdie friend is wrong about parking near JLC, but I have seen lots of odd things at skating events....sometimes, large blocks of parking are allocated to skating officials, teams, etc and what's left is priced very high.
One never knows....

BTW, the Motel 6 website is not showing that the rooms are available yet.
But if you call the Motel 6, as well as possibley others, their computers will show the rooms are available.

[Alixana]

Besides the mall lot, there is a major hospital lot where you could park and take the shuttle/mass transit buss.

Please don't count on parking at the hospital lots on Wellington & Commissioners. One hospital's parking lot is under construction, and the other barely has enough parking for patients. I'm there with family at the cancer center 1-2 times a week. I have to drop them off and park a 10 min walk away. Best bet is to arrange for parking at the hotel and take the bus or share a limo/cab.

[skipaway]

Please don't count on parking at the hospital lots on Wellington & Commissioners. One hospital's parking lot is under construction, and the other barely has enough parking for patients. I'm there with family at the cancer center 1-2 times a week. I have to drop them off and park a 10 min walk away. Best bet is to arrange for parking at the hotel and take the bus or share a limo/cab.

Does not the Labatt Center have adequate parking for events?

[Alixana]

Does not the Labatt Center have adequate parking for events?

It has limited parking of its own and depends on parking in city lots.

[CoyoteChris]

It has limited parking of its own and depends on parking in city lots.

Thanks, Alixana...."walking" around the arena using google street view I was wondering about that.....has there been anything in your local paper about the main event hotel? Maybe the Hilton?

(Just talked with the Downtown Holiday inn express...they have no waiting list for their 109 rooms but they said to call back in Feb and they would know about any cancellations then.)
I would appear with coversations with hotels that certain entities like tour groups are able to tie up large blocks of rooms and then release them at the last minute.

Just talked with the Delta London arms. They and the Hilton are the host hotels. They have a waiting list (I am number 30) but being a host hotel the odds are slim I can get in and I wont know till Feb. They have 246 rooms and their rate is 159 plus HST

[victorskid]

FYI tour groups were required to confirm (and pay for) their tickets before the all event tickets went on sale to the public. This is why the omnipresent DASH ads referred to the date of February 2nd. I would presume that would mean they would know their hotel requirements by now too.

What may not yet be known would be the room requirements for competitors, coaches, judges and other officials as well as press/media. These could change closer to the event as it becomes clear who will be competing.

[CoyoteChris]

^That makes sense. Residence Inn is telling folks they will be calling the "list" about April, but since Delta deals more with the competitors, etc, they wouldnt know till much later.
Chris hoping for a shuttle from White Oaks Mall.

[kiss-n-cry]

It is my understanding that there will be shuttle bus service from the hotels that are out a bit from downtown (in the vicinity of Wellingon Rd. and Exeter Rd.), i.e. the Four Points Sheraton, Hampton Inn, etc. The Dash Tours site states that their hotel reservations include shuttle bus service, so I figured there must be something planned. I have also submitted some general questions to Skate Canada via e-mail and was told that they are indeed making shuttle bus arrangements and will have info available closer to the event. Even if they don't stop at every hotel, the shuttles might be accessible through parking near, or walking to, the closest one.

[peibeck]

FYI tour groups were required to confirm (and pay for) their tickets before the all event tickets went on sale to the public. This is why the omnipresent DASH ads referred to the date of February 2nd. I would presume that would mean they would know their hotel requirements by now too.

I once used Dash Tours for Worlds when I decided to go just a few weeks before the event. I'm sure this tour group (and others) aren't releasing any extra hotel rooms early, especially since gauranteeing a room is part of their high price and they know rooms will be scarce.

It is my understanding that there will be shuttle bus service from the hotels that are out a bit from downtown (in the vicinity of Wellingon Rd. and Exeter Rd.), i.e. the Four Points Sheraton, Hampton Inn, etc. The Dash Tours site states that their hotel reservations include shuttle bus service, so I figured there must be something planned. I have also submitted some general questions to Skate Canada via e-mail and was told that they are indeed making shuttle bus arrangements and will have info available closer to the event. Even if they don't stop at every hotel, the shuttles might be accessible through parking near, or walking to, the closest one.

The shuttle might just be for be for the people with the Dash tour. It would be best to try and find out, rather than just assume Skate Canada is running the shuttle and that everyone will be able to buy a ticket to use it. Hopefully it is the latter, but I do know some tours have shuttle service just for their customers.

[JasperBoy]

The shuttle bus mentioned in the DASH ads is just for members of the tour. At GPF in QC there were 2 buses available for tour members, and at Cdn Nats there was a van.

There may be other shuttles available for hotel guests who are not part of DASH tours, however. Whether they are laid on by the hotels or SC, I couldn't guess. Although I can't see SC spending money like that!

A group taxi sounds like the best idea.

[ross_hy]

Another hotel update: The Station Park Inn is taking phone numbers for a waitlist. The Four Points is sold out and not doing a waitlist.