Hi all,
Living here in SoCal I decided to take a drive out to the Fest Hotel for this year, the Burbank Airport Marriott, just to look around and acquaint myself with the neighborhood. I'm glad I did because there are some major things going on there right now.
First of all, for those who are driving, there is MAJOR construction going on at the hotel, and the entrance, which is listed as being on Hollywood Way, is closed. You have to drive around the corner to Thornton Ave and enter the parking area. There are plenty of signs once you drive in, and the parking lot is pretty big, but you will probably have to slog your bags quite a way to get to the registration desk--which is a temporary small desk just inside the building. The lobby itself is for the most part closed, and there is a path you have to follow to get through the construction to the elevators, pool, restaurant, etc. I have no clue where the Fest will be held. They have a separate convention center as well as meeting rooms. The lady at the registration desk said that the lobby should be open by the end of July, so don't know what will be the situation for the Fest. This is not good news for those who have the habit of sitting around in the lobby waiting to greet old friends.
There is only one restaurant in the hotel--the Daily Grill (a national chain). My companion and I had lunch there today and it was quite good. There is also a small area to get coffee and pastries, located right near the restaurant.
The area around the airport is mostly residential, but located at the corner of Thornton and Hollywood Way, across from both the airport and the hotel is a mini-mall where I saw a McDonalds and a few other fast food places. There may be other restaurants there too. I didn't notice.
There were two different, and very obvious, airport shuttle waiting areas, which look to be convenient for those of you who are flying into Burbank (Bob Hope) Airport.
I hope this info is of help to my fellow Fest goers. See you in a few weeks!
Bette