Which actors will be attending the 06 fest

[Elmont]

 I've been to Salem more than a few times. It would be a great place for DS Halloween party. Elmont...

[BuzzH]

I could be remembering incorrectly, but I swear that back in the day, the Fest rate for rooms at the Marriott Marquis (a PRIME location) was $99/night.

That was the Festival room rate indeed, which is why I don't think we go there anymore, they were losing money!  It's prime, mid-town real estate near everything!  

[MsCriseyde]

That was the Festival room rate indeed, which is why I don't think we go there anymore, they were losing money!  It's prime, mid-town real estate near everything!  

Midtown and the theatre district have been losing some of their oldest businesses lately due to the real estate market. The Howard Johnson's facing Times Square closed within the past year. Barrymore's will close at the end of the month.

A lot of the hotels near Times Square don't have convention facilities adequate for the DS Fest crowd. The ones that do typically have higher room rates. The going rate for a room at the Marquis right now is around $270. 

[ClaudeNorth]

I've been to Salem more than a few times. It would be a great place for DS Halloween party. Elmont...

Halloween is the most popular time of year in Salem, in terms of tourism.  According to one person I spoke to, people book rooms one year in advance!  I wasn't there in October, but they have something happening every night of the month.

Considering how small Salem is (the tourist area, that is), if there were a DS Halloween event, the fans would more or less own the town for that weekend.

[Nancy]

Midtown and the theatre district have been losing some of their oldest businesses lately due to the real estate market. The Howard Johnson's facing Times Square closed within the past year. Barrymore's will close at the end of the month.

That is the major reason I made the decision to move out of New York City.  After having produced over 100 new play readings and productions, I couldn't afford the rentals for rehearsal space or performance anymore.

I will so miss Barrymore's.  I had many a great time there.

nancy

[Nancy]

A friend of mine who is a travel agent and books the DS' actor flights told me that the Marriott Marquis wasn't thrilled with the DS festivals there only because the fans tended not to use the hotel vendors.  When a hotel gives a big discount to an incoming group, it's with the belief they will also shop at the stores and use the salons there in the hotel.  The Fest crowd didn't do that so there was no benefit to be gained giving a big discount.  Even with a small discount the cost for the hotel would still be out of reach for most people.

Nancy

That was the Festival room rate indeed, which is why I don't think we go there anymore, they were losing money!  It's prime, mid-town real estate near everything!   

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Oops. Except for when we were practically in the middle of nowhere in Tarrytown in '04, my use of any of the hotels' vendors has been negligible at best.    And even that year I made two trips into NYC.

[Janet the Wicked]

Spoke with Old Man Karlen tonight. He will be there. With bells on.

Janet

[MsCriseyde]

Except for when we were practically in the middle of nowhere in Tarrytown in '04, my use of any of the hotels' vendors has been negligible at best.    And even that year I made two trips into NYC.

It was either that or starve.  That is undoubtedly the worst service I have ever seen in any restaurant in my life.

[BuzzH]

It was either that or starve.  That is undoubtedly the worst service I have ever seen in any restaurant in my life.

That hotel in Tarrytown SUCKED from the word go!  The service in the restaurant's and bars was slow and overpriced, the ATM broke *Friday* night so no cashola for the weekend unless you went to the front desk where they gave you attitude, and don't get me started on the Marriot Nazi's!  We ended up eating at a deli down the street and went to Friday's on Saturday night.  The only thing that I *did* like was the pool/hot tub, those I must say were pretty schweet!

I too am sorry to see Barrymore's close!  We had many a drink after seeing shows there!  Ah the memories....

[Nancy]

It was terrible service - very slow.  I liked the Tarrytown Hotel other than the slow restaurant service, early closing hours I thought (if I recall correctly).  If you didn't have access to a car or were not willing to walk a bit, you were out of luck in getting any other kind of food.

nancy

It was either that or starve.  That is undoubtedly the worst service I have ever seen in any restaurant in my life.

[Nancy]

Hopefully there will be new guests or surprise guests to make the 40th memorable.

Nancy

[michael c]

i "day-tripped" it at the 2004 tarrytown fest so i wasn't really reliant on the hotel services but even so i was stunned at the location's lack of convieniences.it was sort of in this depressing office park setting in the middle of nowhere.why was this location ever chosen?

even after the 2003 brooklyn fest i vowed never to shell out the $$$ for the banquet ever again.no "stars" were seated at my table,for some reason i recall the video presentation was canceled and the meal itself was the classic "rubber chicken dinner".hospital food and unless i'm remembering this wrong no wine.

[BuzzH]

i "day-tripped" it at the 2004 tarrytown fest so i wasn't really reliant on the hotel services but even so i was stunned at the location's lack of convieniences.it was sort of in this depressing office park setting in the middle of nowhere.why was this location ever chosen?

Yes it's true, you *did* need a car, which we fortunately had having driven up from New Jersey Friday afternoon.  I think they picked the location because it's where the movies were filmed.  If I'm not mistaken, wasn't there a day trip to Lyndhurst and the cemetary?

even after the 2003 brooklyn fest i vowed never to shell out the $$$ for the banquet ever again.no "stars" were seated at my table,for some reason i recall the video presentation was canceled and the meal itself was the classic "rubber chicken dinner".hospital food and unless i'm remembering this wrong no wine.

I have vowed several times to never do the banquet again, because the food is lousy and the programming, when they have it, isn't usually that big a deal.  Plus they seem to always start late.  But I must say, I did do the banquet in Hollywood, which actually started on time, or close enough, the programming was okay, the raffle was fun even though I didn't win, a friend on mine did and I got the vegatarian meal this time because I too am sick of eating rubberized 'pigeon'!    Get the vegatarian meal, it's not bad actually.  As for stars at my table, I couldn't care less about that, I'd rather sit w/friends.  As long as there's no freaky fans who haven't bathed in 3 days ...LOL! Those ppl are RIPE by Sunday night, LOL!     And we bring our own cocktails...hee-hee!

[Julianka7]

Hopefully there will be new guests or surprise guests to make the 40th memorable.

That would be great