Uhhh... the Westin Charlotte is no B hotel. Great property in easy walking distance to many nightspots and restaurants in Uptown Charlotte. Decent bar. Also has good valet parking and a large limited access parking garage. I actually thought they got that part right this year.
I think PCA's primary hangup is their/our continued reliance on the volunteer aspect of Parade. Quite a bit of the planning and coordination is handled by the host region volunteers. It is a great strength of the club overall and I don't see that changing anytime soon. And, I think you need to take a breath before you slam them too much.
That said, I agree with the vast majority of your points. For this amount of time and cost the event should be less convoluted and offer more options for participation.
That all said, I'll be writing checks to wedding caterers and other assorted yahoos that week <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/sad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />
to be honest, i have not checked out that hotel - i did look at the last ones though, and was quite disappointed - hopefully this will be better - however, based on their website, it's still pretty small, so i tend to think that their ability to serve will be limited
they did put many things at the convention center though, so this should help
i'm crossing my fingers - the superior rooms don't look too bad - we may opt for a cute B&B though - once i see the map, and know where the events will be, i'll know where i want to be
we deliberately aren't attending any of the banquets and such, so i want to stay as far away from that as possible, while having easy access to the events we do want to attend
we are only going for 3 days, and only part of those, and am pretty sure we are just going to the concours, doing the gimmick rally, the wine tour, and a margarita party - other than that, we are off touring the countryside on our own
as for the volunteer aspect, while quaint, i find that to be it's fatal flaw, and a remnant of days gone by - hiring professionals would result in a smoother event - i have been nothing but frustrated by the "lowest common denominator" mentality - if i were to rely on volunteers for any of my events, i would have gone belly up a long time ago - i tend to steer clear of charity events for exactly that reason - the organizers seem to fail to allow for people who are smarter than the furniture, and can take care of things on their own
all i am saying is i think they need to think about everyone, and not just do things "the way they have always done it"
as i said, fortunately i have figured out ways around most of the nonsense, and can get in, do the things i want to do, and get out, without getting caught up in the meal ticket / livestock line / county fair style of operation - thank god for bribe-able bellmen, concierges, hotel staff and drivers
in the end, we will still have a great time, see the area, drink well, and find some great restaurants, while avoiding the masses
this spun off into a lot more of a rant than i intended
in case i miscommunicated my feelings amongst my extensive moaning and groaning, i still expect to have a great time, and am not slamming the efforts that the volunteers put forth to produce the event
it's quite possibly a perspective thing - i am definitely spoiled
working in the entertainment business and doing live events for so long, i have a perhaps unique and unrealistic expectation of production level, services, and luxury
further, given what goes on here every saturday at an informal gathering, i expect at least that many cars at a national event, and was dismally disappointed at both the portland and san diego events, especially since i am only there for the 968s anyway
admittedly i have become a snob and an elitist, but frankly i like the finer things, and would like to be able to have them at this event - but, without expanding it, which would bring in more revenue to justify those things, i think they are limited to the level of service they can provide - i certainly understand why they do the things they do, i just wish for more
i'm still going, and i look forward to seeing a bunch of 968 owners there - that's the real reason i go to parade anyway - i have very little interest in other porsches, and prefer hanging out with people with similar interests to my own
which brings me to another point - should we not be arranging a little gathering of our own?
Wednesday wouldn't be a bad day for a 968 get together, that's the day that's scheduled for a Carowinds trip. I'm guessing a trip to a amusment park might not be big on peoples list, but I could be wrong. I know I'm not going and the only other thing going on that day is the AutoX which I'm not doing, so I'm open.
Also for those of us that don't mind not staying at higher class hotels, or if your only a 3 hour away and don't want to shell out $700+ to stay 3 hours from home there are other hotel options. I decided to reserve a room at the Best Western (AAA 3 Diamond) which is 4 miles from the Westin. It's the Best Western at 242 E Woodlawn Rd. The AAA rate is $67.15 and non AAA rate is $79. So if your not a AAA member, sign up for a year and 5 nights of savings here will pay for a year of membership.
Is anybody else going to be kicking out the stops at the PP 2008 in Sardinia? If you are, let's rendezvous somewhere along the way. Dan.
i won't be there on wednesday - we are rolling in friday night and gone on wednesday morning - so, it's saturday, sunday, monday or tuesday for me
I'll definitely escape wedding planning for a day. If I'm driving down for one day it would be Sunday in conjunction with the concours.
works great for me - that is the day i have the most flexibilty - only takes a couple of hours tops for me to blow through the concours
let's make it sunday
Gosh,
Wish I had time to plan leisure time at some car event (and complain at that)
Could someone/anyone watch my kids-run my shop and curtail my wifes business travel!!!
OK now I'm complaining
Pete
watch the kids? isn't that what grandparents are for?
hide the wife's make-up bag - they never travel without that
duct tape works well on the kids for a day or two
remember to saran wrap first - keeps the tape marks to a minimum - no evidence
I've never attended the Parade but, since it's here in Charlotte, I vowed this was to be my first. My home is only about tenty miles south of Uptown Charlotte.
Just like the rest of the club, I had a difficult time registering. After a lot of frustration, just like the rest of the club, I'n mow registered and planning to attend.
I'm registered for a couple of the dinners and the two rallies and I'll be in the paddock area during some of the other stuff. Flash, the grandparents will be watching the kids.
For those of you not familiar with it, Charlotte is a great town. Uptown Charlotte is nice, clean, has plenty of restaurants and clubs. The Westin Hotel is on the southern edge of Uptown and is right across from the Convention Center.
The Westin is a very nice hotel. However, for anyone wanting other accommodations, there are lots of choices. Feel free to contact me for tips.
Flash, I'm glad you're making the trek all the way back here. I'm also glad to know several others of us will be there. I'm excited about my first Parade.
please feel free to let me know about great restaurants and such - we will not be eating at the hotel, or attending any of the banquets - it's a vacation for us, so we are looking to spoil ourselves in that regard
also, one of the things we plan to do is travel around the area looking at civil war sites, so if you know anything great, let me know
looking forward to it for sure
OK, I'll be the restaurant guide for you visitors. Assuming that you don't need too many choices, here goes.
Number one on my list is Zebra: It's the best in town in my opinion but it's about a 15 or 20 minute drive from Uptown. Continental dining. Great wine list. Intimate. Expensive.
Steakhouse: The Capital Grille is as good as any. Oh, sure, we have a Morton's, Sullivan's, Ruth's Chris and the rest but this is the place and it's only a couple of blocks from the Westin Uptown.
Different and trendy: Blue Restaurant & Bar. Also uptown. Crowded. Good food. Great bar. Sidewalk dining if you can get a table.
Seafood: Aquavina, which is also Uptown, is as good as most. We have McCormick & Schmick, too, but so does everybody else.
If I was dining out two nights, one would be at Zebra. The other would be at the Capital Grille.
Enjoy!
Unfortunately no real Civil War sites - luckily Sherman passed to the east of the Charlotte region.
However, the BMW plant is just down the interstate in SC - call it a WWII site...
There aren't any civil war battle fields around that, you really need to head up to VA for that. But there is civil war history in Charlotte, the Confederate cabinet was held in the city and was used as a headquarters for the confederate government in some part. Head out to some of the surrounding areas and you can find some more. Head an hour south down to Columbia the city that Sherman burned and you can find some history, there is a Confederate museum there. Here is all the info on the SC sites.
http://www.discoversouthcarolina.com/see-d.../civil_war.aspx
Just finished an a urban design plan for the town of Carolina Beach. If anyone finds themselves with a little time on their hands and is interested in a road trip, a drive to the coast might be fun. Some intersting things to see/do in CB include Fort Fisher (civil war & museum), NC Aquariuim (world class!) CB State Park (enviro-centre), historic Wilmington (20 min away), take the ferry across the Cape Fear River to Southport (cute town/$5.00 cost including car). Decent restaurants in town include the Tuscan Grille & Dockhouse as well as Freddy's & Big daddy's in Kure Beach; accomodations include a new oceanfront Marriott and the Golden Sands Hotel. Be advised the town is in a state of "transition" - if you don't mind a little 1950's honky tonk and beach arcade stuff, its worth the drive.
I (and others in my club) have received an e-mail stating "we are in" from the parade master
"Congratulations!
Your registration for the 2008 Porsche Parade in Charlotte has been accepted. You are in! All online and paper registrations received to date have been accepted.
To try and escape some spam filters, I have not included your summary information in this email. To see your registration, go to pca.org, login, and review it. You may make changes to your meals, events, etc. online from now until June 1st. After that we may limit some of the changes you may make."