At lunch today, I visited one of the hotels on my list. It rose to the top based on some feedback via the Facebook group. The hotel is certainly large enough to hold Hearthingstone for the foreseeable future, with nearly 200 guest rooms, plenty of meeting space, and so on.
It is located within walking distance (1/2 mile or less) of a number of restaurants, two movie theatres (including an artsy one), and is directly next to an old shopping mall that is being redeveloped into a mixed-use center including a community college, apartments, shops, and the like. It is one of four hotels in the vicinity that I’ve been interested in, and is the most walkable of the four.
That said, this part of town is fairly far from the airport and I don’t think this hotel offers a free airport shuttle. I need to remember to ask next time we talk. At least one hotel nearby does. The route from the airport isn’t complicated, but for those who don’t or don’t want to drive it could be an issue.
On the other hand, it’s the closest hotel to the Greyhound bus terminal, being a little more than a block away. As far as mass transit, there is a red line train (to downtown) stop about a 7/10 mile walk away. The route 350 bus stops a bit closer, but it’s still a hike. Given Austin (and Texas) mass transit in general, this isn’t bad, but it’s probably further than folks used to good transit systems expect to carry bags- especially if it’s a warmer time of year!
Speaking of times of year, I got a list of possible dates for this hotel. We cut off March of 2019 and earlier to leave enough time for planning and getting enough attendees. March and October are also the two craziest months for hotel space in Austin, apparently.
Here are the dates that the hotel is costing out for us:
- April 5 – 7 (Would have to start late on Friday)
- April 19 – 21 (Also being considered by someone else- Easter)
- April 26 – 28 (Would be using less than my preferred rooms)
- May 30 – June 2
- June 14 – 16
- July 12 – 14
- July 26 – 28
- November 1 – 3
- November 8 – 10 (Veterans’ Day weekend)
August, interestingly, was booked solid. According to the hotel, it’s usually dead, but in 2019 it’s filled up. That might be for the best, given our summertime temperatures.
As far as other events, it looks like there are three possible conflicts amongst the events I’ve found. Spring Mysteries runs April 18-21. Mystic South is in-between the two July dates. Spiritfire hasn’t released their 2019 dates, but it’s usually in mid-July as well.
Of course, for those engaged in Celtic reconstructionism, the first weekend in November might easily create a scheduling conflict. So too for those practicing Mexican traditions. While Austin does have a large Dia de los Muertos celebration, attending it isn’t the reason for the conference.
The following weekend could be tight for folks whose work includes services timed around Veterans’ Day.
That’s my report for today.
-In Deos Confidimus
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