Tips on Where to Stay and What to Say When Reserving a Room in Our Block

You got your invitation, and you RSVP'd that you're coming. Now you need to book a room? Relax, friends...but not for long. Blocked rooms are available in limited quantities. Last year, we set up blocks at two hotels: McMenamins and the Four Points Sheraton. (Visit the hotels’ websites via the links on the left margin of this site.)

Here's the breakdown of what remains within our blocks as of today:

At McMenamins, for the night of:

• Friday, 8/29/08, 7 rooms remain available (in the Main House)
• Saturday, 8/30/08, 4 rooms remain available (in the Power Station only)
• Sunday, 8/31/08, 17 rooms remain available (in the Main House)

At the Four Points Sheraton, for the night of:

• Friday, 8/29/08, 14 rooms are available
• Saturday, 8/30/08, 13 rooms are available
• Sunday, 8/31/08, 19 rooms are available

Where do you want to stay? That depends on you.

You want to stay at McMenamins if:

• You find character and artistic charm appealing.
• You don’t mind walking down the hall to use the loo in your complimentary terrycloth bathrobe.
• You want to get all pruny in the outdoor, heated soaking pool for overnight guests of the hotel and patrons of the hotel’s spa services.
  
• You think it’s cool to stay overnight in a hotel that is rumored to be haunted.
• You want to drink with wild abandon at the wedding knowing that afterwards you’ll only have to stumble (and not drive) to your hotel room!
• You don’t mind having to change rooms three times in a row because the available rooms are in different buildings on alternate days. (Just leave your packed luggage in your room by checkout time, and the desk staff will move it to the next evening’s room for you.)
• You find the absence of in-room televisions refreshing.

You want to say at the Sheraton if:

• You want modern conveniences. (To quote from their website: “All . . . oversized deluxe guest rooms feature . . . two 2-line speaker phones with dataport and voicemail, large work desk, refrigerator, microwave, iron and ironing board, hairdryer and cable television. The Hotel features a 24-hour business center, indoor pool/spa and fitness center.”)
• You want use of the toilet facilities without having to walk down the hall.
• You plan on drinking responsibly at the wedding and driving safely back to your hotel afterward.

Tips on how to reserve rooms in our block
You get a price break for reserving rooms within our room block. Here are a few tips to make your phone call to the hotel an easy one.

At McMenamins:
Ask to reserve a room in the “Matern/Broman” wedding block.

If the representative from the reservation desk tells you that there are no more rooms available, make sure that he/she looks for rooms available in the Power Station. Our wedding guests are the only people who can reserve rooms in the Power Station for the night of Saturday, August 30th. Apparently, McMenamins’s personnel must scroll over to view the rooms that are available in this venue, and they can be easily missed.

I will post a message to this blog when all our rooms are taken at the McMenamins Edgefield. If you learn that there is really no room left in the Inn, we’d appreciate your contacting us to let us know.

At the Sheraton:
Ask to reserve a room in the “Broman” wedding block.

(I have not heard of any hassles experienced by anyone else when reserving rooms in our block at the Sheraton. Contact us to let us know if you’re the first.)

Happy thoughts, All. I'm nearly done with my nine-month school effort, so I'll be catching up on loose ends. Keep checking for new updates coming soon.

Cheers!

Labels: hotels, irene