Where to stay for 11 nights? Downtown? (Phoenix, Glendale: live, restaurants, club)
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look at when the superbowl was here - they used downtown as a base for the media and pretty much every market had a writer do an article or commentary about how quiet it was down by media row and how they felt stuck by booking a hotel downtown
i'm in no way trying to knock downtown as I do enjoy it for what it is
however all of the following are true:
- it's nightlife scene is pretty small and will not see a significant boost from visitors for this events
- light rail does nothing in the way of getting to scottsdale or glendale
- unless valley metro adds more routes or special services it's very difficult to get to/from jobing.com arena from downtown on the bus, especially at night
- cab rides to either scottsdale or glendale from downtown are going to cost you $40-$50 each way
if the OP was inquiring about coming in for the NBA All Star game or the MLB All Star game then I would definitely recommend downtown
look at when the superbowl was here - they used downtown as a base for the media and pretty much every market had a writer do an article or commentary about how quiet it was down by media row and how they felt stuck by booking a hotel downtown
i'm in no way trying to knock downtown as I do enjoy it for what it is
however all of the following are true:
- it's nightlife scene is pretty small and will not see a significant boost from visitors for this events
- light rail does nothing in the way of getting to scottsdale or glendale
- unless valley metro adds more routes or special services it's very difficult to get to/from jobing.com arena from downtown on the bus, especially at night
- cab rides to either scottsdale or glendale from downtown are going to cost you $40-$50 each way
if the OP was inquiring about coming in for the NBA All Star game or the MLB All Star game then I would definitely recommend downtown
however that is not the case
LOL, you know little of your city dude. Ok so the nightlife in downtown is actually quite large. One of the world's largest gay clubs is downtown...Amsterdam. This was actually rated as one of the best clubs by Out Magazine and was raved about in Travel magazine as well as it is fun even for straight people because it is very high end and extremely nice.
There are many clubs in downtown and along the rail they include: Kobalt, Club Downtown, Amsterdam, Miami, Malibu, Sky Lounge, Silver, Bar Smith, PHX, Charlie's, Homme, etc. These clubs are not small nor are they empty especially on the weekends. These clubs do not include those in the arts district or Roosevelt row like the Lost Leaf, Harley's, The Roosevelt, Fate, etc.
If you want to get to Scottsdale you can ride the rail to Tempe and take the FREE Scottsdale Trolley to Scottsdale and Old Town.
Cabs, party buses, and shuttles have special event rates and hotels like the Lexington downtown can arraigns these rides to Glendale. They range in price from 15-35 dollars. I do believe there will be shuttles taking guests to and from Phoenix/Glendale. Not sure if any will be free but Wrestlemania attracts 200,000 fans. So transportation will be readily available.
The writer of that Super Bowl article about downtown Phoenix acknowledged that one of the reasons downtown seemed dead was linked to heavy construction of the light rail line. Streets were still torn up, traveling downtown was extremely difficult and traffic did not move smoothly. Now that construction is over, traffic has increased along with downtown patrons.
LOL, you know little of your city dude. Ok so the nightlife in downtown is actually quite large. One of the world's largest gay clubs is downtown...Amsterdam. This was actually rated as one of the best clubs by Out Magazine and was raved about in Travel magazine as well as it is fun even for straight people because it is very high end and extremely nice.
what makes you think the OP is interesting in hanging out at one of the worldest largest gay clubs? - how many casual tourists does this draw?
do you contest that there will be more people socially about throughout the week in downtown phoenix or in scottsdale where all the event parties will be located or in the westgate area where there will be theme parties all week and many out of town guests
I get it - you love downtown and that's great
but try to be a little objective here
relying on a shuttle circular and hanging out waiting for the connection is not great times - even if low cost - visitors who are unfamiliar with the city are going to be hesitant to walk out on the streets at midnight/1am and wait for a shuttle bus and then wait for a train in an area that is completely unfamiliar
it's also a lot to bank on that there will be all these organizations will be offering great discounts, etc ... if anything they may try to get whatever price they can if business is hurting due to the economic conditions - it's a gamble either way
also the writers (more than one) didn't complain exclusively about construction, etc (although some did) - it was mainly about inconvenience - they wanted to go out and socialize in scottsdale and needed to get out to the stadium for covering the events and found it difficult to keep trekking back and forth from downtown
once again - if it was the allstar game, sure go downtown ..... but the event isn't there, most things related to it will not be there ..... why stay there??
what makes you think the OP is interesting in hanging out at one of the worldest largest gay clubs? - how many casual tourists does this draw?
do you contest that there will be more people socially about throughout the week in downtown phoenix or in scottsdale where all the event parties will be located or in the westgate area where there will be theme parties all week and many out of town guests
I get it - you love downtown and that's great
but try to be a little objective here
relying on a shuttle circular and hanging out waiting for the connection is not great times - even if low cost - visitors who are unfamiliar with the city are going to be hesitant to walk out on the streets at midnight/1am and wait for a shuttle bus and then wait for a train in an area that is completely unfamiliar
it's also a lot to bank on that there will be all these organizations will be offering great discounts, etc ... if anything they may try to get whatever price they can if business is hurting due to the economic conditions - it's a gamble either way
also the writers (more than one) didn't complain exclusively about construction, etc (although some did) - it was mainly about inconvenience - they wanted to go out and socialize in scottsdale and needed to get out to the stadium for covering the events and found it difficult to keep trekking back and forth from downtown
once again - if it was the allstar game, sure go downtown ..... but the event isn't there, most things related to it will not be there ..... why stay there??
Well since they are German and sent me a private message saying that they enjoy these type of diverse hangouts, I would say that many world travelers are interesting in this type of club. Ignorance is bliss isn't it finger laker??? And obviously you are not very urban savvy, so maybe you should give advice to someone looking for suburban bliss...
However, Europeans tend to migrate from very dense cities and quickly learn to traverse other cities transit systems. Unlike suburban Phoenicians who are "afraid" to step foot outside in the "urban jungle."
heh - yeah, not very urban savvy at all (having lived in philly, london, denver, mpls and now phx)
it's also not like i've done some extensive travelling or have relied on public transportation before (oh wait, i didn't own my first car until 9 months after moving to phoenix)
don't make such broad assumptions and try ad hominen attacks because you can't do anything else
once again, i'm not a "downtown basher" - i actually go there more frequently than i do scottsdale or tempe
i think most would agree that the phoenix tends to replicate itself - that's why the #1 thing that is said when people are looking to move here is consider where you'll work ........ the neighborhoods tend to be similar
there are some differences though - scottsdale is the hub for nightlife, tempe is the hub for college life, there are also entertainment districts (like north scottsdale, desert ridge, arrowhead & westgate) .... westgate is also an event location - the biggest concerts, sporting events, etc tend to happen there
downtown has a little of everything - you can get some sports, some arts, some nightlife ..... it's basically a sampler pack
if I came to phoenix to visit ASU and get a feel for college life I wouldn't stay at westgate
if I came for the NBA allstar game I wouldn't stay at westgate
if I wanted to watch a bunch of suns games, tour chase field, go on an art walk and hit a couple of interesting bars and restaurants but had no interest in the "scottsdale scene" i'd probably stay downtown
just because one location may be better suited to be a "point zero" for a visit doesn't mean it's a knock against the other locations
quit being so defensive - not everyone is out to pee all over downtown
You sound very confused and contradictory. Are you taking your pills honey??? ad hominen attacks or AD HOMINEM? Grow some skin and a sense of humor. All I am saying is you are out of touch with the OP. Obviously they want to do more besides stay at Westgate and remain stranded since they CANNOT rent a car!!! After they walk around the block at Westgate, then what will they do??? Walk around the same block? FUN!!! Obviously living in those cities had no effect on you since you stated you'd be squeamish about going to a light rail station at night.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Finger Laker
heh - yeah, not very urban savvy at all (having lived in philly, london, denver, mpls and now phx)
it's also not like i've done some extensive travelling or have relied on public transportation before (oh wait, i didn't own my first car until 9 months after moving to phoenix)
don't make such broad assumptions and try ad hominen attacks because you can't do anything else
once again, i'm not a "downtown basher" - i actually go there more frequently than i do scottsdale or tempe
i think most would agree that the phoenix tends to replicate itself - that's why the #1 thing that is said when people are looking to move here is consider where you'll work ........ the neighborhoods tend to be similar
there are some differences though - scottsdale is the hub for nightlife, tempe is the hub for college life, there are also entertainment districts (like north scottsdale, desert ridge, arrowhead & westgate) .... westgate is also an event location - the biggest concerts, sporting events, etc tend to happen there
downtown has a little of everything - you can get some sports, some arts, some nightlife ..... it's basically a sampler pack
if I came to phoenix to visit ASU and get a feel for college life I wouldn't stay at westgate
if I came for the NBA allstar game I wouldn't stay at westgate
if I wanted to watch a bunch of suns games, tour chase field, go on an art walk and hit a couple of interesting bars and restaurants but had no interest in the "scottsdale scene" i'd probably stay downtown
just because one location may be better suited to be a "point zero" for a visit doesn't mean it's a knock against the other locations
quit being so defensive - not everyone is out to pee all over downtown
From what I have read Wrestlemania attracts massive crowds - maybe more than the Superbowl . I would imagine that most hotels will run shuttles and there may be extra buses to take people to and from events like they had at SuperBowl.
I was wondering about that, too... if it is that large an event, (and the hotel space around the Glendale site really isn't adequate for really large events) the organizers might be coordinating some transportation. The OP might not want to use it all the time, but it could cut down on cab rides!
to make it perfectly clear I wouldn't want to spend 11 days downtown regardless of why I visited - when I visit a place at length I tend to hotel jump - my last time in SF I moved hotels every 2 days to experience different neighborhoods and be closer to different activities
2nd - if I had an event centered at westgate, i'd want to be as close to westgate as possible or able to get their conveniently and inexpensively - i wouldn't stay in brooklyn if I needed to get to MSG consistently, regardless of how neat DUMBO is and all the fun things to do in brooklyn
3rd - it's easy to tell people that they need to learn their city, that they aren't urban savvy, they are blissfully ignorant etc ..... much easier than thoughtfully considering circumstances and giving honest feedback instead of boosting ones own interests
it's also humorous that you tell others to get a thick skin, but are the first to go over the top anytime anyone makes any kind of slight towards downtown
Ohohohooooooooooo, what's going on here, please calm down
We stayed DT Houston for this years Wrestlemania, and we liked it pretty much. Everything was easy, the metro took us to all the events at Reliant Park, other events were held in DT, we stayed at Hotel Icon in walking distance to Toyota Center and the Convention Center. So we didn't have to think about how to get somewhere, it was really really easy. But as I already read here, DT Houston was also dead on Sunday... we couldn't even find a place to eat
I guess I do need thick skin too LOL! You gave horrible advice, therefore, I offered better advice that's all. No need to get bend. Anyway, the OP wanted to be able to use public transportation, unfortunately, you over looked that because of your own self interests.
Please carefully choose your words and remain relevant to the OP's interests! Sorry to have hijacked this thread, but it often happens when someone gives bad info.
However, there was one good recommendation that FLer gave. Maybe you can hotel hop??? Might be somewhat inconvenient with such a large event and hotels maybe booked far in advance, but with enough planning it might be possible.
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Ok so the nightlife in downtown is actually quite large. One of the world's largest gay clubs is downtown...Amsterdam. This was actually rated as one of the best clubs by Out Magazine and was raved about in Travel magazine as well as it is fun even for straight people because it is very high end and extremely nice.
ad hominen attacks or AD HOMINEM? Grow some skin and a sense of humor. All I am saying is you are out of touch with the OP. Obviously they want to do more besides stay at Westgate and remain stranded since they CANNOT rent a car!!! After they walk around the block at Westgate, then what will they do??? Walk around the same block? FUN!!! Obviously living in those cities had no effect on you since you stated you'd be squeamish about going to a light rail station at night. 
. I would imagine that most hotels will run shuttles and there may be extra buses to take people to and from events like they had at SuperBowl.
LOL! You gave horrible advice, therefore, I offered better advice that's all. No need to get bend. Anyway, the OP wanted to be able to use public transportation, unfortunately, you over looked that because of your own self interests. 
