The HiltonIt isn't really that great, but is a standard hotel, with totally clean rooms, relatively helpful staff, etc. You get a little coffee maker in the room (with free coffee packs and to-go cups and such), and a TV (which I never use so can't speak to it). They will clean your room every day if you don't leave out the Do Not Disturb sign. There is
no fridge in the room! You have to pay extra for that, unless you can prove you have some medical condition that requires you to have refrigerated blood or something.
That said, you can get ice down the hall from your room, and use the plastic trash can to store it and cool down anything needing cooling (like beer).
Personally, I like getting rooms on the 3rd floor (that's the lowest floor with bedrooms). This allows you to easily take the stairs down if the elevators are slow (which happens). Very high floors = elevator traffic later during the con.
BRING CASH! I've seen the
one and only ATM on the ground floor out of service / out of cash, and the hotel staff directed me across the alley to the parking structure, which as also out of cash. It then becomes really annoying, and I think this'll happen frequently. If you are coming from the airport, load up prior to leaving. The dealer room does have vendors that will take credit cards, but some don't... and especially if you are buying things used or from designers you will need cash... it also makes it easier in some places (like the snack stands, etc.)
YelpIn LA (and the US in general) Yelp is your friend to find businesses... Here's the hotel:
www.yelp.com/biz/hilton-los-angeles-airport-los-angeles-2. Likewise you can use it to search for other things in the area.
FoodI found the food at both the main bar and the main restaurant (across from each other on the ground floor) really poor, considering how much they cost.
Unfortunately there isn't much that is an easy walk (because LA). That said, right next door is one fast food option (
Carl's Junior I think), from where you can get your usual crappy burgers and fries for cheap, OR buy their "better" burgers or many pseudo-burger type options, which cost closer to $5, but which are decent (see
www.carlsjr.com/menu).
The Hilton
does have 2 other food options:
- The little "cafe" (also next to the bar on the ground level) has Starbucks (or similar) barrista style coffee, and their food is actually pretty decent and not quite as overpriced... you can get a little breakfast sandwich (english muffin + eggs + bacon or whatever), yogurt + granola, and some other quick and easy options. When I don't have food I go there (not the bar/restaurant).
- In the board game / tournament room on the ground floor (across from the dealer hall) they often setup a little "snack bar". This is relatively new, and originally was inconsistently open, but they have been better about snack bar hours at the last few times. They carry things like hot dogs, corn chips with chili and cheese, and other odds and ends there. The chicken strips are actually pretty decent as a filler.
My friend Howie and I usually bring our own food in coolers, but when we get board of that, we will sometimes get out of the hotel (in his car) and head towards a local food court type area which is about 5 minutes from there. There is a Habit Burger (much better), Chipotle (pseudo-healthy-pseudo-mexican-burrito place), and some others all right around each other. The Habit Burger is awesome cause instead of just fries you can get the Tempura Green beans, which are awesome. And they're more like In-And-Out in that they use better quality meat (if you do research, and then believe that stuff). Maybe we can try to setup a meal time during one of the breaks? (e.g. Saturday 6-8pm is a gaming gap) This is NOT walking distance from the hotel, unless you take a good hour, and it's not scenic in any nice way, unless you like looking at cars and breathing smog.
CoffeeGood coffee? LA has in abundance in the 2010's, but I doubt much of it is in that area, walking distance. I'd recommend trying to grab something from the airport before you leave, cause now-a-days you'll find decent coffee places there (sometimes Illy, or others). I personally prefer Pete's to Starbucks or Coffee Bean (all 3 are the bigger chains).
Note that the lobby cafe thing DOES have a barrista and (I think Starbucks?) espresso coffee, which is decent, and should serve OK.
AlcoholThe hotel probably has a policy prohibiting alcohol in the common areas, but I haven't ever seen them enforce anything. As long as you aren't walking around with bottles and drinking out in the open, noone seems to care, and you are pretty protected in the RPG rooms from prying eyes.
The bar ain't cheap, and I'd recommend you load up on any alcohol prior to coming. Again, no fridge, but you can use the ice machine and trash bucket to cool down your drinks.
Personally, I like bringing a bottle of Kahlua (or similar) for my coffee that I make with the machine in the room. Beers work well cause of the ice and buckets. Flasks are your friend if you like the harder stuff. Bring a bag to carry this stuff around instead of out in the open (just in case).
Because my gut hasn't been happy, I'm toning down on the booze. I've replaced it with Kombucha! This instantly gives my Hipster stat a +3, but more importantly makes my brain think I'm drinking beer, so I don't feel sad.
NavigationIt's easy to become a bit disoriented at this one because things are on different floors. The elevators
will become slow and congested at some hours, so get to know the stairs and escalators for quick shortcuts... they aren't all intuitive.