Swancon 36 / Natcon 50 Report A
Apr. 28th, 2011 09:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stephbgDisclaimer section
I have a lot to say about Swancon 36/Natcon 50, not because I'm nit-picky, but because I tend to observe a lot of detail. I also can't resist making hypotheses based on insufficient data. One day the data may come, but until then I retain my right to make guesses and have opinions. Memory is also a fickle thing; I'll do my best to report what I observed and felt at the time. If I'm not confident about that memory, I'll say so, but to me errors in perception and recall are interesting, and generally the source of much debate.
All that said, I want to state as clearly as possible that I am not attempting to upset or offend anyone.
Abstract
I had an absolute blast, interspersed with a lot of quiet recovery time in my lovely hotel room. The fun factors were different to those of other Swancons I have attended, and on that basis there were also some disappointments. My illness prevented me from participating in the planning and execution of the con to a degree I found actively distressing.
The Venue
The Hyatt is pretty, and swish. Others have commented on the accessibility issues so I'll not say much more, although it astonished me how difficult it was to enter and leave the building itself. The Conservatory Bar area was the best place I have even been in for mingling purposes, helped perhaps by the fact that I didn't try to order anything to eat or drink. Comfy furniture, and a central location to scan for folk FTW.
Such a shame we had to share facilities with normal people. I know many of them found it distressing and/or distasteful to do so, and frankly I can't blame them. Swancon has shared hotel venues before, but not common recreation areas. If I were a non-fen guest planning on a touch of quiet luxury, I'd have been pretty pissed off too.
It was kind of fun to watch the hotel staff panic. OK, not the waitstaff, because they are forever under the gun, and not the security guys, because we all want them to stay nice and calm. But the management, reception and concierge staff were amusingly disturbed by us all. The night of the masquerade produced some nicely bulging eyeballs.
I imagine the hotel was responsible for the lack of signage around the place, and the requirement that the con desk whiteboard be concealed after hours. This put a considerable dent in my ability to acquire information and directions at need. I'll talk more about info flow later.
The chairs in the function rooms were blessedly comfy, although I didn't spend as much time in them as I'd have liked. The decor was soothingly attractive.
The Ballroom was a very odd space indeed, particularly for smaller events that were drowned out by the dealers' room behind the curtain.
The downstairs Plaza rooms were both a blessing and a curse. They were reasonably quiet, a good size, but felt somehow isolated from the action. Maybe it was the of signage to claim the space as "ours".
My room was lovely. I'd forgotten how nice "light and airy" could be. Maybe more about that later, including my forensic analysis of the tiny signs of former occupation left behind by the otherwise diligent Housekeeping.
The tapwater was not very pleasant to drink, but I was not going to pay $10 for a litre of bottled water!
To be continued...
[Next ]
I have a lot to say about Swancon 36/Natcon 50, not because I'm nit-picky, but because I tend to observe a lot of detail. I also can't resist making hypotheses based on insufficient data. One day the data may come, but until then I retain my right to make guesses and have opinions. Memory is also a fickle thing; I'll do my best to report what I observed and felt at the time. If I'm not confident about that memory, I'll say so, but to me errors in perception and recall are interesting, and generally the source of much debate.
All that said, I want to state as clearly as possible that I am not attempting to upset or offend anyone.
Abstract
I had an absolute blast, interspersed with a lot of quiet recovery time in my lovely hotel room. The fun factors were different to those of other Swancons I have attended, and on that basis there were also some disappointments. My illness prevented me from participating in the planning and execution of the con to a degree I found actively distressing.
The Venue
The Hyatt is pretty, and swish. Others have commented on the accessibility issues so I'll not say much more, although it astonished me how difficult it was to enter and leave the building itself. The Conservatory Bar area was the best place I have even been in for mingling purposes, helped perhaps by the fact that I didn't try to order anything to eat or drink. Comfy furniture, and a central location to scan for folk FTW.
Such a shame we had to share facilities with normal people. I know many of them found it distressing and/or distasteful to do so, and frankly I can't blame them. Swancon has shared hotel venues before, but not common recreation areas. If I were a non-fen guest planning on a touch of quiet luxury, I'd have been pretty pissed off too.
It was kind of fun to watch the hotel staff panic. OK, not the waitstaff, because they are forever under the gun, and not the security guys, because we all want them to stay nice and calm. But the management, reception and concierge staff were amusingly disturbed by us all. The night of the masquerade produced some nicely bulging eyeballs.
I imagine the hotel was responsible for the lack of signage around the place, and the requirement that the con desk whiteboard be concealed after hours. This put a considerable dent in my ability to acquire information and directions at need. I'll talk more about info flow later.
The chairs in the function rooms were blessedly comfy, although I didn't spend as much time in them as I'd have liked. The decor was soothingly attractive.
The Ballroom was a very odd space indeed, particularly for smaller events that were drowned out by the dealers' room behind the curtain.
The downstairs Plaza rooms were both a blessing and a curse. They were reasonably quiet, a good size, but felt somehow isolated from the action. Maybe it was the of signage to claim the space as "ours".
My room was lovely. I'd forgotten how nice "light and airy" could be. Maybe more about that later, including my forensic analysis of the tiny signs of former occupation left behind by the otherwise diligent Housekeeping.
The tapwater was not very pleasant to drink, but I was not going to pay $10 for a litre of bottled water!
To be continued...
[Next ]
