Convention Hotel bookings now open for Marriott World Center!

Zonta International have announced that accommodation and dining reservations at the Marriott World Center are now open for Convention 2014!

Convention organisers are offering an online registration process to book your accommodation, and your dining reservations too.

ONLINE RESERVATIONS

The first piece of information the process asks for is "what type of guest are you" and from a pop up menu you select your desired room configuration. The choices are (roughly):

• single person in king bed w pull out sofa
• more people in 2 beds
• multiple people with multiple bedrooms

This selection is key as, from that point on, the system appears to only offer you that type of room, no matter what variables you enter. Say you enrolled as a single person wanting a king bed. You can go on to ask for multiple rooms and ask to sleep 5+ people but it will still only offer the original single person, king bed room type.

I discovered this by enrolling as 1 lonely person, and then was unable to compare rooms and prices for you - sigh...

I look forward to someone a bit more savvy than I telling me how to work though that system.

I recommend you work out your accommodation arrangements (single?, sharing?, bringing the kids?) and then start the process.

MARRIOTT OR ....????

I do recommend staying at the Marriott for the convention period - predominately for the convenience. There is not much else around except the Nickelodeon kiddie themed resort across the road expressway. Doesn't even look like a pineapple under the sea! 

Taken from Lv 28 of the Tower. Take care dodging the traffic!

Staying anywhere else will require a 10 - 15 min drive and you would have to park in their multi-story and catch their little shuttle - oh hang it - too much work already! Esp. if I want to stay up chatting with you until 3am!

Due to the heat and school holidays, I also recommend that you do any holidaying BEFORE convention, and finish your trip with convention. Stay where you want to be holidaying (e.g. Hmmm .... a Disney resort??) and then move over to the Marriott.

The Marriott are offering the special convention rate for a week or so before and after the convention - and then the opposite will apply re: travel. You will need a hire car and you will have a 15 min drive every time you want to go somewhere. 

 

ROOM OPTIONS 

Pool view rooms - one of two pools.

The Marriott has 2009 rooms, including 110 suites in 8 configurations.

UPDATE: 
Jane Adams, ZI International Convention Chair, has confirmed that the Zonta rooms available through convention bookings are these Standard rooms. Price variance depends on the number of people in the room. 

The most common room is the Standard - either 1 king bed plus pull out sofa bed; or 2 double beds. Conference flyers have previously revealed that the contract rate for this room is USD $169 plus tax 12.5% = approx. $190/night. At 425sqft this is a pretty comfortable size!

The flyer shows a "double room" at $189 (+tax = approx. $212) and a "quad room" as $209 (+ tax = approx $235). Book NOW Aussies - whilst our dollar is above parity!

DoubleDouble room = 2 x double beds + double sinks in bathroom (source: Marriott World Center)

The Marriott charges different rates for different views ('pool' or 'resort' - aka front driveway, carpark, or convention centre roof) higher or lower floors, connecting rooms, and of course, if you are in one of their suites. I am assuming that they will also charge extra if you use the sofa bed. 

Right now, I am not sure exactly what is offered for conference rooms. I am guessing it will be a lower floor, "resort" view.  For nicer views, go higher than the 7th floor, and preferably "pool" view. Some rooms have a clear view of the Epcot fireworks (probably Tower and West wing pool view). Hopefully soon, all variables will be revealed by the Convention Organising Team and let the planning begin!

 

 

 View on Level 5 East Tower:  courtesy of TripAdvisor

 

Here is an example of one type of suite - the Promenade. There are 10 of these and they offer 2 beds and a separated seating area with a sofa bed. Plus with 477 sqft you score some extra space. Described as having a wall panel separating the sleeping area from the sofa bed, this is useful if someone snores!  The strange side?  They are described as a "non-view" room - whatever that means.

Suites just get larger and more complicated from there: they start adding dining suites and kitchenettes; and making the bedroom a separate room from the living space. 

Although I note there are few rooms with multiple bedrooms - they appear to use interconnecting rooms to achieve that effect. 

Go and have a look at the range of accommodations available at the Marriott World Center.  That page has all the info, photos and floor layouts, for both the standard guest rooms and the suites.

My choice? Who wants to share the International Suite with me? 

6 beds, 2 spas and reception capacity of 100+ people

I can so imagine myself on that rooftop terrace, with my Kungaloosh!

Time to start planning. Get your friends together, get online, and get organised! 

Related posts:
Part 1: The Convention Centre
Part 2: Dining Options  

Lubrication

When we last left our hero, she was trudging across acres of marble tiling looking for a corner in which to have a nice cup of tea and sit down. And maybe a biscuit.

Come 2014 I'll be trading in that cup of tea for a Kungaloosh!

Disney's eponymous cocktail (source: sasakitime.com)

So when the business is done down in the Marriott World Centre Convention Centre, it is time to head up to the pointy bit for the relaxation.

So you could go to the Mangrove Emporium food court .....

premade sandwiches, burgers and hotdogs, pizza and soft drinks, coffee and muffins

..... but I am not sure why you would.

So let's go upstairs and check out the High Velocity Sports Bar

(source: marriott world centre. Unfortunately, the "in" crowd was not there the same day as I)

Filled with 28 large screen TVs at full volume, it is a place where too much sport is barely enough!

Every booth has a little personal TV. In case you want to watch the PBS Newshour. HA HA  - no just joking - MORE SPORT ONLY!

I have no beef with sports broadcasting.  I feel very sorry for televised sports fans as they all must be profoundly deaf.

Moving around the corner, is the main game (to not quite abandon sporting metaphors) - Solaris Cafe

I can see this place getting a work-out. Open for three meals a day, casual seating, large enough bookings aren't a problem. Here there will be little groups of Zontians breakfasting, lunching, coffeeing and everything else that Zontians do.

Traditional and extensive breakfast buffet up the back. Those doors on the left are to a private dining area for your large parties.

And one of those things that Zontians do, is enjoy a preprandial libation. And Solaris can help out there with the Solaris Bar

Up there in the back - where I haven't used my zoom.

If you prefer to lounge about, you could go to the Lobby Lounge bar:

Hawks Landing Golf Club Bar:

If you like the volcano heat, you could go out on The Veranda:

(Source: marriott world centre - I do not move in the circles with the beautiful peoples)

And if that isn't enough, they are currently constructing new pool surrounds which will include a pool side cafe and bar

will be re-opened in time for your morning 25 laps.

 And so the next morning, when you are nursing your hang-over and need a kick start: their own in-house Starbucks

You'll have to work really hard to go thirsty.

So gentle reader, with whom will be having your first chat and a drink?

Whereever I lay my Zonta logo'd baseball cap, that's my home - for Convention at least

The ladies from the Zonta Club of Melbourne, Florida wanted me to be prepared for the scorching sun. (Modelled by Cheyenne the cougar, Snorfy's special friend)

Convention is a time where we all come together from across the globe and conduct our Zonta business, catch up with beloved friends and make merry with the gossip and the wine all night long!

So we need a venue that can stand up to all we demand of it. Besides the main business room, the number 1 demand is: places to chat with friends. From 6am until about 3am there are groups of ladies clustering around a beverage supply enjoying a good ol' chinwag.

District 24 ladies in pre-chat preparation at Torino

If there is one thing I can promise you about the Marriott World Centre, there are more places to chat than you can ever possibly use. Let's take a gander at where Convention will be held - both the business end and the party end

Firstly, I have already given you the official glimpse of the Marriott Conference Centre, now I have seen it for myself. It's HUGE! It is easily bigger than anything I've seen before.

When playing the board game "Risk" always best to start with pink and work your way outwards. (source: Marriott)

That main beige "Cyprus Ballroom" has the ability to sit 16,000 theatre style. It is the nation's largest pillar free ball room - ummm... WOW!

Invite all your friends! Let's fill this baby! otherwise it will be a sad with only 2000 of us jammed in a corner. (source: Marriott)

The 3 other main areas can hold roughly 5,000 each! Every where is moveable walls and all spaces are flat, with freely placed chairs.

On the day I visited a 3000 person conference was underway and that seemed to make the place busy enough. although the Grand Ballroom was empty

One quarter of the Grand Ballroom - the smallest ball room

A different quarter - but they are all the same - and there are a lot of them!

In the plan above, all those little dark blue rooms are little meeting rooms. They were set up with small round tables, so each room held about 30 people each. Here you can also see the chairs they use - those standard, lighweight, padded type.

This is still bigger than the room where my club has it's meetings!

These rooms also have sliding panels so spaces can be very flexible. The plan above shows the smaller ballrooms can have slidey walls and small rooms created too. The Marriott staff all seemed to nice young slips of girlies - I have no idea whom is shoving all these giant sliding wall panels around!

Bring me more small meeting rooms! And doors! I want lots and lots of doors!

Conference centre main foyer. Meeting rooms behind, Palm Ballroom (green) immediately to left, Cyprus Room straight ahead.

The conference centre is bolted onto the side of the hotel. So hotel guests enter from the bottom left hand side of the plan - walk past all the meeting rooms and land in this main open space.

Conf Centre front entrance, looking back up at hotel (source: Marriott)

Here is a shot of the conference centre taken from an upper floor of the adjoining hotel:
The blocked roofs delineate each ballroom - the far white roof is Cyprus (beige); skinny brown is Palm (green); striped is Crystal (pale blue).

The flat as a pancake Florida landscape.

Behind the centre is the multi-story carpark. If you are staying off site, you park here and a little shuttle bus brings you around to the front door. See the little bus? Bottom RHS?

So be prepared for a lot of walking.

Although the staff have taken to doing cartwheels down the long corridors (source: Marriott)

 "But I don't understand, Mrs. Banks! You promised lounge chattings and beverages of choice!"

So perhaps the hotel will put out some seating and lounges in the conference centre common spaces for us; otherwise it is back up that hallway to the hotel where they have a squillion little loungey spots inside and out, in which you can sit back and relax.

Check in for Part 2 - where I'll show all the places for the party side of convention

Photos either my own or used with the permission of the Marriott

Gingy Bells, Gingy Bells, Ginger bells rock ...

For Christmas The Ken Man and I travelled to Sydney to visit family and we stayed in a fairly reasonable hotel. When we checked in on Christmas day all the tinsel was still hanging, the tree was trimmed and in the centre of the foyer was a little gingerbread house.

Let me re-iterate: a LITTLE gingerbread house. Probably the size of a small doll house, displayed on a table.

"Borrowed" from the hotel's facebook page.

It is very pretty and expertly decorated with precision.

But it's not this:

16ft, lifesize gingerbread house in the Grand Floridian Resort foyer

Gingerbread appears to be the No.1 preferred construction material in Orlando. Excellent for luring entertaining small children.

You can go in the backdoor where all kinds of goodies are available at reasonable prices.

Disney released this little video showing construction in 30 seconds!

I bet my Sydney based hotel did not need a cherry picker to construct their house.

Have a look at the window and porch detail:

hmmm ...chocolate.....

Such beautiful work on those poinsettias

Kandy Sparkles from Mouse Chat captured a few things I missed. Go and look at her post - I'll wait here.

Hidden Mickey couch upholstery!

Real smoke coming out the chimney! On purpose - the house hadn't spontaneously combusted in a chemical reaction of bicarb, cleaning fluids and over-sugared children.

So whilst this is the only gingerbread construction large enough for an ensuite off the main, most resorts will construct a similar gingerbready offering to the tourism gods.

The Contemporary Resort had a 17ft tree with a "it's a small world" theme

Oh the irony - it was the smallest gingerbread construction after all.

The Boardwalk Inn has this sort of mixture of a pergola with a loungeroom - showing a fireplace with Santa Donald's feet slowly roasting ( ....hmmmm.... roast duck.....)

The Ritz Carlton had this little shop where they were holding kids house building classes. See the names of the families written in icing on the "bricks".

"Arrgghhh ... I be the classic Scottish Pirate bear of Christmas legend"

 and the World Centre Marriott had a little house tucked in a corner:

So why do I show you these? After all you will be visiting in June - not December.

I hope to demonstrate that the Orlando hotels can take those extra steps to create little magic moments for their guests. The competition leads the hotels to work hard for their money and they go WAY beyond what is typical for Australian hotels. No matter where you stay it will have a special something for a jolly holiday.

So what's your story about a fantastic hotel that sought to delight its guests?

Merry Christmas and Happy New 2013! (eek! only 18mths until convention!)