Hotel Questions

We went to LaQuinta (the old Wingate) this weekend to check out their rooms since we were in the area visiting JT. I couldn't speak with anyone in sales about blocking rooms but we were able to see the rooms and take pictures. I dont have my camera on me now but I will post pictures in my album later if anyone is curious to see. We saw the Bridal Suite, the Junior Suite and a regular king size room.

The hotel seemed okay. I will need a large suite the night before the wedding with enough room for me, my 3 BM's, and our Moms the day of. We will all be getting ready together and I am having a make up artist and hair stylist come to the hotel as well as the photographer. So the room needs to fit 10 people max. I think that the bridal suite should be big enough for that - so that was good.

The regular room was ok. Nothing special. The lobby/bar area looked okay too. We liked the hotel because the inside is plain, modern and up to date.

The girl at the desk told me that a standard room is usually about $169 a night but the rate may be a little less when we block out rooms. I'm wondering what kind of group rate they offer. I don't want to make our bridal party and family pay a lot of money to stay over with us. Can group rates be negotiated? I know we are going to have quite a few rooms filled - I'm not worried about FH's family - but to be blunt, my family is really cheap so I'm hoping to get a rate that is less expensive. Has anyone haggled with a hotel before? What are good questions to ask them when we call? Any insight/advice would be great!

thanks girls<3

We ended up getting one of our hotels to lower the rate they normally give b/c they included a shuttle but we're doing our own shuttle (and also would rather we pay for the shuttle than the guests basically paying for it)....the original rate was $159 and we got them to lower it to $129 I think, just be taking out the shuttle (it's the Hampton Inn Brookhaven). Also, they might give you a deal if you book the Bridal Suite, you can try asking that as well....any extras you might be able to take out to lower the price could be helpful!

HTH!

most of the time the group rate weddings is like $20 off.. that's what I've been getting.. try using a travel agent, tell them you want to book this hotel and see what prices they come up with..

i don't think you can negotiate the price, but i think you can negotiate what gets added on, like free parking, conference space if you're planning an outside caterer or something for some party the night before.. maybe throw in free breakfast..

good luck!

thanks guys. if the price is still a little high i want to try and have them include a brunch the morning after the wedding -at least people will be getting a meal too.

FH and I have to see what kind of rate we could get for a shuttle service outside of the hotel. his sister had a shuttle out of the garden city hotel and it wasnt bad BUT if we are having 20 or more people stay over (which I am sure we will) i think i rather get some sort of bus that makes ONE trip and can fit EVERYONE at the same time. Our guests will be leaving the hotel to make it time for our ceremony - and I dont want my ceremony to be held up because we are waiting on the shuttle to drop off our guests. A lot of us got to his sisters cocktail hour late because we were waiting on the shuttle - it could only fit like 10 people and had to make quite a few trips.

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Posted by Future Mulligan

thanks guys. if the price is still a little high i want to try and have them include a brunch the morning after the wedding -at least people will be getting a meal too.

FH and I have to see what kind of rate we could get for a shuttle service outside of the hotel. his sister had a shuttle out of the garden city hotel and it wasnt bad BUT if we are having 20 or more people stay over (which I am sure we will) i think i rather get some sort of bus that makes ONE trip and can fit EVERYONE at the same time. Our guests will be leaving the hotel to make it time for our ceremony - and I dont want my ceremony to be held up because we are waiting on the shuttle to drop off our guests. A lot of us got to his sisters cocktail hour late because we were waiting on the shuttle - it could only fit like 10 people and had to make quite a few trips.

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exactly! we will have way more OOT guests than that 10-20 so we decided we'd much rather do a big shuttle....I think it will end up working out well, and we feel less guilty about our guests paying a lot to stay at the hotel!

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Posted by Snickles56

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Posted by Future Mulligan

thanks guys. if the price is still a little high i want to try and have them include a brunch the morning after the wedding -at least people will be getting a meal too.

FH and I have to see what kind of rate we could get for a shuttle service outside of the hotel. his sister had a shuttle out of the garden city hotel and it wasnt bad BUT if we are having 20 or more people stay over (which I am sure we will) i think i rather get some sort of bus that makes ONE trip and can fit EVERYONE at the same time. Our guests will be leaving the hotel to make it time for our ceremony - and I dont want my ceremony to be held up because we are waiting on the shuttle to drop off our guests. A lot of us got to his sisters cocktail hour late because we were waiting on the shuttle - it could only fit like 10 people and had to make quite a few trips.

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exactly! we will have way more OOT guests than that 10-20 so we decided we'd much rather do a big shuttle....I think it will end up working out well, and we feel less guilty about our guests paying a lot to stay at the hotel!

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how many people can fit in the type of shuttle you are getting? should i call limo companies? or like a bus company? im clueless about this stuff

We got a 149 group rate from la Quinta. Kirstin is the person you want to speak with and I have her email where you can contact her.

depending on how many rooms you reserve you get free shuttle to and from JT. You know about the after party also?

I think it's a good deal and location...they are very nice there also.

I know it can be a pain to get in touch with the sales department.

Hope this helps.

I picked the LaQuinta too and worked with Danielle- they gave me $159 a night- I picked it because they include the shuttle (although I will probably pay for an extra one) and because they do breakfast each morning for all guests and a snack at night for no charge. The Marriott Residence Inn quoted me $129 a night for suites with kitchens (free breakfast also) but they may be a little far for your hall.

best bet is to contact the Long Island Visitor's Bureau and have them help you- although all the quotes I got started at around $150ish.

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Posted by mendi725

We got a 149 group rate from la Quinta. Kirstin is the person you want to speak with and I have her email where you can contact her.

depending on how many rooms you reserve you get free shuttle to and from JT. You know about the after party also?

I think it's a good deal and location...they are very nice there also.

I know it can be a pain to get in touch with the sales department.

Hope this helps.

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the free shuttle is good - but not all of our guests will fit for one trip. we are having our ceremony at the RH and there is no way everyone will fit for just one shuttle - that means the shuttle would have to start making trips over an hour before the ceremony so that all of our guests could arrive in time (im guessing at least 3 trips) and that seems really inconveinent to me. that means some of our guests will be lingering at the RH for a long time before anything starts. there is also a big chance that we will be taking pictures before our ceremony at the RH and i dont want our guests to see us before the wedding. ugh this is so annoying to think about!