Hey all! A quick question for those who went to MotoGP in Monterey last year and are thinking of going this upcoming year. How much did you pay per night for the 2005 event? If you have a receipt, all the better! Give me the name and the location for the hotel. How much is the same hotel (if you checked it) charging for the MotoGP dates this year? Even if you didn't check for 2006, I'll still take the 2005 info. Most large hotel chains have the ability to check rates online. I can do that for the comparison. In the end, I am just pretty damn curious what's actually happening. Also, by extension, if the event is going to survive past the next year or two. Folks seem to be getting a little turned off by the expense. Thanks!
Uh, no. First off, I don't think you could. Hotels can set whatever price they want. They'll try get whatever the market will bear. Or more, it seems. Second, it's actually for a little Op-Ed piece I am thinking of writing for a local SF motorcycle publication. But I need some more basic factoids before I draw my conclusion.
i had 2 rooms at 2 different hotels, motel6 and travlelodge. IIRC the rates were around 55 and 45 per night. this year they were about 130.00 but are sold out i think. it doesnt look like ill be going this year bcause all thats left is rooms for 300 or somethin crazy like that. i would slep in the truck or tent it in the back if i knew where i could park for the night and not get in shit - woods and fied is fine - its a 4x4.
We rented a house in Santa Cruz for 2 nights for $1100, split 5 ways. It was either the house or Villager Lodge in Santa Cruz for $169/night :down: (hardly a bargain). It took us over FOUR HOURS to get into the track on Sunday. I've never had to wait so long to get into an event. With the price gouging hotels, horrendous traffic management, and no 125 or 250 GP races, it'll be a while before I go back.
If you can afford it I went last year and stayed at The Residence Inn (Marriott) in Salinas. The Rate was $119 a night, but luckly I had enough points I did not have to pay. I called for 2006 and the rate is something like $375.00 a night and you must pay in full when you make the reservation. The same was true with the Monterey Marriott, not quite as expensive, but you still had to pay in advance for all of the nights you are staying there. While I was on the phone I did learn this, right next to the Residence Inn in Salinas there is a Courtyard Inn. The rate for 2006 is $325 a night, but you can make your reservation and you do not have to pay in advance. So I made my reservation over there so atleast I have a place to stay if I decide to go. I agree this event is getting a little to pricey for what it is. I renewed 6 tickets for 2006 and paid over $3,000.00 for them. They are however all Pit Row Suites. I got lucky and even got 2 tickets in pit row suite number 1 which has views on 3 sides. I will say this last, while Marriott is gouging like everyone else, they did not mess with my reservation for last years race and I made that reservation the day the event was announced. I wish the Laguna Seca or the City of Monterey would try to do something to prevent the gouging. Hope this helps
Same for me...I stayed in Salinas at the courtyard inn but the ride into the races, lines to get over bridges, and the wait to get out is enough for me to not pay the big money to go back.
I stayed at the Travelodge in Monterey at 139 Thursday night and $169 Fri,Sat and Sun. They are booked for this year but I dont have the current price. I booked the last races rooms over six months prior to the event for those prices. With all the price increases I WONT go back this year.
Holiday Inn Express in Marina. (10 minutes from the back entrance) 2005 - $209.00 Thurs-Fri-Sat, $179.00 Sun. 2006 - $233.00 Thurs-Fri-Sat-Sun. (Using AARP discount) The room kicked ass!
Stayed in San Jose at $70 a night by the airport. One hour drive to the track at 5am doing 80mph. (rental car $30 a day) The cool part was getting passed by sportbikes in the fog.:wow: The bottom line; go to Laguna by any means possible- the place is unbelievable- the bikes are unbelievable- stay away from the herd and all is good.
Luckily we had enough hotel points to stay for free. If you don't mind the drive we flew into San Francisco and drove to Monterey on Friday and then drove back to San Francisco on Sunday night. The airline tickets were cheaper and we had no problem getting a rental car at a low cost. We went to the track both days and it was awesome but the traffic was TERRIBLE. Saturday wasn't too bad but on Sunday it took us about 2.5 hours to get in and a little over 5 hours to get out. Unless they change the traffic situation drastically we would rather watch it on TV. Be sure if you go not to get your flight back until Monday because we talked to a LOT of people that were going to miss their late Sunday night flights because they couldn't get out of the track. The local law enforcement was absolutely no help. We honked at a cop driving the other way down the road to see if we could get his attention to see if there was a wreck since we had been sitting in the same place for an hour.....and he told us he was going to arrest us for honking at him. What an a...!
