2015 Ventura Regional... Where are you staying?

[SenorZ]

The Ventura Regional is new this year and I'm sure the local hospitality industry isn't quite prepared for 30 or so teams of high school kids descending upon them. I've been doing some research on the major hotel sites and am seeing everything from the lowly road-side motel for $70/night to resorts upwards of $200/night.

Any Ventura locals have tips for the uninitiated? What to avoid... hotels that'll give deals... etc.?

All advice appreciated.

PS: I did see a "Viking Motel" which I though would be appropriate for us, but the reviews are, well, iffy.

[DylanJG]

Hi, I'm the president of team 3925, the local FRC team hosting the regional. The worst part about the hotel situation here in our little seaside town is that they are so far from the venue. Definitely not walking distance. While I'm not an expert on the local hotels, I might check out the vagabond inn or some other hotels closer to downtown. I know that there is a man who runs lots of the local hotels on our regional planning committee, but not much beyond that. Hope this was at least a little helpful! Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.

[MegaQueen]

Hi, I'm the Captain of Team 1159 and we're from Alhambra, CA (not so local, but only an hour and a half away). Our team just made reservations at a local hotel after much searching. This year, we're staying at the La Quinta Inn. My moderator told me that the first night is about $66 and the other nights are about $72/night. As every year, we made reservations for 4 people to a room. Usually, we have our members pay for their own rooms, so the cost per room is split in 4.

La Quinta Inn is about a 10 minute drive away from Ventura College. We figured it was dumb to rent a bus that would only take us an hour and a half away from our school, so we're asking parents to stay with us and help transport the girls two and from the college and hotel. The parents who stay at the hotel with us would have to pay completely for one room each, and if we didn't reserve enough rooms, they have to reserve their own.

When looking for a place to stay, we take in several factors: distance from the competition venue, complimentary breakfast, free wifi, nearby food places, laundry service/nearby laundromat, the like. The La Quinta Inn offers a complimentary breakfast every morning and free wifi. There is a laundromat at a 5 minute drive north of the hotel. Nearby food places include Original Tommy's, Sushi, Subway, Jack-In-the-Box, Fatburger, Chinese food, Mexican food, IHOP, Carl's Jr., Coffee Bean, Hawaiian BBQ, Rubio's, Pizza Hut, Japanese food, Panda Express, and Chipotle. All these food places are within a 15 minute walk/3 minute drive.

I hope this helped you out!

__________________
2013-present: FRC Team 1159, Ramona Rampage
2014: Ramona Rampage Co-Captain
2015: Ramona Rampage Captain

[SenorZ]

I forgot this thread existed!

I went ahead and booked through the FIRST service. Not cheap. But we'll have rooms together, and possibly with other FRC teams, which always makes it more fun for the kids.

Staying at Courtyard Oxnard. Its ~10min from venue, but we did a similar drive at Las Vegas last year and it was no big deal.

Thanks for your input!