Posted by Laura (208.201.253.88) on August 25, 2003 at 18:57:00:
It's not too late to get rooms in the conference hotels. And in some cases, the current rate is less than the [expired] con rate.
Best deal at the Fairmont is if you only want one bed, non-smoking, and only Fri+Sat+Sun nights. You can get 159 CAD per night on the Fairmont's own web site (or 877-441-1414), by entering PRWKE1 as the promotion code. This also gets you some discounts, such as 50% off at a lot of restaurants, and 25% off on a Niagara tour, don't know if these discounts are worth anything. Best deals most other nights use the PRCAS1 code.
Best deal at the Crowne Plaza is if you don't care how many beds nor whether it's smoking, and you want arrive Friday or Saturday and stay exactly 3 nights. The "CP BUY 2 GET 1" rate is 209 CAD for the first 2 nights and free for the 3rd night, for an average rate of 139 CAD/night. With Saturday arrival, this rate is also available for a non-smoking room.
Both web sites are not very smart about combining the best rates for longer stays. You may need to book 2 or 3 separate stays and hope the hotel will let you combine them...but be prepared for the possibility of having to move rooms if you try this. For example, I wanted a 2-bed non-smoking room for 5 nights arriving Friday at the Fairmont, and the best deal for me turned out to be the first 3 nights at 229 CAD (PRWKE1) and the next 2 nights at 209 CAD (no code), on 2 separate reservations. On a single 5-night reservation the best rate would have been from 60 to 120 CAD more PER NIGHT.
Hope some of this helps someone!