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Yes, Minicon's really moving. We'll be at the downtown Minneapolis Hilton
& Towers starting with Minicon 34 in 1999. (For more background about
the move, please see the article in PR1, or view our website at http://www.mnstf.org/minicon34/hotel.html.)
At the Hilton, our program rooms, the art show, and the huckster room
will be centrally located around a large foyer with ample space (and comfy
chairs) to hang out and talk while watching for friends. We'll also have
smoking and non-smoking consuite space in the function area on the second
and third floors, along with the Presidential Suite on the 24th floor
as a key part of our hospitality space. The hotel has six elevators for
getting to and from sleeping rooms and room parties.
Our 1999 room block at the Hilton is 600 (of their 821) rooms. If we
fill the block early, we may be able to add 50-100 additional rooms, and
we'll be making arrangements with nearby overflow hotels if needed. The
surest way to get a room in the convention hotel is to reserve early!
To reserve a sleeping room, please contact the Hilton directly:
612-376-1000 Minneapolis Hilton & Towers
800-445-8667 Hilton International toll-free reservations
To reserve a suite, go through Minicon. See the All-in-one Form
on the inside front and back covers of this PR. If you mail your suite
request by October 31st, and Minicon cannot fill it, we will arrange with
the hotel for you to reserve one or two sleeping rooms instead. Please
do not reserve sleeping rooms directly with the Hilton at this time unless
you want them in addition to your suite.
Ask for the Minicon group rate. (If that doesn't work, ask for the Minnesota
Science Fiction Society group rate.) Our room rate is $72 per night (+12%
tax) for 1-4 people in a standard guest room. This rate is good for Wednesday,
March 31, 1999 through Tuesday, April 6, 1999. (Minicon 34 is Friday,
April 2--Sunday, April 4, 1999.)
If you guarantee your reservation with a credit card, your room will
be held through the first night of your reservation--if you don't arrive
or cancel, the Hilton will charge your credit card for that night sometime
after 2am. If your reservation is not guaranteed, it will be held until
6pm the first night--after that, it may be released for other folks. (We
know that the toll-free reservation listing for Minicon initially had
the hotel recorded as requiring a deposit. This has been corrected, so
the reservation clerk should not mention a deposit requirement.)
If you want a quiet room, ask for a lower floor. The open room parties
will all be kept on the higher floors, from 16 on up, so if you want your
room to be on a party floor, ask for a higher floor. Be sure to state
any preferences for smoking or non-smoking room, king bed or double-double,
and higher floor (party) or lower floor (quiet). Also please let the reservations
staff know of any special needs you may have, such as requiring one of
their 25 handicapped-accessible rooms.
The best chance to make sure your specific needs are met is to call the
reservations desk at the local hotel phone number and discuss those needs
with them. (In other words, don't call the 800 number; they probably won't
have the details you need.)
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Minicon at the Minneapolis Hilton & Towers
The Hilton is at 1001 Marquette Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55403-2440.
The hotel takes up the block between Marquette and Second Avenues, and
10th and 11th Streets in downtown Minneapolis. We will include directions
on how to get there in PR#3.
The Hilton has a pool, sauna, and Jacuzzi in its health club. Pool hours
are being extended until 2:30 am for Minicon.
There is a rather pricy city-owned parking garage beneath the hotel (about
$10-12/day); parking is not included in the room rate. We are negotiating
with nearby lots and ramps for much lower weekend rates, and expect to
arrange something in the $3/day range for Saturday and Sunday. See PR#3
for specific details.
Check-in time is 3 pm. Check-out time has been extended to 4 pm on Sunday
and Monday of Minicon, and is 12 noon other days.
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