[depechecureguyorl]

^ Lord, I can't WAIT for the Post-Crotty era!

[JRS1]

I don't know. McCormick Place is near the Field Museum, Shedd, and Adler facilities. But everything else requires a cab ride or very long walk. No huge amount of hotel rooms to choose from nearby. Orlando has the edge here especially when Peabody opens. Pointe Orlando offers good entertainment, but it needs to fill in more with more venues.

If I was in Chicago, I wouldn't go to a Broadway series. I would go to the Pier, JHC, and Sears Tower, and Michigan Ave., and see my cousins (but that's just me... I'm from there). If I was in NYC, I would try to go to a play on and off Broadway.

Vegas has its casino hotels; you need to take a cab there to get to these places or take the train;

Orlando has its close-in points of interest too; Pointe Orlando; Citywalk; Prime Outlets; Premium Outlets; Downtown Disney; Boardwalk; Restaurant Row; and the I-Drive Restaurant Row up to Sand Lake Road from the Peabody. The I-Ride Trolley kind of sucks IMO. They need soemthing like Lymmo that's bigger and newer and more sophisticated looking. If they had an AGT system on I'Drive from Sea World to Prime, now that would be something. THat would probably go far in spurning new development as well.

I-Drive needs The Square to come to fruition; Mercado left and there's just a hole left on that parcel now; we need The Square to get developed.

[cloudship]

Agreed about the AGT. Most business travelers would prefer NOT to have to rent a car. So some kind of transit operation would be very beneficial. But even more so is transit from the airport. I think Mears overwhelming presence in this area hurts.

Typical convention goers are not usually going to be after broadway shows and such. They come in and pretty well book their time with meetings, seminars, face to face "functions" and the like. Midrange "impresive" but not too expensive restaurants would better fill their needs. Half the conventioners never leave the hotel anyway, and forget what city they are in. They follow the conventions anyways - what really brings the big conventions in is space and price.

[JRS1]

^^
well, then if its space they need, its space we got.

the most interesting thing I read was how excited Crotty or whomever it was at the County of the marketing machine Hilton has and how much it will ultimately benefit the OCCC and I-Drive as they market them to book their own rooms; I guess, its something I-Drive has not had before on such a large scale. this could be the next step in its transformation.

I think originally, an AGT was supposed to connect the West Bldg to the N/S Bldg but they cut the budget and settled for the skywalk. Now, the Skywalk will directly link to Hilton and Peabody for N/S and the West Bldg.

[JRS1]

I went to the Hilton Orlando. very nice inside. skywalk works great. self park costs $12 after 30 min. ouch.

the only thing I don't like about it is that you can see the road from the pool deck. you shouldn't be able to IMO; it should be isolated from street traffic;

I also went to the Waldorf-Hilton. nice. Waldorf has all marble floors; marble arches around the lobby; decent bar area; nice convention area overlooking the golf course;

This post has been edited by JRS1: 20 October 2009 - 06:33 AM

[prahaboheme]

So what you are saying is that it doesn't stack up to the classic Waldorf. No suprise.

[JRS1]

sorry, guys, I thought I deleted from cheesy metal awning down... instead, I duplicated everything I posted. sigh... I hate writing anything negative on local projects.

anyway, not like the one in NYC, of course. But, I would say that aside from the themed luxury hotels at Disney, I would definitely include Waldorf up there with Ritz, JW, and Peabody. Not grand, but it is very toned down instead with nice finishings on the interior; brass etched elevator doors; marble floors; marble arched hallways; nice dropped chandelier ceilings fronting the first meeting room you get to from the Hilton's convention hall corridor; nice bar area; good looking restaurants; also fronts/overlooks golf course and pool deck, which is also conservative-looking.

[prahaboheme]

I'm really surprised they didn't extend the art deco theme to their new hotels. I do have to say that the proposed Waldorf for Berlin is unsurprisingly, more urban and chic than Orlando's.

Good project nonetheless and great press for Orlando.

[JRS1]

prahaboheme, on Oct 20 2009, 09:12 AM, said:

I'm really surprised they didn't extend the art deco theme to their new hotels. I do have to say that the proposed Waldorf for Berlin is unsurprisingly, more urban and chic than Orlando's.

Good project nonetheless and great press for Orlando.

imagine that... something German being more chic...

but yeah, I agree... I'll take it... Hilton's marketing machine is going to be focusing on Disney for the Waldorf project, and the OCCC and I-Drive for the Hilton Orlando project... something that neighborhood has not had before. up until now, it's merely been Rosen, Peabody, and Orlando CVB. And, Hilton will be focusing on the Hilton Grande Vacations project at Midtown, which will also market Disney--- these being the newest Hilton projects in town.

Hilton's no slouch... they also took over the 800 room Adam's Mark in Daytona which fronts the Ocean Center which just finished a huge first class expansion directly across the street from it. They are positioning their properties rather well for success.

[prahaboheme]

JRS1, on Oct 20 2009, 08:23 AM, said:

imagine that... something German being more chic...

It is not something German.

[sunshine]

[JRS1]

I'm not quite used to this new format at UP.

Anyway, there's 14 eateries at Pointe Orlando now. I didn't realize that. Restaurant Row is impressive on SLR from Dellagio/Viscaya all the way to Rialto/Whole Foods Plaza. But I-Drive has a healthy assortment too from SLR down to the OCCC. That's pretty impressive as well.

It's a great place now,but they need to fill in the remaining development gaps, starting with Mercado and the losts behind Point Orlando where Westin was once proposed to be built on.

[prahaboheme]

JRS1, on 28 October 2009 - 02:40 PM, said:

I'm not quite used to this new format at UP.

Ditto...it's not so easy on the eyes.

[uncreativeusername]

prahaboheme, on 28 October 2009 - 10:34 PM, said:

Ditto...it's not so easy on the eyes.

You're both being generous - it's absolutely terrible. Readability went down 80%.

[FLheat]

uncreativeusername, on 29 October 2009 - 04:38 PM, said:

You're both being generous - it's absolutely terrible. Readability went down 80%.

anyone else experiencing slow loading of pages here? I hate when change means moving backwards.

[JRS1]

actually, this new format does suck now that I think about it.

if they would just bold the text, that would be better.

[uncreativeusername]

JRS1, on 29 October 2009 - 05:29 PM, said:

actually, this new format does suck now that I think about it.

if they would just bold the text, that would be better.

Pages load slower, each post in a thread is hard to differentiate, there is a serious lack of design hierarchy, and, I've just discovered, there is no longer a quick reply button!

[prahaboheme]

This already dying forum has been pushed over the edge.

We should revive the orlandoskyscrapers.com page with a forum option similar to wirednewyork.com or archboston.com.

[JRS1]

THE SQUARE:

Unicorp is the developer. They are the company developing the Dellagio project off of SLR. There a a few tenants over there already and there's a few more buildouts underway. I have a feeling they won't do anything with the former Mercado property for a while until they have a majority of the Dellagio leased. That must have been a huge expenditure; that place is gorgeous.

This post has been edited by JRS1: 02 November 2009 - 02:42 PM

[Neo]

I noticed several comments regarding the upgrade. I believe that I have addressed most of the concerns brought up by users. The layout for threads is now what we had previously. Loading times should also be greatly improved (even faster than what we had with the older version of the site). If you guys could comment I would greatly appreciate it as I do want to address concerns that folks have.

Keep in mind that I've gotten dozens of e-mails and PM's commenting on the new site in a positive light thus I realize that change is easier for some. I do want to address concerns, but keep in mind that I simply will not be able to please everyone. I will do my best however.