All of the convention parties are in the Sheraton. It is several blocks walk from the convention center. There is a Hyatt across the road from the convention center with a decent bar in it. Of an evening, most of the fans are in the Sheraton grazing the parties, and most of the pros are in the bar at the Hyatt. I have been in the bar with Chris Roberson, so it is now a proper convention.
Actually the geographic issues are worse than that, because the filk, gaming and anime are in the Sheraton, and the readings are in another hotel (one of the Hyatts, I’m not sure which). And yet we look lost in the vastness of the convention center. I guess there must be a reason for it – such as having to buy function space in the hotels in order to get decent room rates.
Things like the con’s office, lost and found, sign shop, etc. are in the Sheraton. Most of the programming is in the convention center. Things that should be easy to accomplish (and that you’re trying to get done as quickly and efficiently as possible) frequently suffer interrupts solely because of the distance between the two facilities.
The distance between facilities is a bummer — especially as I like to visit with my pro friends while party hopping — and it sounds like that’s simply not possible with the layout.
Not to mention con office in separate facility from programming. hmmm. Things to think about :>.
At a good many Worldcons, the guiding genius has been to make the hotel perceived most difficult to fill up the “party hotel.”
I have no direct information if that is the strategy in play here.
I do know that what is now the Sheraton is a hotel I stayed in it a couple of years ago when it was still the Adams Mark. The tv didn’t work and the bathroom had a lot of wear on it (one of the fittings even came off). I was not inclined to find out if that was a rare bad experience with that hotel, so I happily registered in the Hyatt Regency this time around.