So I'm thinking of going to the bowl game. I don't know for sure yet because my kids' holiday tournament schedules aren't out yet. So I booked 2 hotels (I can cancel both). The Marriott Waterfront (pretty expensive) and the Double Tree on Holiday Court (much lighter on the wallet). I'll be bringing my two boys (12 & 9) and am planning to stay the nights of the 27th and 28th. I need someone who is familiar with Annapolis to weigh in here on my choices. I want to be able to walk to some things and hopefully catch a shuttle of some sort to the game. Any family friendly sports bar type of places nearby? Anything else that 2 boys would/should want to see there? I'm not adverse to spending the extra cash to stay at the Marriott, but it is the difference of a few hundred $ so cheaper would be better.
I'm thinking of going to the game - need advice
- Thread starter OH Pete
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Just as an aside, Baltimore is pretty close and you can get great hotels for cheap at the Inner Harbor. The aquarium there is very cool. I booked a 4 star Inner Harbor hotel for $68 using Priceline.
Cool. That is probably be where we'll end up. Just having a hard time justifying the extra $300 to stay at the Marriott at the dock.
On a related note - this is where Pitt completely misses the boat. They are offering a travel package that included a game ticket, alumni tailgate and 2 nights at the Loews Hotel. For the 3 of us, they would want $535 - EACH. This doesn't include transportation from Pittsburgh either. I can stay at the Doubletree which isn't that much further away from Loews and do the trip, including transportation from the hotel to the game, tickets for all 3 of us and the Alumni tailgate for around $750 - TOTAL (which is cheaper than if I'd take my boys on the 1 day bus trip that Pitt offers).
So what this tells me this Pitt isn't very serious about getting fans to the game. They'd rather gouge the fans that they do go to bowl games instead of trying to make it easier and cheaper for more folks to go. There is no reason in the world that Pitt can't put a package together that would include a bus from Pittsburgh to Annapolis, tailgate, ride to the game, and 2 nights in a hotel for less than $1,000 triple occupancy.
I don't think it is really Pitt attempting to gouge...it is the travel company that they hire--which likely rebates a percentage to Pitt for the right to sell the packages exclusively. Since Pitt really has very little staff, they just farm it out to a travel company--and have done this same thing for decades. The company that has done these trips makes some serious coin, as the prices they charge are crazy high. As in most things relating to bowl games--it is all about making money. I do agree with the premise that Pitt really ought to attempt to make attending a priority--which would require some budget offerings for those that must count pennies. Hail to Pitt!
"Annapolis Town Center' is not the center of town; it is a shopping plaza several miles from downtown.
Indeed. Tell the taxi driver you want City Dock -- aka Ego Alley. Find the Christmas Story boat -- It's a Major Award! Walk up the hill to State House circle and enjoy the history. Good restaurants on West St above the circle too. Tour the Naval Academy. Ignore the haters.
Annapolis is the nicest small city in America.
Why two nights my wife and I would be interested since we can drive easily but why 2 nights.
Most people going to a bowl game what one night I think? Maybe with a two night ooption for more of our hard earned money.
Does anyone know if there's an alumni tailgate and if yes how would I access information for that event.
I think a lot of people like to get in the night before a game, just in case of travel difficulty issues. Additionally, it is always fun to go out the night before and explore the town/city of the venue. And staying the night of the game is nice if you plan on partying or celebrating the win after. But bottom line, Annapolis is close enough to most in the Mid-Atlantic region that you could conceivably drive in for the game and drive back all in the same day. For me, I'd rather spend two nights in a hotel and have some fun. Do what you can afford. Hail to Pitt!
It just makes it more of a fun getaway for some people. I stayed in Arizona for 10 days for both Insight bowls and the Fiesta bowl.
Understood.
I was just telling the OP that there are lots of places to eat there, including a sports bar.
It's 3 miles from the stadium.
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