ExpoEm - May 2011 ?

[Penlan]

OK, plenty of notice, but this year there was the offer of staying at the same hotel as the exhibitors for Trade and Visitors at the same rate too, I think it was £42 per room B&B (normal rate was £210.....) as an exhibitor I was not involved in this grubby side of finance.

 

Agree Bracknell is a long way for some SWAG members (265 miles e/w for me) but with a stopover at that rate, I think it makes for a pleasant trip. OK, Bracknell centre is b' aweful.

 

So, in about 10 months I might be seeing if anybody wants a lift, and share a bit of the petrol costs!

 

Penlan

[CUTLER2579]

Hello Penlan,

I think thats a bit unfair about Bracknell Town Centre, after all about 1000,000 poor sods have to live there and there must be worst places in the UK although to be honest I can't actually think of one.

Regards,Derek.

[52A]

Coming from the north, it's not as bad as you'd think. You can enter and leave the venue on the Oxford road, going past Silverstone and this cuts out the dreaded M25. There's a decent pub near the hotel that serves food, and gets a good few exhibitors and traders in on evening. The hotel is spot-on.

 

The point is, it's still a good show and it is where it is. The organisers (in spite of what some pepole think) have sited it there because they got an affordable deal on the leasure centre, and not because it's near thier homes.

[Penlan]

....... There's a decent pub near the hotel that serves food, and gets a good few exhibitors and traders in the evening. The hotel is spot-on...... they got an affordable deal on the leasure centre....

'decent pub' = Wetherspoons presumably, there's also an Indian (which I haven't visited) and the 'Eat all you can' Chinese between the hotel and Wetherspoons.

 

The crunch though has to your last point, an affordable venue, with food and bar that was OK too.

 

So the right boxes are ticked for me in a niche section (EM, P4, etc.,) of our hobby.

 

Even it being that far from me (260 miles) I would do it again - but I was lucky, travel time each way was about 4 hrs 45 mins - try that on a Friday at end of a school term . My co-operators from Cardiff took about 2 hrs 30 mins to get there.

 

(A30 from Penzance, M5, A30, A303, M3 to Jnct. 3, then up to Bracknell - total Van Fuel bill was about £90 of diesel).

[scottiedog]

I stayed two nights at the Hilton Hotel Bracknell this year. The rate for two people was only £45.00 per room, per night including full english breakfast!!! and full use of their leisure facilities. The only drawback was that there were loads of families visiting Legoland staying there. The hotel is only a ten minute gentle walk from Bracknell leisure centre. To get this rate you have to stay for two nights and book when their "winter sale" starts in January. The price is non refundable. In my opinion it is well worth considering.