Parking garage issues

[morganskye.livejournal.com]

Does anyone remember which garages hike their prices up for D*C? Last year I parked in the open lot beside the Marriott, which was a HUGE mistake. They went from $10 a day to $20 for 'event parking'. What other lots do this? I was thinking of parking at the covered one at 60 John Wesley Dobbs Avenue. It seems to have the best rate and it's not immediately at a hotel. Has anyone parked here before? It's about 2 blocks from the Westin (where I'm staying) and three from the Marriott.

To make it easier I guess I should ask where I shouldn't park instead of where I should. lol! Thanks!

http://www.atlantadowntown.com/parking/index.html

Comments

[spaltor.livejournal.com]

If you're staying at the Westin, they should provide parking for you in their garage. Usually that's part of your room rate. My first advice would be to call your hotel.

Other than that, to save the most money, drive to a MARTA station and park there for the weekend. Then take the train back to Peachtree and don't worry about parking fees.

[morganskye.livejournal.com]

It's not part of the rate. At best it's $22 a day.

I thought about that, however I'm bringing in a LOT of stuff for the track I'm helping staff. It would be a logistical nightmare to try and go back and forth with it all.

[pagemasterjim.livejournal.com]

Why not drop off items at the hotel, then drop the car off and train back. After con, go get the car, bring it back and load it up? Sure, you will lose some time for travel, but the cost of parking seems to be the focus.

[madame-foo.livejournal.com]

this is what i do every year.

if you have friends who've already checked in, stash your stuff in their room until you can get to a marta station and back again.

$5 a day to park at Marta, with their decks, security people and cameras vs. $15+ a day and not nearly the security...this is the one time i have to agree that Marta really IS smarter!

[datavortex.livejournal.com]

+1 to this. I do precisely the same thing.

[noelleleithe.livejournal.com]

All of the host hotels charge for parking, most with rates in the $20-25 per day range. (It fluctuates from year to year.)

[kaerracia.livejournal.com]

Thanks for bringing this up. I am at the Westin also. At the Westin valet parking is $26 per day and self parking is $22 per day. I will have to check out that lot you mentioned on JWD and see how much it is. If it not much different per day, I may still try to afford parking at the hotel.

[morganskye.livejournal.com]

Their site claims it's $8 a day, however I have no idea if they're going to pull the same 'event parking' shenanigans that LAZ does. If so I'd rather part at the hotel.

[jasongpace.livejournal.com]

Everyone raises prices for the event weekend. That $8 a day is for days when nothing important is happening.

[groundedsouls.livejournal.com]

Note for Westin Parking if you are staying over your check out time the rate there was like 8 dollars for every 15 minutes after your 24 hours, so say you checked in at 3pm in the parking lot but checked out and left at 5pm be prepared to pay an extra day of parking. So in stead of paying for 3 days you end up paying for 4 days.

[morganskye.livejournal.com]

O_O Thanks for the head's up! That's crazy!

[noelleleithe.livejournal.com]

Pretty much all the local lots use event pricing for D*C (because, well, it's an event; they have the demand to do it). When I don't just stay at the hotel, I've used the AmeriPark garage on Peachtree Center Avenue (across Harris Street from the Marriott). I didn't park there last year, but the year before, it was $15 a day.

[earendilgrey.livejournal.com]

I always park at Ameripark except for last year when I got hooked up with other parking options. It's been 15 dollars a day in the past.

parking

[bmg3rd.livejournal.com]

Do you pay in advance or when you leave? Or have to go back and pay each morning?

Re: parking

[morganskye.livejournal.com]

If it's an open lot you have to pay daily (and SUPER early or else you get towed). If it's a closed/secured lot, you can generally pay when you leave. However you need to check with how/when/where you pay because each one is different. I ended up paying a 'machine fee' because I used the auto-checkout instead of the guy in the pay-box.

Re: parking

[earendilgrey.livejournal.com]

The Ameripark lot is a pay when you leave.

[ojiikun.livejournal.com]

On the bright side, the Marriott doesn't hike prices . . . they charge $28 a day, every day of the year. :P

Marriott Parking

[boomergoodheart.livejournal.com]

It is now $30 a day (or so says my printed out reservation). For us, with how long we stay, that's almost $200 more that we need to budget in.

This is a major reason why this year we'll unload (and we have a TON of stuff as vendors), then take the car further out, either to a MARTA station or LTP at the airport. We haven't decided which would be safer yet.

Re: Marriott Parking

[datavortex.livejournal.com]

I strongly recommend parking at MARTA's Lindbergh station. Safe, lots of lighting and security, and much cheaper than the airport area, as well as providing an automatic route back to con without another ride.

If you decide to ditch it near the airport anyway, I recommend The Parking Spot.

Re: Marriott Parking

[davindalilazn.livejournal.com]

What MARTA station (with overnight parking) is the closest to the Marriott if I'm coming from FL? I've heard great things about the Lindbergh Station, but that's waaaaay out of the way, and knowing my luck, I'd get lost...
Or would I be better off and budget more for parking and find an overnight self-park garage in the city? I'll be carpooling w/ a few friends so the price'll be split between us.

Re: Marriott Parking

[datavortex.livejournal.com]

Well, if you drop off your stuff first, then it shouldn't matter much where you came from.

I prefer Lindbergh because it's relatively close, safe, and has a deck. You just take one Southbound train to get back to Peachtree Center Station. The only other close MARTA parking that allows overnight parking is College Park Station. It's the same price as Lindbergh, about the same distance, but not as safe.

http://www.itsmarta.com/rail-schedules-or-route.aspx
http://www.itsmarta.com/parking-information.aspx

Re: Marriott Parking

[groundedsouls.livejournal.com]

I think I'm going to try to park there. I'm getting leaving the house around 1pm so I should get there around 2pm Thursday hopefully there's some spaces available.

[tokyorca.livejournal.com]

Good grief, the hotels charge that much even when you're staying them? Ridiculous...

[elvishtard.livejournal.com]

Yeaahh...they'll suck all the money out of you one way or another!

[elvishtard.livejournal.com]

Sometimes you might have to park several blocks away, in order to get between $5-$10 a day. It's a bit of a walk, but if you want to save some money, it's worth it! Just get up a little earlier in the morning and go pay the fee.

Ideally, carpooling is always win! You can split the end cost of the parking fee with everyone in the car.

carpooling

[bmg3rd.livejournal.com]

We would love to carpool up to the con. We've gotten no response so far. Surely we're not the only people attending from the Mobile, Al. area????

[datavortex.livejournal.com]

Parking downtown can cost as much as $200 by the time you're done. Do as others above have suggested and drop off all your stuff and your people that need to check in. Drive the car to the Lindbergh Center MARTA station at park it there in the Sidney Marcus parking deck for $8 a day. It's easy to get to the trains and there's 24/7 security.

http://www.itsmarta.com/ns-lin-overview.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindbergh_Center_(MARTA_station)#Parking