I’ll break this down into two parts but first I want to say a big THANKS to all those who labored to make this event possible. I also want to thank those who made my attendance possible. SALUTE!
First let me share with you some images of the venue. The Hyatt was a great hotel to stay at…with one exception the Internet service that was provided by T-Moble sucked. Oh well we were there for the models and the comradeship of fellow modelers. Did I forget to mention acquiring more resources for our stashes? ;0)
Otherwise the accommodations and the staff were excellent. The view from our room was of downtown Columbus and we were treated to a spectacular fireworks show on two of the nights of our stay as well as a nice sunset before the second night of thunderstorms.
For those with a camera, there were many photographic opportunities. Columbus, Ohio does have a great diversity of architecture, all just a few minutes walk from the hotel. I’m glad I took my camera along when we walked to dinner. Speaking of eating…the food inside the hotel facilities was good. Even the food court on the lower level was much better than that nasty cafe inside the Donald R Stephens Convention Center in Chicago where iHobby is held. The event venue provided a good selection of dinning opportunities from inexpensive to Cha Ching! I recommend eating at both Ted’s Montana Grill and Hyde Park on your next visit.
The venue did have a couple of quirks which were a distraction from the event. The model room though adequate in size wasn’t adequately illuminated for an exhibit which is visually intense. The other was the vendor rooms. These were well lit but located in several rooms that were displaced from each other. There wasn’t proper signage or floor plan maps posted for attendees to view room locations. This did have an impact on the vendors success. Some rooms were not seeing the flow of traffic as the two “main” and co-located rooms did. It was like being on a treasure quest looking for the lost caves to find the chest of gold.
To be continued!
