The Official SunFest'07 Info Thread

[fln8tive]

The Tampa Bay Auto Museum, http://www.tbauto.org/ whose owner is a huge car fan (no surprise there) and Rich Gallick (who says "hi" to the Crevier folks) of Bert Smith BMW http://www.bertsmithbmw.com/en_US/ have agreed to act as venue host and sponsor for an X5world get together.

Best dates for the above parties are March 24th or March 31st. I was thinking earlier in the month would be better since a Carolina meet may happen in April or May, but the venue said we'd have the place to ourselves on these dates...and the 31st won the earlier poll. Bad news is, better beach weather is likely...

Since this is all about the people who make X5world what it is, let me know which of these dates are preferred

Attendee cars and tent will be at the museum, admission (and use of the air-conditioned bathrooms) to the museum will be sponsored either by Bert Smith or my company. Bert Smith BMW will have a fully loaded 4.8i E-70 on site for test drives and possibly some vintage BMWs will be brought in from Dan Wheldon's collection...maybe a couple of BMW motorcycles as well...

Invision plans to have their rolling tradeshow on premise and Lawrence will have the new E70 gear on hand along with a few other goodies he's not talking about...

I will try to get a Saturday evening Dolphin Cruise on the Sea Thriller (twin 852ci V-12 diesels sending 1800hp to a pair of 34" Nibral props for you gearheads) sponsored or get a "Group Buy" done if we have enough RSVPs.

Folks with kids, fly-ins, and drive-ins, check your Spring Break schedules and airline fares and look for a SunFest07 thread with date poll...

I'll check on hotels as well...there's a range of choices to say the least. Rather than a resort, I'll try to find moderately-priced options that are well located to the venue, shopping, the airport, and the beaches. Airport code is TPA.


EDIT: 12/22/06

I would suggest that you make room reservations early as this will be peak season. Unless something changes in the polling, it appears that March 31st is the odds-on favorite for a meet date. I am in the process of negotiating a group discount (10 room minimum) for x5world at the Tradewinds Sandpiper, the Bilmar Beach Resort, and the Sirata Beach Resort. Discounts or opt-outs for the parking and resort fees are in process. Rates fluctuate daily, but you are looking at a range of $170 for pool view to $269 for Gulf view with a full kitchen. I will try to find a more modest lodging option as well, but the Holiday Inn Express is sold out on March 31st. and is actually not that much cheaper.

None of these properties have golf courses. If you are planning on golf, reserve your tee times now. I will be making a due-diligence trip to St. Pete after the holidays to inspect these resorts. All are within a short drive from the venue and within a short distance of the dock where the sunset dolphin cruise will embark from.

AND WHATEVER YOU DO---DO NOT USE PRICELINE!!! YOU WILL GET HIGHER RATES, NO CUSTOMER SERVICE, AND ZERO FLEXIBILITY TO MAKE CHANGES.

http://www.tradewindsresort.com/sp_default.asp
http://www.bilmarbeachresort.com/home.html
http://www.sirata.com/


EDIT: 1/08/07

I have a meeting next Monday Jan 15th with the venue and Rich Galek at Bert Smith BMW to finalize meet details.... Will also check out a very well known Italian caterer...Also, I am going to do hotel scouting and file a report...my intent is to find some moderately-priced options so folks can budget and book flights and hotels..I will bump this thread ASAP. Feel free to PM me if you have any individual questions or concerns.


EDIT: 1/15/07

Additional recommended hotel 2.1 miles away from the venue!
Wingate Inn - Clearwater / St. Petersburg
5000 Lake Boulevard
49th St Bridge & Hwy 19
Clearwater, FL 33760
727-299-9800


Nightly Room Rates
Standard Room $99
Junior Suite $139
King Suite $159

• Brand new hotel...very clean!
• No minimum stay
• Free Breakfast
• 2.1 miles from venue
• 12 miles to Sirata Beach Resort and SPB
• Easy access from Tampa airport
• Closer to night life in Ybor City
• Free internet access
• Complimentary airport shuttle to St. Petersburg/Clearwater Airport and $10.00 charge per person to Tampa International airport, available 7a.m.-4p.m. Monday through Friday 24 hour advance notice required

Nearby Restaurants
Buffalo Steakhouse
Sam Seltzer's Steakhouse
Carrabba's
Chili's
Olive Garden
Red Lobster
Pizza Hut
Quaker Steak and Lube (NO Supa...it's Quaker State Insty Lube---LOL!)

Wingate was a suggestion from the folks at TBAM, the venue...it is very clean, new, and 2.1 miles from the venue...however, it is a bit of a crawl to the beach proper. On the other hand, much closer to the naughtiness of Ybor City in Tampa as Supa noted.

I will likely stay there for sure on Friday night as I will be at TBAM on Friday afternoon, etc. I am no longer allowed into Ybor City...

On SPB, I checked out Sirata and Tradewinds Sandpiper...I will try haggling with the Sandpiper to see what we can get as far as a group rate...they do not have a 3 day minimum which might encourage folks to stay together...very clean with a beach view pool...covered parking, attentive folks in the front lobby. If you are put off by the 3-day minimum of the Sirata, book Sandpiper--they are maybe 150 meters apart....we can bar-hop. I'm gonna book Sandpiper since SBB is only a 1-nighter for us.

I checked out two other places...if you really want to stay on the beach, next door to the Sandpiper and the Sirata is the Grand Plaza Hotel www.grandplazaflorida.com. Advertised rates for the time period is $279 for bayview and $319 for Gulf, but the "red hot deal rate" is actually $188 and $257, but while this place has nice rooms, free internet, parking, pool towels, etc (I will post photos), it's very dated on the outside, lobby, and hallways...he building looks like it would be at home in a Romanian coastal city (no offense to our Romanian friends)...The lobby is slightly stanky, but the rotating penthouse lounge may be chock full of Springbreakers in March for those in need of some perving.

I also checked out the Alden www.aldenbeachresort.com. A very cool Palm Springs retro entrance disguises a warren of chopped up older buildings in rather dull color schemes...I peeked in the rooms and they were not inspiring...pass..take my word on this.