RE: System Administration Workshop

["Laurie Willis" <Laurie.Willis@xxxxxxxxxx>]

The bookstore almost next to III is a Borders.  (I used to work there).  Barnes & Noble is not to far (walkable) in the other direction on the same road, along with another movie theater & shopping.   The food court is fun and decent international food for not too much money.  It is open for dinner, but they close early - I think at 8:30.

Laurie Willis
Library Systems Manager
Hayward Public Library 
835 C Street
Hayward, CA  94544
510-881-7936




 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Harvey Hahn [mailto:hhahn@xxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent:	Wednesday, December 10, 2003 4:27 PM
To:	innopac@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject:	RE: System Administration Workshop

I attended the Load Profile Workshop this past summer and stayed at the Four Points Sheraton (mostly because it was the cheapest and second closest of the 4 hotels recommended by III).  Matt Ciszek's points (mentioned elsewhere in this thread) are the truth of the matter.  My room happened to be on the "front" (west) side of the building (which faces Christie Ave.--tell the taxi to turn right on Christie; there's no way to access the hotel from Powell, even though that's its address!), so I can't comment on what the rooms on the "back" side might be like.  However, I thought my room was quite satisfactory as a whole when compared with all the rooms I've stayed in over the years, attending various workshops and conferences.  I wasn't paying for a top-of-the-line hotel, and I so I wasn't expecting any of those amenities.  The Four Points Sheraton, in my opinion, is a very typical hotel for people on business trips.

I spent the two days previous to the workshop "casing" the area and initially couldn't find Innovative!  That's when I discovered that Shellmound *Way* (the 1-block-long street where Innovative is located) is different from Shellmound *Street*.  I knew only that III was located on "Shellmound" and originally missed the "way" (pun intended).  From the Four Points, just go out the door at the back of the hotel (east), walk to your upper left (diagonally) through the parking lot, walk on the sidewalk underneath the Powell Street bridge overhead, keep walking northward on the sidewalk the one block until you get to the stoplight intersection of Shellmound Street (which you've been walking alongside of) and Shellmound Way, cross the intersection (there's a walk signal), and III is to your left on the other side of the street.  As I recall, it was about a 3-minute leisurely walk from the Four Points Sheraton to III (and quite safe, too, from a traffic standpoint).

The intersection of Powell and Christie (which Mr. Shafik referred to) is truly "a crazy intersection".  There is pedestrian crossing available only on 3 of the 4 crosswalks (and, wouldn't you know it, the one that would be most convenient from the hotel to III is the nonexistent one!).  Because automobile right turns are permitted at the same time that pedestrian crossings are permitted, you really do take your life into your hands when you cross (to go to the Denny's restaurant, for example)--the turning cars do not wait for pedestrians!

Regarding cheap restaurants, the Denny's that is kittycorner from the Four Points is OK, but it was designed more as a fast-food in-and-out establishment rather than as the leisurely restaurant chain that I'm used to in the Chicago metro area.  I ate there only once in the 4 days that I was staying at the hotel (better airfare rates for the Saturday/Sunday stay in addition to the Monday/Tuesday workshop), and, in my opinion, the food and service just wasn't worth the pedestrian hassle of getting there from the hotel.

I ate in the Four Points hotel restaurant a couple of times (breakfast and supper), and, in my opinion, it was satisfactory (especially if convenience is important to you).  On the other hand, I wasn't expecting or looking for any kind of expensive, high-quality restaurant for this particular occasion (as I might during a conference attendance).  The only negative I had with the hotel restaurant was that I thought it was a bit pricey for the limited choices they had (but that's also typical for hotel restaurants in general).

That's why I also ate several times at the Lyons Restaurant.  (Just go out the front entrance of the hotel, turn left, walk across the parking lot on the south side of the hotel, and you're at the restaurant's entrance.)  For approximately the same total prices as the hotel restaurant, there was much more variety available on the menu.  I ate breakfast and supper there several times, and, if I remember correctly, it ran around $10-$15 per meal (depending on what you eat, of course), which seemed reasonable to me.  Again, it wasn't a 4-star restaurant by any stretch of the imagination, but it served the function of providing a decent meal for a relatively minimal amount of money.

However, if you *really* want to get the biggest bang for your buck, the international food court a block or so north of III along Shellmound Street is the place to go.  *Very* inexpensive and very interesting!  It's an experience you shouldn't miss while attending III workshops.  I ate lunch there once or twice and enjoyed the variety of ethnic cuisines that were available.  I strongly recommend that you "scope out" the whole place first to see the full variety, and then go back and pick which one(s) you'd like to try.  (I don't remember if the food court is open for supper, so be sure to check its open hours.)

Everything I've described so far has been within easy walking distance of the Four Points Sheraton, and that goes for "entertainment", too.  There's a very nice book store adjoining the food court (I've forgotten if it was Border's or Barnes & Noble), and there's a movie theater about another long block or so beyond the food court if you continue walking north along Shellmound Street (I saw "Seabiscuit" while I was there).  The theater is about 10-12 minutes from the Four Points by foot.  For those who like to shop, I believe there's a small mall across the street (Christie Avenue) from the Lyons Restaurant and the Four Points Sheraton.  I didn't investigate this mall, but you'd need to cross at the "crazy intersection" (or perhaps to your left beyond the Lyons Restaurant) to get there.

I hope this gives a more positive outlook about the Four Points Sheraton and the area surrounding the Innovative headquarters building.

Harvey



At 08:24AM on 12/09/03, s.shafik@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:
> Just make sure your room is in the front side of the hotel, don't eat
> in its restaurant (there is an open mall behind), and finally be
> careful when crossing to III building, it is a crazy intersection
> there!!
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Said Sheik
> System Librarian
> International University Bremen, Germany
> Campus Ring 1
> D-28759 Bremen, Germany
> Phone: +49 (0)421 200 4615
> Fax: +49 (0)421 200-4113
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: innopac-admin@xxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:innopac-admin@xxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Satzer, Patricia
> A.
> Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2003 3:02 PM
> To: 'innopac@xxxxxxxxxx'
> Subject: RE: System Administration Workshop
> 
> Oh no, I'm registered for the Four Points hotel for a Load Profile
> Training session in January!  What's wrong with the hotel?
> 
> Paddy Satzer
> Univ. of St. Thomas Law Library
> pasatzer@xxxxxxxxxx
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Shafik [mailto:s.shafik@xxxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2003 6:17 AM
> To: innopac@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: RE: System Administration Workshop
> 
> The workshop is great! Just do not stay in the Four Points hotel! ...



--
===========================================
Harvey E. Hahn, Manager, Technical Services Department
Arlington Heights (Illinois) Memorial Library
Desk: 847/506-2644 -- FAX: 847/506-2650 -- E mailto:hhahn@xxxxxxxxxx
Personal web pages: http://users.anet.com/~packrat


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