Mittens 2015 New Orleans August 7 - 14

Disco · Sun 04/01/2015 05:22:57

Mittens 2015 will take place in New Orleans from August 7 to 14 at this property.

The roster thus far (bold names are confirmed):

Attendees
Snarky - Arrival on August 6
Quintaros - Arrival at MSY 11:45
Tzach - Arrival at MSY 12:09
Noa - Arrival at MSY 12:09
Grundy - Arrival at MSY 12:09
Disco - Arrival at Amtrak Station 15:32
violetnotpurple - Arrival to Amtrak Station 15:32
Esseb - Arrival at MSY 18:56
AGA - driving
Tamara - driving
MillsJRoss - driving
ddq - driving

Payment information can be found here.

AGA · Sun 04/01/2015 16:58:59

I'm in, also plus one.

Esseb · Sun 04/01/2015 22:20:12

I'm in, no plus one.

Snarky · Sun 04/01/2015 23:00:52

I'd love to, but I'm not sure I can make it this year. Put me down as a maybe for now.

Andail · Mon 05/01/2015 19:48:24

Quote from: Grundislav on Sun 04/01/2015 04:00:12
Count me in for New Orleans. Also a +1

Quote from: AGA on Sun 04/01/2015 16:58:59
I'm in, also plus one.

Tell us all about it! And pics

Oh and put me down as a maybe, as always!

Disco · Mon 05/01/2015 21:23:28

Some properties (provisional search dates of 7 to 14 August):

Turn of the Century Sleeps 18 - Month of August and half of July free currently - $3,200 ($177.80 each)
Leonidas Sleeps 16 - $3,475 ($217.20 each)
Pontchartrain Park House Sleeps 16 - $5,538 ($346.12 each)

Added 14 January:
Fillmore House Sleeps 12 - $3,339 ($285.25 each) Has an aquarium and a theater room.
Terrytown Chateau Sleeps 12 - $3,940 ($328.33 each)
Slidell House Sleeps 12-20 - $1,930 ($160.83 @12 people) Bayou waterfront property 25 minutes from New Orleans

I am finding many more accessible properties after unchecking the "pool" option. They don't seem to be as popular here as in other places we have stayed.

violetnotpurple · Wed 07/01/2015 20:34:01

I'm game for the cesspool. It looks the most fun.

The main question: Does it have WiFi?

Disco · Wed 07/01/2015 20:48:26

My instincts place that property firmly in the "Too Good To Be True" category, but I posted it nonetheless. The rent listed may be owner error as well. I shall ask.

Darth Mandarb · Wed 07/01/2015 20:57:06

Depending on the dates chosen there's a possibility ol' Darth could be there for a day or two!

We will be headed north for a family reunion this summer (planning to drive) and New Orleans wouldn't be too far out of the way for a slight detour! It would be me, the wife and mini-Darth so we wouldn't be staying at the house, just swinging by to hang out for a bit. I'd be happy to pay for a slot (if it's needed) but we won't be takin' up a bed/room! The date for the family reunion hasn't been decided yet so I have no preference but it'll be in July I'm guessing (they usually are).

I'd love to see everybody again (been too long since my last mittens).

Miez · Wed 07/01/2015 21:35:54

Can I be put on the "possibly" pile? I'd love to visit New Orleans, but not sure if I can get it all together this year.

Disco · Wed 14/01/2015 15:14:45

Added a couple more properties.

AGA · Mon 26/01/2015 12:58:56

So to help speed up the decision making, I've set up a couple of polls:

Venues
Dates

If everyone who's interested in attending could please complete both polls, it'll help us narrow down the best date and place.

Disco · Sun 01/02/2015 17:38:12

Looks like Pontchartrain Park House has won out flawlessly!

I am a bit concerned with the current interest level as it relates to the properties listed. Not including maybes, we have 10 people interested so far. The current popular vote puts each spot at $554.

Is this really it for this year? My search criteria was limited to properties that could accommodate a minimum for 12-13.

Should we perhaps check for some smaller properties now? Is there anyone yet holding out interest in New Orleans? I realise it is still early in the year, but usually there is a bit more action in the Mittens thread than we have seen thus far.

Snarky · Mon 02/02/2015 12:56:24

Some other holiday plans fell through, leaving me with more vacation time, so I'm now a pretty solid yes (as long as the dates don't conflict).

Baron · Tue 03/02/2015 02:04:10

N'Orleans still exists?

I can't make it, but you'd be insane not to choose the Terrytown Chateau. C'mon guys, splurge!

Jay Tholen · Tue 03/02/2015 03:18:49

I may be able to go to this! I'm a central floridian and have a bunch of friends in New Orleans. Woop woop.

AGA · Thu 05/02/2015 15:35:02

Quote from: Disco on Sun 01/02/2015 17:38:12
Looks like Pontchartrain Park House has won out flawlessly!

I am a bit concerned with the current interest level as it relates to the properties listed. Not including maybes, we have 10 people interested so far. The current popular vote puts each spot at $554.

Is this really it for this year? My search criteria was limited to properties that could accommodate a minimum for 12-13.

Should we perhaps check for some smaller properties now? Is there anyone yet holding out interest in New Orleans? I realise it is still early in the year, but usually there is a bit more action in the Mittens thread than we have seen thus far.

North American Mittens almost always have a lot fewer attendees. Given that absolutely everyone who voted is for Pontchartrain Park House I'd say we go for that. We have 11 people so far (assuming Grundislav's girlfriend agrees with his choice), and it shouldn't be too hard to find five more. There are already close to that many in the maybe pile. I know I'd be happy to pay $500 for a week in a great place like that too, if it came to there only being 11 of us. Bagsy (or 'shotgun' if you prefer) one of the king sized rooms!

Grundislav · Thu 05/02/2015 16:28:02

She'll be fine with whatever we go with. I claim one of the king size rooms too!

Disco · Sun 08/02/2015 05:51:01

After looking into the locations and amenities for both of the top picks, I am putting my support firmly behind the "Turn of the Century" (actually named The Dusty Mansion) location.

I found the Pontchartrain house on satellite images. It is part of an RV park that is situated in an industrial area, which to me is a much less desirable location than the next most popular pick. Check it out (yellow pin):

Close up
Further out
The surrounding area. Beside being in an industrial park, there is an airport directly across the road to the north.

Compare that with the location of the Dusty Mansion (red pin):

The house's nearest intersection (assuming the map is accurate enough)
Further out. The next main road to the north is Saint Charles Avenue (which is served by a street car) is about 8-10 minutes by foot.

An overview of New Orleans

A few more things to consider...The mansion has more than double the floor area (4,000 square feet compared to 1,920 square feet at the marina) and has twice the amount of seating in the dining area (12 seats instead of 6). There is a pool table that can convert to a ping pong table, whereas the marina doesn't even have a game room. The rent is nearly $1,000 less* overall as well.

The area looks to have many more options for restaurants, supermarkets, and is closer to more attractions and transportation links.

Additionally, there seems to be a much more authentically New Orleans look to the mansion than the property at the marina, which in my opinion does look somewhat cool but lacks a lot of character both on the inside and outside.

*Sometime in the previous 24 hours, the Pontchartrain property dropped their weekly rate for our chosen time period(s) from $5,540 to $4,345. However, even with this sudden price reduction it is still nearly 25% MORE than the Dusty Mansion weekly rate of $3,500.

AGA · Sun 08/02/2015 11:47:48

Dusty Mansion is fine by us. I will reiterate at this point that we reserve a queen room to ourselves though, as those are far more limited in Dusty Mansion... Oh, and can we ensure that the Dusty Mansion isn't actually dusty, because I have allergies ya know