Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Ho$tel vs. Hotel

According to Emily Post, proper wedding etiquette calls for the bride and groom to pick up the tab for their attendants' accommodations. We'd been hoping my parents could help in this department since they're timeshare holders with Marriott, but new rules bar them from using their points until 2011.

Hotels in Sausalito are pricey ($200+ minimum) since they have premium views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay. It's about 30 miles away from San Francisco International Airport and Oakland Airport, so public transportation to and from is not an option.

We have two alternatives: book a block of rooms at the Marriott in Larkspur, 10 miles away  or rent a whole house or annex via Hostel International's outpost in the Marin Headlands.


The Marin Headlands Hostel -- a certified green business -- offers the best price per person, at $26 per person/per night including tax, linens and towels. The hostel would be for guests who don't mind dorm-style living for a couple days, or those with kids. I coordinated a wedding a couple years ago and the couple stayed with their family and friends in an entire 2-story house, formerly officer's quarters, went on hiking excursions, cooked together, played games by the fireplace, and more.  It was a great way for everyone to reconnect with each other.


My ideal accommodations would be the Cavallo Point Lodge, a renovated military post that features extensive healing arts + spa amenities, culinary classes, and guided hikes and walks. But as you can probably tell, it'll be way beyond the 10kbride's budget!

What are you doing for your guests' or bridal party's accommodations? Have you found an amazing deal? Do tell!

Other good tips on finding budget accommodations can be found at this  Associated Press article.

8 love notes:

Heather said...

That hostel sounds like a great bargain! We’re sticking with a block of rooms at a nice Best Western that’s right around the corner from the reception location, which I think will be very convenient for guests. They’re giving us a deal of $89 per night, which is not bad at all for our area!

{un}Veiled Vows said...

I just showed this to my fiance and he said "well f*ck emily post". Originally we were going to see if people wanted to camp out in my parents' backyard. That didn't go over too well so now we are getting 4 suites at a hotel for the wedding party, their dates and a couple other friends who want in. It comes out to 25/person per night. That's a great deal but it's for 20 people and that ends up being more than a tenth of the budget! I would love to be able to foot the bill but I don't know if we can swing that.

Vera D. said...

Haha - we're not going to foot the bill either We agree with your fiance! We are trying to come up with recommendations for our guests, who are on a budget, especially since plane tickets to/from Florida is $600-800 pp. We do need to find a bridal suite for us the night after the party for that first night together. oh la la!

Cupcake Wedding said...

F*ck emily post indeed. I wish I could swing room and board for everyon, but I can't.

Love the hostel idea.

Anonymous said...

I heart Emily...and etiquette...and all of that. But we sure aren't paying for their rooms! I'm sure I'll have to repay the favor eventually at their weddings.

TheSaminal said...

We paid for our out-of-town maid of honor's hotel. The rest of our out of town friends we hooked up with Couchsurfing.com of which my husband and I were already savvy users.

I pricelined (priceline.com) 4 rooms for family at a nice place in downtown Austin for $43 per room per night. We LOVE Priceline.

Vera D. said...

The Saminal -- great ideas!

Unknown said...

We are footing the bill for two rooms, at least for the night before and the wedding court to get ready in the morning of. We are arranging a hotel block for our out of town guests. You can get a discounted rate for each room through the hotel block, so we're are going to reserve rooms for our attendants from that hotel block. Some hotels also offer you a discounted rate on the honeymoon suite, and sometimes a free room, if you reserve a block.

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