Seven Springs Lodging Options

The World Boardgaming Championships are moving locations starting next year. It's moving from a self destructing hotel an hour from Philly to a ski resort an hour from Pittsburgh. From the sounds of things the ski resort is under newish ownership and is working on setting themselves up as a summer convention destination. Convenient that our convention needed a new summer destination...

One of the big concerns people have about the move is the increase in hotel cost. There were a ton of cheaper motels and the like around the old location (as in, the next building over) but a ski resort is more likely to be secluded and cut off those cheaper options as a result. On the other hand the ski resort does have a bunch of different types of rooms but actual information about what is available is sketchy at this point in time. Someone told us there were chalets with bunk beds and pretty low quality buildings but I found pictures of the chalets on the website and there were no bunk beds to be seen.

At this point I suspect the best play is to just get a room in the main hotel for the 2016 convention and then actually see what the other options are in person to make decisions for later. But for anyone unwilling to pay the main hotel price that's not really a good option. Getting to cram a ton of extra people into a chalet of some kind could be a really economical option for large groups of people... But there's a problem here in that no one has told us when we can book these things, or even how much they're going to cost! Waiting to get that info before making decisions is apt to have a faster group yoink your chalet out from under you! So it seems like a prudent thing to do would be to look at what the options are going to be and then it'd be easier to pivot and make a decision when the pricing is actually revealed. I will be listing the default web pricing when I can find it, but I have to assume the convention will have reduced rates.


Chalets

Seven Springs has 9 different chalets, with a wide array of sizes. My understanding is the chalets do not have air conditioning at this point in time, but apparently they've been adding AC to various buildings so who knows where they'll be in a year. At this point I'd bank on no AC. Looking at yesterday's weather it went from 13-28 degrees, which means AC wouldn't have been needed for me to sleep, but during the day it might be a tad warm. I don't think I'm concerned about it, but people who like it a lot cooler than I do might worry a bit more about it.

I've been trying to find the chalets on Google Earth, and my best guess is they're actually right beside the hotel. In two long buildings. For some reason I was thinking the chalets were going to be little houses, not like a condo townhouse thingy, but that seems to be what they probably are. Which does mean the chalets are very close to the convention center if they are what I think they are. (The cabins have outdoor pictures, the chalets only have indoor pictures, which makes me think my guess is right.)

Acorn Chalet - 6 person dining room, 2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, 2 king beds, 1 trundle bed. $440/night

Big Boulder Chalet - 18 person dining room, 4 bathrooms, 6 bedrooms, 7 queen beds, 3 trundle beds. $1000/night

Chipmunk/Fern Haven/Laurel Hill/White Tail/Watercress Chalets - All appear to be the same... 6 person dining room, 2 bathrooms, 3 bedrooms, 4 queen beds, 1 trundle bed. $540/night (Watercress can be connected to Acorn, apparently, to make a big 16 person chalet)

Field Stone Chalet - unknown dining, 2.5 bathrooms, 4 bedrooms, 5 queen beds, 1 trundle bed. $600/night

Lilypad Chalet - unknown dining, 2 bathrooms, 3 bedrooms, 2 queen beds, 2 twin beds, 2 trundle beds. ???/night


Cottages

They claim to have 8 different cottages but the website only lists 6 of them. These things actually seem to be what I thought a chalet was going to be. Little houses off in the woods. There's a road straight from them all to the convention center, and it looks like they average about 1.5 kms away. So like a 20 minute walk, or a very short drive. Some of the cottages mention a shuttle service to the convention center.

These things actually had a picture of a bunk bed!

Forest Lodge - 2 bathrooms, 4 bedrooms, 1 king bed, 1 queen bed, 2 single beds, 1 double bed, firepit, gas grill. $670/night

Robin's Nest and Sugar Camp - 2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 queen bed, 2 bunk beds. $270/night

Sassafras Cottage - SASSAFRAS! 2 bathrooms, 4 bedrooms, 1 king bed, 3 queen beds, 2 twin beds. $580/night

Sugar Hill - 3 bathrooms, 5 bedrooms, 1 king bed, 3 queen beds, 3 trundle beds, washer, dryer, internet. ???/night

{Aside: This is the first mention of internet access I've seen yet... Oversight or real concern?}

Swiss Cottage - 10 person dining room, 2.5 bathrooms, 3 bedrooms, 14 bunk beds, 1 twin bed. $240/night


Fin N Feather

This is apparently some sort of corporate retreat site. It's a collection of 3 buildings that sleeps 16. No idea what it would cost! It has 2 golf holes, a poker table, a pool table, volleyball court, croquet... AND BOARD GAMES!


Condos

There are a bajillion condos all over the place. The cheapest seemed to be $170 for a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom condo for 4. The condos all seemed to be further away than the cottages, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were worth looking at for people who would have a car and want something more private/quiet?


Hotel

WBC is subsidizing the hotel rooms, so we know for sure that $129/night is the rate for a standard hotel room. $10 more for a fridge I think. The hotel is attached to the convention center, but it's got a big lodge between the two. I suspect a room in the hotel here is more like a room in a hotel down the street at the old place. Not that there's anything closer... (Well, the chalets might actually be closer since you'll be on the ground floor!)