I'm getting in private emails from Coupers asking about lodging accommodations, and rather than continuing to repeat myself for future requests, I've decided the smartest thing to do is to post a general answer to the Flyin List with the same information I'm giving out privately.
I'm not personally handling room reservations because I don't want to be responsible for having anyone else's credit card info (you will need a credit card to guarantee your reservation) and because it is easier for folks to decide what amenities they need, what bed preferences, what smoking preferences, how much they are willing to pay, etc. and deal with it all directly instead of the time-consuming process of lots of back-and-forth emails which could cause loss of a room by virtue of the time-consuming process of communication.
Thus far, the impression I get from Syd is that the majority of Coupers he is bringing down are bringing camping equipment with them. I don't know about Coupers from other areas.
John & I do have motel reservations at the Best Western in Lakeland, but they are now full up. You can go to the http://www.BestWestern.com website and enter in the dates and "Lakeland, FL" in the location and it will give you alternative hotels and tell you how far away they are. We've stayed in Winter Haven in the past and it isn't a bad drive at all - a quick ride down high-speed roads (I think part of the way is a toll road though). Last I checked, the Best Western in Winter Haven (which looks out over Cypress Gardens' lake, apparently) still had rooms available but don't wait - they fill up quickly. The EAA Warbirds group tends to stay out in Winter Haven now (they basically take over the majority of an entire Holiday Inn)
One possibility, if your wife/lady friend wants to be with the other women there, who may be camping out, is to go to the http://www.Sun-n-Fun.org website and click on "Area Accommodations" or "Lodging" (or something like that) and it offers links to some local RV dealers who rent out RVs. That way you could rent an RV with indoor plumbing and air conditioning and cooking ability, and stay right there on the Sun'n'Fun grounds. If you don't mind sharing one, conceivably a Couper & Spouse could take the master bedroom and another two people (probably 2 guys if they want 2 beds) could sleep on the fold-out beds (sometimes a sofa by day, or the dining table banquett sometimes folds down at night to create an additional bed)
I would suggest trying the following hotel/motel chain websites, as often they will have the capability of quickly finding an alternative lodging within their chain if their Lakeland locations are already full:
http://www.BestWestern.com
http://www.Marriott.com
http://www.Hilton.com
and I don't know what the Holiday Inn general website is -- I once entered " http://www.holidayinn.com and it took me to a specific hotel far away from where I wanted to stay. I know a lot of Holiday Inns are privately-run franchises, so I don't know if the Holiday Inn chain has a general website or not. They may just depend on their brand name and AAA guidebooks and the like for drawing people in.
I know that many of the EAA Warbirds wives tend to plan shopping expeditions up to Orlando or over to Tampa for some days, and have their own party thing going on while their husbands do airplanes all day. There is a possibility (we'll have to float it to the list) of renting a van or 2 for group transport during Sun'n'Fun -- I think this is most likely how we are going to go over to Fantasy of Flight, and out to the Red Barn, and I'm sure it probably wouldn't be a problem if the ladies wanted to borrow it during the day to go out on some shopping excursions (Tampa now has an ultra-deluxe mall located on the edge of Tampa International Airport) and visit Cypress Gardens, Disney World, Sea World, Busch Gardens, the beaches, or other area attractions that aren't aviation-oriented.
Good luck and let me know if there's anything else I can help with. Also, if you would, please let me know where you wind up staying because I'm getting in emails from others who want to come in and prefer to stay near other Coupers.
Maybe next year we can get better organized and book a group of rooms for Coupers at one of the Lakeland motels, which will reduce the cost of the room and allow us to keep all the motel-oriented Coupers together.
Susan
N2141H
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"It is much better to live in a world that you have participated in defining, than in one that has been defined for you." - Susan Horton
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
"As life is action and passion, it is required of a man that he should share the passion and action of his time, at peril of being judged not to have lived." - Oliver Wendell Holmes
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