Accommodation for Amaze Festival

EvanGreenwood

Hey, at least two of us from Free Lives are going up to Joburg for Amaze. (Myself and @Raithza... maybe @Merrik as well)

We don't know Joburg. We'd like to stay nearby other game devs. If anyone knows which hotel the international devs are staying at then that'd be great to know.

I'm not sure how many other devs from Cape Town are going up for Amaze. But basically it'd be cool if we could maximize our hanging with cool people time, and if anyone has any suggestions that'd be awesome!

Tuism

I stay in Joburg, and would offer my knowledge, but I don't have inner-city streetwise :P But I'll be glad to help maximise hanging out with cool people time too :)

dislekcia

I'm also interested in accommodation around Amaze... I just noticed that the times I was looking at on the site have changed from 28th-2nd to the 5th-7th. That's a big deal!

hanli

I've just gone through everything we had in the forum for AMAZE, and it all said 5-7.
28-2nd were last years dates I think? Not sure where the confusion has come in, other than Thorsten only updating the website now...

hanli

@BlackShipsFilltheSky There is a hotel here in Braamfontein that the university uses often. I'll find out it's details and get back to you on that.

dislekcia

Hotel details would be awesome! :D

TheFuntastic

I'll be up there as well, but I'm mostly looking at staying with friends to save costs. If everyone was in the same place and cost was reasonable I might be interested in joining in...

Manikin

Agreed! Though I may be staying with family (who coincidentally live about 10 mins drive from WITS), but I may be interested in doing a night or two at a hotel if there's one at a decent rate.

For those who live in Joburg or have been to AMAZE before - what's the best way to get around? I'm leaning towards hiring a car... is it madness price-wise to catch taxis/busses? Is a rental car the best option?

TheFuntastic

Joburg these days has gautrain with feeder routes via way of bus. Very dependant on where you're staying though. Meter cabs exist, similar price to CT per km, but the distances means even "short" journeys cost a fortune. For joburg, sadly hire car is still the most sane option if you're planning on going anywhere other than the CBD/Rosebank/Sandton. WITS students can probably give you a better idea of what other options exist...

Tuism

Is Wits by any Gautrain stations? I don't believe so? Is it on the Feeder bus routes?

Manikin

Thanks guys, I think the best bet would be car hire then.

iceblademush

I guess everyone is flying? :P There was a hint that some kind of arrangement would be made, but i guess flying is far more practical :) Im also interested in going.

TheFuntastic

@Tuism, seems it's not quite on the bus route. Have to believe there must be ways and means. You could walk even - but wouldn't want to do that with a laptop/or at night.

mikegeyser

Park Station (Gautrain stop) is about 5 - 10 minutes walk from Wits, but I wouldn't recommend walking it with a laptop at night. I love Braamfontein a lot, but one needs to be realistic about Jozi city centre at night.

hanli

You can also look at using tuk-tuks. They are really cheep, very efficient, and if you are staying anywhere in a 10km radius of Wits, they will pick you up and drive you through. You phone to arrange, and they send a driver.

iceblademush

@hanli hi, any details about hotels? Thanks :)

EvanGreenwood

We're going to be staying at the Bannister Hotel: http://bannisterhotel.co.za/

I stayed their last year, though they've renovated since. They're about two to four blocks from the venue (I think).

I don't think it's particularly high class... though it's adequate for us.

iceblademush

includes 100mb free wifi a day ;P But looks good :)