Travelling with Nirvana

miller82

looking to use these guys for an IM and i'm just wondering has anyone booked accommodation through them before.
Are they a rip off ?
Service good ?

longshank

miller82 wrote: »

looking to use these guys for an IM and i'm just wondering has anyone booked accommodation through them before.
Are they a rip off ?
Service good ?

when i was booking my ironman last year i compared their prices with doing it all myself and it was alot cheaper myself with better hotels much nearer the event and city center for a lot less

Bambaata

Had to use them for Austria 70.3 as they had booked up all available hotels. The price was about double for the room and i got no additional benefits from that. I wouldn't use them if you can self book.

Tommytwotimes

Do it yourself, steer clear of these guys.

miller82

its the only way i can get in to IM Austria though

Izoard

I've used them twice (IMCH and Roth) and worked well both times.

Sure, you can probably do it cheaper yourself, but it takes away a lot of the risk and hassle for tricky locations (and I would include Austria in that).

Just look at Tunney & JBs escapades in Roth as an example of how it can go wrong.

peter kern

miller82 wrote: »

its the only way i can get in to IM Austria though

http://www.trijuice.com/2009/12/ironman_austria_offering_50_more_slots_to_sold_out_race.htm

that happens usually in december and march

miller82

peter kern wrote: »

http://www.trijuice.com/2009/12/ironman_austria_offering_50_more_slots_to_sold_out_race.htm

that happens usually in december and march

i see. Bit of a gamble but might be worth it. 50 slots is tight though

Izoard

miller82 wrote: »

i see. Bit of a gamble but might be worth it. 50 slots is tight though

Plus, that link is for IMAT 2010, not 2013.

Have they done this in the past few years?

miller82

no mention of it on the site

tunney

Izoard wrote: »

I've used them twice (IMCH and Roth) and worked well both times.

Sure, you can probably do it cheaper yourself, but it takes away a lot of the risk and hassle for tricky locations (and I would include Austria in that).

Just look at Tunney & JBs escapades in Roth as an example of how it can go wrong.

Hey I had fun in Roth. (in the end)

peter kern

Izoard wrote: »

Plus, that link is for IMAT 2010, not 2013.

Have they done this in the past few years?

i am prety sure i see them every year and while the slot in december go v fast the march slotes i seem to rember go slowly.
anyway i just said its not the only way
and the same happens for Roth.

d.runs

Used them for Roth this year (had no choice as they supplied an entry) but found them excellent. A friend went the self route and had a lot of transport hassle.

catweazle

d.runs wrote: »

Used them for Roth this year (had no choice as they supplied an entry) but found them excellent. A friend went the self route and had a lot of transport hassle.

Theres a man who I wanted to know how he got on over there ;);););)

Oryx

I used them this year for Austria, for my apartment and airport transfers but not flights. It was probably more expensive through them but they did remove a lot of the hassle. The place I stayed was very remote but they had excellent transfers in place. They transported the bike to a zone just outside transition from where I just had to bring it in, I gave it back to them after the race and they kept it safe till the following morning, when they dropped it back to my accommodation. They supplied maps, pre race info, did a bike route tour, and were there for general troubleshooting. I thought it was worth it, but if I was to do it again I would choose accommodation closer to the race venue.

kingQuez

I used them this year for frankfurt accommodation as I'd left it too late to get into the same hotel with a direct booking myself. It was certainly more expensive than booking direct, and I didn't expect much. I also booked ground transport with them (transfers to airport/briefings/bike tour) which was a relatively cheap add on after paying for the accommodation. Overall I was pleasantly surprised at how much hassle it took out of things like getting to the swim venue in the days ahead of the race (note to anyone doing this: dont try and take a taxi for this at frankfurt, they're utterly useless!), getting to/from the airport with no trouble, similar for getting to the briefing venue which is well outside of town etc. In terms of customer service, I got speedy replies to email in the run up to the race, and it was the same bloke answering emails who collected me in their van from the airport. I was running late because of delayed baggage, and he phoned me to check everything was allright. While out there they were very helpful with anything that came up (like folk wanting to get a lift to the swim venue a few days before the race).

In Austra they seem to be based well away from the race venue, so you probably would want to get ground transportation with them if you book their accommodation as they run regular busses for getting to the expo/swim/back from the race on the night of the race etc. (I didn't use them in austra, just commenting on the setup from talking to folk who were at the race and using them).

When possible I'd still prefer to book things directly myself, but I'd have zero problem booking with them again if I wanted a late entry for a race and was willing to fork out the extra cash for it.

d.runs

Hi cw. I finished in 11.04. Died on the run!

delboyfagan

Costs are outrageous.

Especially the hotels they have in Austria are at a huge mark-up (Although the Lindner is unbelievable location). Same with Frankfurt.

What some guys did this year was pay the £150 deposit for the password to log in. This was meant to be used against accommodation that u got from them. But they just booked their own instead - worked out cheaper believe it or not than using them.

Book the flights urself. I went lufthansa to frankfurt and then air austria from frankfurt to klagenfurt (I think I was charged €70 euro return for this section, really cheap as I had booked a year in advance or thereabouts)

IM Austria, Roth and Germany usually release slots later on, but dont rely on this.

Schlosshotel worthersee and Hotel Plattenwirt are also great location but require minimum stays of 5/6 nights I think.

miller82

delboyfagan wrote: »

Costs are outrageous.

Especially the hotels they have in Austria are at a huge mark-up (Although the Lindner is unbelievable location). Same with Frankfurt.

What some guys did this year was pay the £150 deposit for the password to log in. This was meant to be used against accommodation that u got from them. But they just booked their own instead - worked out cheaper believe it or not than using them.

Book the flights urself. I went lufthansa to frankfurt and then air austria from frankfurt to klagenfurt (I think I was charged €70 euro return for this section, really cheap as I had booked a year in advance or thereabouts)

IM Austria, Roth and Germany usually release slots later on, but dont rely on this.

Schlosshotel worthersee and Hotel Plattenwirt are also great location but require minimum stays of 5/6 nights I think.

Cheers dbf

i have heard about the extra slots, but like you say, i dont want to rely on it.
how much money could you really save after losing the £150 ? marginal i'd imagine and then its the handyness factor of going through them.

I'll defo book the flights myself.

i'm thinking i might take the plunge and go with them

delboyfagan

Saw their package.

Hotel Sandwirth - £715 for 4 nights single - thats €905 euros for 4 nights.

A double room is £625 each - total cost £1,250 for two - euros 1,583.

Anyone who pays this is off their rocker. Period.

Sandwirth is a basic hotel. I got Rokohof for €85 euros a night when I went. The only extra u get is the meet and great at the airport and transport to and from airport. Oh and a bike course tour and access to a masseur and mechanic - yipee!!

That's a huge premium.

miller82

i saw a hotel thats a bit further away (probably in russia) but between three for 4 days i think it was working out at €70 a night

again the main point is , its the only way in to the race

delboyfagan

That's not my point.

My point is pay the £150. Get the password, log on and enter. Then book your own accommodation. Loads available if you search.

You can see from my calculations that it is worth foregoing £150 and just taking entry and doing everything yourself.

miller82

delboyfagan wrote: »

That's not my point.

My point is pay the £150. Get the password, log on and enter. Then book your own accommodation. Loads available if you search.

You can see from my calculations that it is worth foregoing £150 and just taking entry and doing everything yourself.

fair enough. i'm going to look at that option and see what price acc' i can get