<p>CCr's have traditionally helped other parents and students, sharing advice about hotels, restaurants, things to see,weather, roads, etc, so I thought that it might be nice for us to post locations that we know well so that anyone visiting could PM or email us with questions. There has been a long standing thread on the main board, but it would be nice to have our own here in the Music Forum.
If the next person could copy and paste the list and add their own info, it can all stay in one place. Thanks! </p>
<p>Mezzo'sMama: NE Ohio (CIM and Oberlin), Western NY (Eastman in Rochester and SUNY Fredonia), Chicago (schools in the Loop area and areas toward the north end of the Red Line).</p>
<p>If going to Oberlin please know that the cab service they recommend from Cleveland Airport to Oberlin is not that dependable. My son missed his flight back home and had to stay at Oberlin an extra night because the cab service messed up. </p>
<p>Also cab service in Boston can be undependable, so be careful.</p>
<p>Mezzo’sMama: NE Ohio (CIM and Oberlin), Western NY (Eastman in Rochester and SUNY Fredonia), Chicago (schools in the Loop area and areas toward the north end of the Red Line).
SpiritManager: Bard College Conservatory (Hudson Valley, NY), San Francisco Bay Area</p>
<p>Glassharmonica: New York (city) and Philadelphia Mezzo’sMama: NE Ohio (CIM and Oberlin), Western NY (Eastman in Rochester and SUNY Fredonia), Chicago (schools in the Loop area and areas toward the north end of the Red Line). SpiritManager: Bard College Conservatory (Hudson Valley, NY), San Francisco Bay Area</p>
<p>StacJip: Boston and New York
Glassharmonica: New York (city) and Philadelphia
Mezzo’sMama: NE Ohio (CIM and Oberlin), Western NY (Eastman in Rochester and SUNY Fredonia), Chicago (schools in the Loop area and areas toward the north end of the Red Line).
SpiritManager: Bard College Conservatory (Hudson Valley, NY), San Francisco Bay Area</p>
<p>StacJip: Boston and New York Glassharmonica: New York (city) and Philadelphia Mezzo’sMama: NE Ohio (CIM and Oberlin), Western NY (Eastman in Rochester and SUNY Fredonia), Chicago (schools in the Loop area and areas toward the north end of the Red Line). SpiritManager: Bard College Conservatory (Hudson Valley, NY), San Francisco
Bay Area Stradmom Hartt, plus dated info on a variety of other places</p>
<p>StacJip: Boston and New York
Glassharmonica: New York (city) and Philadelphia
Mezzo’sMama: NE Ohio (CIM and Oberlin), Western NY (Eastman in Rochester and SUNY Fredonia), Chicago (schools in the Loop area and areas toward the north end of the Red Line).
SpiritManager: Bard College Conservatory (Hudson Valley, NY), San Francisco
Bay Area
Stradmom Hartt, plus dated info on a variety of other places
Singersmom07: Houston (Rice) and Washington, DC</p>
<p>StacJip: Boston and New York
Glassharmonica: New York (city) and Philadelphia
Mezzo’sMama: NE Ohio (CIM and Oberlin), Western NY (Eastman in Rochester and SUNY Fredonia), Chicago (schools in the Loop area and areas toward the north end of the Red Line).
SpiritManager: Bard College Conservatory (Hudson Valley, NY), San Francisco
Bay Area
Stradmom Hartt, plus dated info on a variety of other places
Singersmom07: Houston (Rice) and Washington, DC
Musicamusica: Southern California: UCLA,USC,Chapman, Colburn et al</p>
<p>If the list grows much larger, I’ll try to break it out into regions, but right now I think it’s manageable. If folks disagree, let me know and let’s figure it out how you all want it to read.</p>
<p>StacJip: Boston and New York
Glassharmonica: New York (city) and Philadelphia
Mezzo’sMama: NE Ohio (CIM and Oberlin), Western NY (Eastman in Rochester and SUNY Fredonia), Chicago (schools in the Loop area and areas toward the north end of the Red Line).
SpiritManager: Bard College Conservatory (Hudson Valley, NY), San Francisco
Bay Area
Stradmom Hartt, plus dated info on a variety of other places
Singersmom07: Houston (Rice) and Washington, DC
Musicamusica: Southern California: UCLA,USC,Chapman, Colburn et al
Scuba chick: Florida State</p>
<p>We stayed here and enjoyed it. There’s a special Peabody rate, they have (paid, IIRC) parking available so you don’t have to fight for a space in Peabody’s garage, and it’s a quick walk over to the building.</p>
<p>Wyndham Peabody Court $-$$$</p>
<p>612 Cathedral St., Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410- 727-7101
[Wyndham</a> Peabody Court Hotel - Downtown Baltimore hotel near Inner Harbor](<a href=“http://www.peabodycourthotel.com%5DWyndham”>http://www.peabodycourthotel.com)
1 block from Peabody. A boutique hotel located in the historic Mt. Vernon Arts and Cultural District. The hotel restaurant is available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.</p>
<p>ALWAYS call the hotels directly and ask if they have a promotional rate for the school (or parent school if it’s affiliated with a university). You won’t get it if you don’t ask, and they are not offered online or if you call the 800 number.</p>
<p>For those auditioning at CIM: The Glidden House is right across from the conservatory and includes full breakfast. There is a cafe next door and the hotel has parking, something that is at a real premium in University Circle. You can walk to the Botanical Gardens, Art Museum, History Museum and Severance Hall. About a 15 minute walk from the school is the Hyatt, which sits between CIM and the restaurants in Little Italy and across from the Museum of Modern Art.</p>
<p>Eastman in Rochester: a lovely alternative to their suggestions is The Inn on Broadway. It’s not inexpensive, but it’s the closest place and a very safe walk to the school and nearby restaurants. I always suggest it over the “right downtown” hotels, since those are a 15-20 minute walk past some “iffy” areas and the weather can make the walk more miserable!</p>
<p>Make your ressies NOW though, as all of these places fill up quickly!</p>
<p>Another vote for the Wyndham Peabody Court - VERY convenient to Peabody, and the audition week rate was very reasonable! They helped find us a very good car service to and from the airport, too. We stayed a number of days as we went visiting relatives in the area, and didn’t want to fly back to the west coast just to fly back to Rochester five days later. The restaurant was handy but there are plenty of better places to eat nearby.</p>
<p>The Inn on Broadway (near Eastman in Rochester) we have used several times. Their restaurant is very good (and expensive!). They will forever have a special place in my heart for making their piano in a conference room available to prospective piano majors to practice on during audition week! And, you can’t beat walking to your audition.</p>
<p>My strategy during audition season was to book reservations with all of my chosen hotels even before prescreens came back. (It was a risk, tempting the prescreen gods like that!) You can always cancel your reservations if the school falls off the list. I wanted to be sure that we were within walking distance of the school whenever possible. </p>
<p>Other favorites:
*Northwestern: Hotel Orrington, two blocks from campus
*University of Michigan: Campus Inn - although this is NOT within walking distance, but we got very good at hopping on and off the campus buses, which took us to North Campus and the Music School
*Oberlin - another vote for Shurtleff Cottage. They are so accommodating, they sent someone to the train station at 4am to pick up a young man who was traveling on his own to audition! We met him at breakfast the next day.</p>
<p>University of Michigan: We loved the Ann Arbor Regent Hotel and Suites. It’s quite close to the music school, is fairly new with very comfortable and quiet rooms. There is a Red Lobster across the street and many other restaurants within a 5 minute drive. I was amazed to go to my car in the morning after an all night snow to discover that a staff member had cleaned off my car! A nice breakfast is included.</p>
<p>CCPA- Roosevelt and Depaul: There are many downtown Chicago hotels, but I love the grand dame, Chicago Hilton. It’s a massive place- “Home Alone” was filmed there- but I am always pleased with the personalized service I get there.
If you are flying into Chicago, don’t rent a car. You don’t even need to take a cab, because the Blue Line runs from O’Hare and the Orange Line from Midway. It’s easy and inexspensive!</p>
<p>May I suggest that if you are not currently signed up as an affinity member with hotels such as Hilton, Hyatt, Sheraton, etc, take a few minutes and join before you make your reservations and travel. Checking in at the member desk or giving them your affinity number will often gain you room upgrades or other perks!</p>
<p>For Peabody- I would also recommend the Home2 Suites by Hilton. I’ve stayed there three different times between visiting, auditioning, and moving in. The hotel is fairly new and the rooms are a nice size; they even have a small kitchen in every room. Breakfast is complimentary. I have never had trouble trying to practice in the room. The hotel is about 4 blocks from Peabody, less than a ten minute walk. Don’t know if they have a specific Peabody discount, but I think the rate is a little cheaper than the Wyndham. The staff could not be friendlier.</p>