If chaotic energy is not your thing - one way around it (in Chicago) is to stay at a hotel OTHER than the Palmer. We used points for a free room at a hotel just south of the river on Michigan avenue. This worked well for us as D only had 2 auditions at “official” unified schools - eg in the Palmer. Her others were at other Hotels - so the Palmer didn’t offer as much convenience for us - and I thought the intensity there might be a little much during off hours. We chose a central hotel where any of her venues was less than 10 min away by either foot or cab - and it went very smoothly. Lots of people love the energy at the Palmer- yet another case of “know your kid”.
D liked Unifieds. But she said it still had its stressors. She had a couple of schools that she had been waiting for and wanted to do really well. The most fun thing was that we brought her friend with us whose mother wasn’t interested in the process. The two of them really enjoyed their time in the hotel and I felt it was a relief to have them boost each other.
@artskids I AGREE!!! Another benefit of executive floor (another exec floor plug-- they should be paying us) is that it has its own bar, so no waiting at the very crowded bars in hotel.
I admit I took advantage of the executive floor bar.
We attended unifieds this past year to audition for camps and check things out. We stayed Saturday until Tuesday and arriving early was actually a bad idea for us. There was some kind of mock UN thing going on that had hundreds of students running all over, riding the elevators for fun, and staying up late partying in their rooms. Lots of yelling late at night. Once they cleared out on Sunday, things were much better but just be warned that you may not have an early peaceful quiet stay on Saturday if they are there again. We were on the normal floors - not executive level - and other than the mock UN noise at the beginning, it was fine. The elevator wait was never all that long and we brought our own snacks so saving money by staying on the non-executive levels works fine too. They block rooms at the Palmer and there’s a discounted rate so call to book that instead of just booking online.
The MUN kids were everywhere! All over the halls practicing in their cute suits and ties… There were far more of them than auditioning kids – hope you 2017 folks don’t have to endure that again.
What’s considered a “good deal” at palmer house? (for both regular and executive). Any tip on booking a room cheap?
Any dates for Unified 2017? We are trying to plan ahead with no luck!
Thanks in advance for your help!
@RKEme2017 See original post for this thread:
UNIFIED DATES for 2017
The Palmer House dates, for Chicago, will be February 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th. ***FOUR DAYS!!!
The New York dates are January 21 and 22.
The Los Angeles dates are February 11 and 12.
Perfect! Thank you!
Do you know the location for NYC? Same as this year?
I am also wondering for those who went to NYC for Unifieds…where did you stay hotel wise & where are most of the auditions held? Chelsea studios? I would want to stay as close as possible to auditions ! My D needs to be close by … Not running around like crazy
@theaterwork we stayed at the Even Hotel. At the time it was new and price was amazing. The have a health/fitness theme so yoga mats and food options were great. 50 yards to Pearl Studios and 20 ft to subway. Maybe 1-1/2 blocks to Penn Station. She did 10 auditions during the blizzard. The subway line by us stayed open the whole time. All were at Pearl or Ripley next building over except one on campus that we used the subway.
@theaterwork there are auditions in a few different studios in NYC, if you count Unifieds and unofficial Unifieds. Pearl Studios are around 8th Avenue and 35th Street. Ripley-Grier is near there. NOLA is 54th and 8th. There was also an open call at Chelsea Studios at 7th and 26th. NYC schools like NYC, Pace, Fordham, and Juilliard audition onsite.
I am assuming that both LA and NY do not have as many schools in attendance as Chicago. Am I right? Trying to plan:)
@momma2a I looked at NYC and Chicago and thought that Chicago may have had more schools but none that mattered to our list. Chicago is longer so you can spread out a bit. NYC is sooner so you can make plan changes if you need to based on results. We were able to cancel a trip and had results from NYC before Chicago even started for a few schools.
Ok I have a rough visual of that area. We’ve been to Ripley Grier for something a few summers ago,
@1998parent15 we would be coming in from penn station . I’ll look up that hotel. I seriously am not kidding it has to be easy peasy to get around as we are one hyped family!
@theaterwork I know a lot of people stay at The New Yorker for Unifieds and there were Groupons last year.
Ok @lojosmo will check out the New Yorker. We are “city challenged” people so it has to be pretty remedial lol.
@theaterwork It couldn’t be simpler unless you had a room IN Ripley Grier or Pearl!
Lol @lojosmo . Perfect!