The 2011 TAC Missileers Reunion will be held at Holiday Inn Mission Valley, in San Diego, California on Oct. 13th, 13th and 14th. Bill Simpson, TAC Missileers President recently visited the hotel shared the attached site survey. (Note: Information about making your reunion hotel reservations can be found here.)
January 24, 2011
From: Bill Simpson
Date: Mon, January 24, 2011 12:49 pm
To: TAC Missileers Officers
Subject: Site Survey — Holiday Inn Mission Valley
Greetings from sunny/cold Las Vegas. I just got back from a trip to Long Beach VA Medical Center where I visited a friend there for treatment. The weather there was a warm 78 which made me think a lot of our Missileer members would have enjoyed a reunion now instead of the lousy weather the rest of the nation is experiencing. I had some free time so I drove to the Holiday Inn Mission Valley location Saturday to check out the place and area. Whoever coined the phrase “rolling hills” evidently grew up next to the Holiday Inn. There is no level ground–when you walk out the front door you have a choice to go down or up a hill. The area is beautiful but I’ve always considered the San Diego area one of the best. Unfortunatey the sales office was closed and no one from management was available. April from the front desk and Vicky from housekeeping were my facility guides. I looked at both the standard room and suite and found them to be more than suitable. Rooms come with a ref, coffee maker and iron/ironing board. The suite also has a microwave and I was told one would be included in the standard room if requested.
On the first floor there is a fitness room and an outside pool. I don’t believe these are on our #1 list of things to do but are available. As you come in the hotel front door the bar and restaurant are on the right side. The bar has seating for about 10 customers and is located in the restaurant area. The restaurant can accomodate 75 customers. I can see our group filling up this area very fast. At the restaurant far end there is another room which can be opened to take care of any overflow–seats another 30-40. I know a lot of our members like to sit around and chat so the overflow area would be convenient and out of the way. The lobby compared to our previous reunion locations is extremely small. Only a few places to sit and chat and could become very congested during the registration process. But convieniently adjacent to the lobby are the meeting rooms–actually one big room with a divider and separate entrances. If we could commandeer one of these rooms for the reunion duration we would not only have a place to sit and chat but also be able to display any Mace/Matador items the members bring with them or any that Art may wish to show. This would also be the place for the business meeting. I’m attaching some photos so if anyone has questions please contact me.
While there I booked my reservation with no problem. April said there were still many rooms availables for our dates. I asked for a list of current TAC Missileer reservations but that cannot be accessed from the front desk. One thing she noted was that our $139 suite rate was not in the computer. The hotel has ample parking including a basement garage with elevator.
Next to the hotel is Daley’s Square. This includes Jack in the Box, Sizzler, El Roberto Mexican, Japenese & Chinese Sushi, Submarina, dry cleaners, hair & nail, D’Amato’s pizza and Fed Ex. Across the intersection is Stonecrest Plaza which includes the ever present McDonalds, Baskin Robbins, Papa John pizza, Baja Fresh Mexican, Einstein Bros Bagels and for those needing their morning coffee fix Starbucks.
For a final review I took a ride to the airport–11 miles and 20 minutes from the hotel. A much smaller operation compared to Las Vegas for sure. Coming directly out of the baggage area are the shuttle services. I stopped at the SuperShuttle podium and asked about the rates to the hotel. They produced a book which listed the $17/person rate. On the other side of the aisle was another podium which represents about 8 shuttle services. The person at the podium only gives basic info–rates are determined by the actual drivers. The first one I approached wanted $20/person. The next driver I approached was much more flexible and by the time we finished chatting the rate was down to $7/person with the stipulation that our members call ahead (619-301-4636) and make a reservation giving him their arrival date/time. I also checked the taxi drivers. They use a meter and gave me an estimated fare to the hotel of $35. If somehow our members could get together the taxi may be the best choice. Taxis will take 4 people. If there is too much baggage they get a mini van which charges the same fare. In addition, the Holiday Inn has a shuttle Monday-Friday which operates 7AM – 11AM and 5PM – 9PM. Apparently operated by a private individual who only charges a “donation”. Only recommended for travel from the hotel to airport.
OK sorry for the long story and I couldn’t get all my pics attached. I’ll get them all to Russ for possible future use. I plan on going back to Long Beach in about 3 weeks and could make the Holiday Inn run again if needed. Let me know if there are any questions.
Bill
Click on images to enlarge.
Shopping Center- adjacent to Holiday Inn Mission Valley (photo courtesy of Bill Simpson)
Holiday Inn Mission Valley (photo courtesy of Bill Simpson)
Lobby - Holiday Inn Mission Valley (photo courtesy of Bill Simpson)
Lounge - Holiday Inn Mission Valley (photo courtesy of Bill Simpson)
Dining Area - Holiday Inn Mission Valley (photo courtesy of Bill Simpson)
Lobby - Holiday Inn Mission Valley (photo courtesy of Bill Simpson)
Lounge / Lobby - Holiday Inn Mission Valley (photo courtesy of Bill Simpson)
Lobby / Dining Area - Holiday Inn Mission Valley (photo courtesy of Bill Simpson)
Lounge - Holiday Inn Mission Valley (photo courtesy of Bill Simpson)
Meeting Room - Holiday Inn Mission Valley (photo courtesy of Bill Simpson)
Meeting Room - Holiday Inn Mission Valley (photo courtesy of Bill Simpson)
Meeting Room - Holiday Inn Mission Valley (photo courtesy of Bill Simpson)
Shopping Center - adjacent to Holiday Inn Mission Valley (photo courtesy of Bill Simpson)
Shopping Center - adjacent to Holiday Inn Mission Valley (photo courtesy of Bill Simpson)
Pool - Holiday Inn Mission Valley (photo courtesy of Bill Simpson)
Double Room - Holiday Inn Mission Valley (photo courtesy of Bill Simpson)
Double Room - Holiday Inn Mission Valley (photo courtesy of Bill Simpson)
Suite - Holiday Inn Mission Valley (photo courtesy of Bill Simpson)
Suite - Holiday Inn Mission Valley (photo courtesy of Bill Simpson)