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Regular readers of this LiveJournal (all three or four of you) may remember my review of last year's Lunacon which, for the irst time in many years, was held in a hotel in northernmost New Jersey.

The Jimmy Hoffa Memorial Sheraton (a/k/a the Sheraton Meadowlands) was so inhospitable to the convention that the con comm chose to move again, this time to the Hasbrouck Heights Hilton, which is only a bit closer to New York City than the Meadowlands Sheraton was.

Despite the fact that the function space of the hotel was under construction all weekend, and clearly would be for months to come (hence the nickname, "The Hotel D'Iaster"), the HHH was much friendlier to the con than its predecessor had been. There were some problems. The dealers' room and gaming areas were too small for their intended functions, the only usable ballroom for the Masquerade and similar functions is located, inexplicably, upon the 13th floor (nicknamed the 12th floor by the hotel marketroids), reaching the hotel by any mode of transportation other than a self-propelled motor vehicle was a challenge, and the hotel restaurant, though quite good, was insanely expensive ($72 for dinner for two without alcohol!).

Worse still, Eric and I and our friend dedrell didn't make it to the con until nearly 11:30 p.m. on Friday because I was swamped with trial preparation tasks at work.

But we still had a lot of fun. Lunacon always has good dealers and a great Art Show, and this year was no exception. We ran into a number of friends from previous cons who like to game, and enjoyed really fun games of Carcassonne, Puerto Rico, and Pirate's Cove. The convention also had a small Dealers' Row, which was not only on the same floor as our room, but started right next door to us. (Shopping on your floor right after dinner; what fun!) There were more parties than last year, at least on Saturday night. Although most of the panels were not about topics that interested me, the descriptions in the program book looked varied and well-thought out, and the one panel I did attend, on researching historic costume for SCA or Masquerade competitions, was well done and very enjoyable. The only significant minus I noted was the con suite, which was scantily stocked all weekend long. (The marathon showing on Saturday of the entire first season of the new Dr. Who might have changed my mind if the room had been more comfortable and if I hadn't seen all the episodes before, courtesy of some friends of mine.)

So I enjoyed the convention despite the new hotel. But I wouldn't bet that the con will be back to Hasbrouck Heights next year.