Monroeville Convention Center — Attraction in Monroeville

While the cleanliness and the event center in and of itself are just fine, I am posting this review in the hopes that one of the organizers of the Steel City Con will see it and actually take heed of what I have to say. We have attended many events here held by the Steel City Con, over the years and I will say they have usually been very enjoyable and the reason we continue to attend. We had very high expectations yesterday when attending the most recent event and wow, simple to say, we were very disappointed. Beginning with the entrance issues. We purchased our tickets online and had everything in order, yet still had to wait in a line with people who hadn't purchased their tickets yet. That was fine, I suppose, but I feel like having an entrance for people who pre-purchase just makes sense to keep things moving. Speaking of moving, inside, you can't. It is crowds of people slowly waking because of the small size of the venue. I feel bad for the vendors because people couldn't even stop to shop at some of the tables because of the poor set up and location. There is no distinction for lines of different celebrities and literally nothing telling you where exactly to line up for some of the bigger celebrities meet and greets. There is nowhere to sit and have a break, no spillway to catch a breath and honestly we spent about half the time we would have and a quarter of the money we had intended to. I suggest to the organizers to move to a larger venue, perhaps the DLL Convention Center downtown. I know many people who have said they wouldn't return without changes and I have to agree, sad to say. This will most likely be our last event unless the...

The doubletree hotel is something of a curates egg. It's brightest point is the staff, who put a lot of effort into being both helpful and efficient. It has an evening restaurant and proper cooked breakfasts, a big leg up on the other towers on other shopping malls. But the restaurant menu is unimaginative and unvarying, and the prices a bit on the high side for what you get.

This dichotomy extends to the rooms. large, comfortable rooms with tiny cramped bathrooms. Nice to have a bathtub, but it is too small to stretch out in.

The biggest problem is the noise. There is an in-room air conditioner in every room, roaring away like a 5 dollar motel in the 1950s. If the noise gets too much you can turn it off and open the window, when the howling of cooling fans on the ballrooms and the traffic noise will be just as bad. I can't believe that in the 21st century a Hilton-owned hotel does not have central air conditioning.

The tower is in the middle of a bleak windswept shopping mall car park, yet it often does not have enough parking places, particularly at weekends. Most nearby restaurants are national chains, there are very few privately owned places...

A woman name Kelly Simon, who works for the convention center has a VERY long reputation for not paying those she hires- she owes me (still) $1500 from an event 3 years ago here (won't reply to emails/attempts), and I'm told, owes close to $80,000 to other speakers and hired hosts/guests that she has never paid (cast members of The Sopranos, and more). In other cases she has paid people and then cancelled/bounced checks on them once they left the site. I'm just going on what I've been told from multiple sources (around ten of them), read online in reviews, been told personally, and from my particular experience with this place. Go look her up online as I'd hate to see anyone else taken advantage of. I've given her, literally, about 50 chances to pay me/make good and she still persists in not paying decent, honest, hardworking people and families. The rest of the staff may be fine, but sadly, her actions reflect on...