Did anyone from FITES check into this hotel before choosing it?  The Yelp! reviews are horrifying.

"There was hair in and around the tub and generally dirt and dust on the sink and tub. I saw a hair on the bedsheets...before we even slept in there."

"This place smells like a stable and looks like a 70s Vegas hotel. There are what seems to be bloodstains on the linens and the bathroom walls. Avoid this cesspool of a hotel, I do not recommend."

"Stayed here all of one night and wouldn't do a second. Checking in the lady was very nice and they provided an old cot. The room had a musty smell with iron burn markings on the floor. One lamp was missing a light and the phone had blood on it. Speaking of blood, a pillow and comforter were blotched with blood."

These are photos of the rooms submitted by customers:
https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/eisenhower-hotel-and-conference-center-gettysburg

Stained bed linens, dirty sinks, carpets not vacuumed.  Ugh.

Can you elaborate on the space issues? I still see a lot of empty chairs each year, I fear there will be a lot more if more space is attained.

Can you elaborate on the space issues? I still see a lot of empty chairs each year, I fear there will be a lot more if more space is attained.

I honestly am not sure where you are getting that information. We have sold out all of our winter events for the past 10+ years. There are people that don't get there until Sat morning and a group of people that leave Sat evening after their tournament but we always fill every seat. We added 50 more seats this time around but the room is so spacious that everyone should be more comfortable.

Btw, not trying to be a dick, just curious about the situation.

No problem. I just wasn't sure how to respond to your experience of empty seats since I haven't experienced that myself. We will be sending out more information about the event in the near future like we do every year. However, since some of you guys are ready to roll I can let you know a few things now.

While the Park Inn venue has been a great home to our event for many years there is no doubt that it had it's flaws. It wasn't the nicest/cleanest place, the rooms were not that spectacular, the prices for the room (even after discount) were not what I would call acceptable given the quality, the ballroom had low ceilings and was pretty cramped with 250 attendees (which leads to a hot and smelly venue), and it had stairs to traverse to get to the ballroom which really stinks when you have to carry a chair and gaming rig.

The new venue will allow us to provide more elbow room for our attendees, high ceilings for better and more stable air flow, lower room rates, a working PA system, no stairs to enter the ballroom, and a friendly staff that really appreciates our business. It was almost a no brainer. We also had no plans to expand while we were looking for a new home. We were fortunate enough to find a place that fit the bill AND allowed for a slightly larger event.

If you call the front desk to reserve your room, please let them know you are coming for our event and use the FITES discount. You can get a room for $69 a night. If any of you are greatly concerned about the quality of rooms (Park Inn really wasn't great either), you can request a room in the Aspire which is more expensive and not eligible for our group discount (It is closer to the ballroom though). Another option is the Red Carpet Inn .5 miles down the road for $50 per night.

So, apparently there were two hotels connected:

Eisenhower Hotel - http://eisenhower.com/
Aspire Hotel - http://www.aspiregettysburghotel.com/

When we went to check in at the Eisenhower hotel, they told us that we were actually staying in the Aspire hotel (not sure how that works as I didn't book), but the Aspire hotel was great, no issues... we had two queen sized beds, a couch, desk, tv, bathroom, etc. - even a microwave and coffee station.  I assume majority of the awful reviews are for the Eisenhower hotel and NOT the Aspire hotel - just FYI for next year

We didn't know some of us were switched to another part of the venue until we checked in.

I booked at the Aspire, its literally the same building.  The rooms at the Eisenhower weren't amazing but I honestly feel they were a upgrade to the Park Inn where we previously held events.

Rooms were new and very comfortable, I was given the Eisenhower rate without asking for it.  I saw the reviews and had the same concerns that you posted about, booked the aspire as suggested by one of the reviews.  My room had two king beds and a pull out sofa queen, split three ways it was dirt cheap.