Posts from CIS 2016

Dear gentlemen, I would like to remind you that this topic is dedicated to discussing the CIS 2015, and not at all to the question of whether there will be an Open Qualifier...

in fact, whether there will be an OQ or not will greatly affect the regulations not only of the tournament itself but also of the leisure activities – therefore, it would be good to know about the possibility as soon as possible... or am I wrong? :)

P.S. There was a post a little higher about the fact that St. Petersburg will allow you to save money, unlike Sochi, is it possible to somehow motivate this, I, frankly, thought a little the other way around....

very, very interesting! All that remains is to show this fact to the interested parties with a logarithmic ruler in hand)) as soon as there is concrete information from St. Petersburg, we can immediately start working on this!

Dear gentlemen, I would like to remind you that this topic is dedicated to discussing the CIS 2015, and not to the simultaneous turn issue...

In 2015, the CIS tournament was successfully held, thanks to my attentive leadership.

:D :D :D

In 2015, thanks to my skillful leadership, the CIS tournament was successfully held.

lil) and I forgot - nit)

Peter is going to attend two more viewings today, and the results will be announced in the evening.

Peter is leaving/QUOTE]
Is the whole team leaving?:D

злой_романтикPeter is going out/QUOTE]
With the whole team?:D

Only the chosen ones ;)

BISHOP
Only the chosen ones ;)

The main thing is not to get drunk too early :D

Where were you before with such good advice? :(
Regarding the topic – we're going back, and both bases fit our format. Links and photos will be posted later, when I get home and have access to my computer.

So, Peter presents two options for your consideration, and the first one is the Raivola recreation center: http://www.raivola.spb.ru/main.php. Today, together with Ive and Falcon, we visited it, and we liked both options. The only question left is the price (we are trying to negotiate so that we can use the conference package at Raivola - http://raivola-biz.ru/files/paket-2015-2016.pdf; the administration said that the conference package cannot include holidays, so I will call on Monday and try to get better terms). You can find photos of Raivola on their website, http://www.raivola.spb.ru/main.php, on the "Booking" website - http://www.booking.com/hotel/ru/raivola.ru.html, and I will post a few photos now. Unfortunately, the suites and conference rooms were occupied, and I couldn't take photos, but everything is available on their official website and on Booking. I would highlight the excellent grass football field, good internet, entertainment such as paintball, and quad bikes (if I'm not mistaken) + maybe someone will want to ride horses not only in the game :). It's also a short distance from St. Petersburg (there is also a direct minibus to the metro), not too expensive, with a 24-hour bar with live music, 4 billiard tables, large gazebos for groups where you can grill kebabs, and the nature... the nature is excellent, with a lake nearby, and a Spa center with a sauna and a swimming pool. There is also a gym for those who like to work out. The post about the Aurora recreation center will be in the next post, so as not to confuse the photos.

Aurora - http://auroraclub.ru/info/about/
Unfortunately, we arrived at Aurora in the twilight, so we couldn't take photos of the base itself and all the beautiful things around it. But I can say that the place is really great. There's a lake right on the grounds, with a view from some of the rooms. There's also a football field, a sauna, a billiard room, and other amenities. The rooms are definitely a step up from Raivola. We visited 2 conference rooms, a 2-person "Shell" (the most budget-friendly option), a "Mys" townhouse for 4 people, a 6-person "Poseidon" - an excellent townhouse with a sauna and fireplace on the ground floor (where Ive has already decided to stay :D), and two 4-person studios - with and without a balcony. There were even more luxurious options, like a penthouse, but they were also booked. If you're interested, check out their website.
I'll call about the prices on Monday because they don't have a price list for May yet, and I want to try to get some discounts. If the conference room is cheap in Raivola (and free in the conference package), then everything will have to be paid for in Aurora. I also took a photo of the price list for autumn 2015 and will attach it. The rest of the information and photos are on their website and on "Booking."


It might be a bit rambling, but I'm tired. If you have any questions (and you definitely will), feel free to ask. As I said, the cost of both options should be more or less clear next week.
Take a look, choose, and ask (preferably only those who are seriously considering going to this event, and not just chatting). In my opinion (and in the opinion of Falcon and Ive), the options are more than decent - with good internet (finally, streams from the CIS will no longer be exotic :)) and a good cultural and sports program. I think that's all. If I forgot or didn't say something, I hope Ive and Falcon will add or correct me.

The 6-person "Poseidon" is a great townhouse with a sauna and fireplace on the first floor (where Ive has already decided to settle :D)

unlikely!:smile08:

...in Raivola, the conference hall is cheap (and in the conference package, it's free...)

The hall is the central venue for the event.
But on the Raivola website, the hall is described as follows:

The accommodation price includes (1 day):
* rental of a conference hall / classroom - 8 hours
......

8 hours seems a bit short, or can this be extended?

Also, why are all the venues based on a hotel-style accommodation? Instead of doing what worked well before – renting an entire house with a hall of the required size and bringing in a good cook? Couldn't a suitable option be found? There used to be many attractive options available. And the lack of internet isn't a problem – a regular 4G modem can handle the bandwidth if you purchase a suitable data plan and avoid using local data packages...

This can be fixed. 8 hours, the rest for an additional fee, but it's very cheap. We came to the conclusion that a large house is not suitable for the CIS region, but rather for meetings in the format of m200, for example – there is much more space for people. Some people want to relax in peace and quiet, which is problematic in a large house, plus I would be afraid to stay in this house for 7 days – there will be a lot of trash, dirt, and empty bottles. Besides, one cook is unlikely to feed such a crowd, and a hotel-style option is more suitable for various types of leisure activities (paintball, football, quad bikes, swimming pool, etc.).

I'll also add a few words, because Roma is doing all the work here. To begin with, finding a suitable place for our event in St. Petersburg turned out to be quite a challenging task. The main problem is the price-quality ratio. We reviewed a lot of options online, visited different places, and everywhere there were issues that didn't suit us – whether it was the lack of decent internet, the appearance of the rooms and the grounds, the distance from the city, and, most importantly, the prices. A good resort, hotel, or cottage village is quite expensive compared to Volgograd and Alex's suggested option in Sochi. But today, we visited two really decent resorts with reasonable prices for conference packages. On average, it's a 30-40 minute drive from the city. The first option, presented by Roma, was appealing due to the combination of factors: a large conference hall, good internet (we connected to the local Wi-Fi), a well-maintained spacious area with a lake nearby, an excellent football field, a sauna, and a place to grill. Overall, it's good. We had lunch at the local bar, and everyone liked it. Aurora didn't initially appeal to me much because of the staff's attitude. They gave us the keys to the rooms and conference halls and said, "Look around yourselves; we have our own things to do." Plus, it was already dark and a bit gloomy. But after walking around the area, I realized that this place has its advantages: a large, beautiful lake, around which there are very cozy and comfortable rooms and townhouses. In some, you can walk out onto the veranda, sit down with coffee (or whiskey) in a chair, and have such a beautiful view right in front of you. We also looked at two conference halls; I think they will be perfect for us. The internet should be good; we'll write about the food and everything else later. This is a brief overview of my impressions and observations. If we can agree on the price, we'll visit both places again and describe everything in detail.