The one nice thing about the Boardwalk (whatever the host hotel name is) is the fact that you are right there for the start and finish. You don't have to pad your morning with getting to the race and once you are done, you can walk through the parking lot up to your room and shower. Other races I've done I've had to get on a bus to get to the race site and then wait to get home. They do have some suites in the towers.

I have some friends that have rented houses or condos right around there but not sure how they did that. I'm guessing if you google it you'll find it.

Endurance Sports Travel does have some options down there as well. They package includes something like airport pickup/dropoff, accomodations, meals and transportation to and from the race for racer and family.

We stayed about 3/4mile from the Boardwalk (along the bike course) at a place called Grandview on the Beach. Specifically #302 in the Grandview East. It was beautifully decorated. 3BR wtih a pull-out sofa. Balcony, jacuzzi, etc... I'd highly recommend it. It wasn't right on top of the Expo, but that's good and bad. Yeah, it's a 10-15min walk. But, it's also not right on all the noise. We had family down with us who didn't want to go down there at 5am but instead met us at the swim start at 6:30. It was quieter than if we were right in the midst of everything.

You can stay close to the race at boardwalk.

a few blocks away at the gulf edge inn or long beach resort.

they are all within waling distance, even after a long day @ an IM (cool down anyone?) or even after a nice night of club hopping or as i like to call it......saturday! (joke)

alternatively you could look in to VRBO.com. it's vacation rentals by owner. you can usually book at a favorable rate in Nov as most vacationers are there in the summer. but you might want to book early to make sure you get a spot close to the venue....

later.. hope to pass you, i mean see you at the race.

good luck!

I agree with Tamara. We stayed at Grandview East. Just around the corner from the start/finish. You can get away from the excitement or be in the middle of it. Your call. If you stay at the boardwalk, you are in the middle of all the action. The condo was very nice. We had a 3 bedroom. Great view and enough space for 8.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn, which was a little ways down the beach. Mostly we chose it because of the huge waterpark and pool which the kids really liked. I didn't find it that hard to get to/from the race start. We were there for a week and I would recommend it for a family with kids as a great place (terrific breakfast buffet too). But without the kids I probably would've picked someplace a little bit closer to the race start.