Honestly, I'd feel the same about Ocean Shores as I would about Ashland, Ohio. I stayed at a place like this on the East Coast a couple summers ago (in Maine), and was very bored. If I'm spending a lot of money to get somewhere, I don't just want to sit around inside or doing mundane activities in a tiny ocean resort town. This is my main objection. The accommodation sounds great (though I'd like to see a link to the listing), but I'm not at all keen on the location. I'd prefer a major metropolitan area, to such an extent that not choosing one would negatively affect my chances of attending.

Transportation might be prohibitive, as well. From the Seattle airport to Ocean Shores, it's a two and a half hour drive. Considering that most of us will not be taking cars, and that there is unlikely any cheap public transit (if any at all) between Olympia and Ocean Shores, it will be difficult for people to get there. If you have an idea for how this will work, Trafton, please elaborate.

Your math skills amaze me, Trafton. The whole suite would be CAD 279.72 per night, including tax, so half a suite (3 rooms) would be about 140 per night, not 160. I didn't mention this in the quoted post, but one of the six rooms contains a double bed. Presumably 2 people of a family of 3 could share a bed, so they would only need two rooms. Anyway, how is this even an issue? A family of 3 would have to pay significantly more (I'd guess about 3 times more than a family of 1) regardless of the chosen accommodation, if we're dividing the cost equally like we should.

I'm not heartset on the Gage Towers, nor even on Vancouver, but potential issues (such as the number of attendees being indivisible by 6) with the specific option I suggested shouldn't preclude us from considering anything similar.