The main hotel is filling fast - 2004-12-05 17:00:24
As of last week The Ommaroo Hotel( pictured ,left ), venue for next years Festival of Pool , had 102 people booked in already , despite the fact that the festival is still two and a half months away !!. The hotel ,where everything is being played ,only holds (if all rooms have two people sharing) 160 people. Once full , ALL latecomers will be housed about 75/100 yards away at a sister hotel.

The only alternative you would then have open to you in order to get in the main hotel,once these rooms are gone,will be to share a room that can house an extra person. That is on the assumption you have a mate that would be okay with this arrangement. Though the other hotel is much smaller,with a total capacity of around 70 , it is of a similar standard . Ideally though I would assume most would want to be in the main hotel,especially if you want the convenience of staggering upstairs to your room at 4.00am as opposed to staggering outside. Interestingly , having looking down the list of those people booked , I am convinced the involvement of all the pre-event PR the UK8ball site has given to the Festival has played a significant part in the event being booked so quickly . It would also appear there are a lot of new faces going next year,which is great. I know, because I have done it for so long now , that many Jersey regulars leave it very late in booking , knowing that time usually permits this. However , judging by the bookings we have already , this would not appear to be the case for Jersey 2005 . So in order to ensure a place in the main hotel, I suggest to all my regulars and indeed anyone else that is going but hasn't as yet done so, that they reserve their place(s) very quickly. Before you do however,I do think it will be worth checking the flight prices available on the net. Some people have saved a good few quid by doing so, and unlike in previous years , where it was impossible to do even if you wanted , this year we welcome , and in fact even encourage it. Simply find a flight if you can , then phone up the hotel and just confirm all the accomodation and entry details - which will cost you £159 - for the five nights. This offer price applies only until the end of this month . If you book thereafter it will cost you a further £20 (£179 in total ), as you won't get the Sunday night free of charge. Indeed , if you leave it another week and pay on your credit card , the way most card companies send the bills out means you may not even have to settle the bill for a couple of months.. You know it makes sense ! My last point goes out to all you professionals. Whatever your allegiance (which at Jersey is totally irrelevant ),at this stage only eleven are booked in , which leaves 23 spaces in order to get a seeding in the pro-am , and as usual you are , or will be - similar to every year - the last to book. So it really is in your benefit to book sooner rather than later to ensure you get a seeded place in the pro-am. Hopefully though I'll see you all there.