Hopefully this is the right part of the forum, apologies if it is not. I am attending with 2 other people. We usually stay at a friend's house in Greenwood (he is one of the other 2). But, with rooms still available downtown we are giving serious thought to getting a room as we haven't ever really stuck around past 9PM. So, I have a few questions for those who have stayed downtown in the past.

1) Are the rates for rooms this year (looks like $229 a night for 2 queen size beds in a connected hotel) roughly what they normally are or are they down (or up I suppose) due to the current situation?

2) Does anyone have any opinions of the Springhill Suites? 

Thanks for any answers. 

2.) I have not stayed at the Indianapolis Springhill suites, but any "all-suite" style hotel (Springhill, Embassy, Homewood, Staybridge, etc.) are IMO the best type of room to get when traveling with friends. They generally have more room a full-size fridge, and have a kitchenette with reusable utensils. 

***I promise I am not plugging, but I was comparing the out-of-block rates on the Marriott website just now, and noticed they have a promotion where if you get their credit card, you get a $250 gift certificate for signing up, which would knock a night off your cost if you can confirm you can use this when booking through the housing block. I think this might be a card with an annual fee though, so not sure if the gift card comes with additional strings attached.

We used to stay at Springhill Suites all the time.
Its nice to be a bit away from the ICC to visit the canal walk, museums, and zoo.
But it is also a bit away from the ICC.
If you are staying with others, the twin queen bed suites are nice. The king with pullout however, is not. They remodeled from a pull out sofa which was comfortable to a trundle couch which was absolutely not. Good for a child perhaps, but not two couples, as one had to sleep on the couch, and the other got the drawer.
Breakfast is very good.
I hope that helps. 

It is a walk but what’s nice is that it’s on Skywalk - even though you go through another hotel

Skywalk keeps you out of the elements if it’s raining and in the dark I feel more secure than on the sidewalk

Thanks for the answers. 

Re: Fethbone - I was mainly wondering about the price in case we decide against it. If we don't do it this year and gamble on being able to next year it would be good to have a rough idea of price ahead of time. So that's why I was wondering if this is roughly what they usually cost or if this is a dip due to circumstances. 

Re: Raptorov - The distance is one of the only concerns we have. It's a minor concern all things considered, but it is on the list. If we want to much of anything outside the Con we need to go in the other direction from the hotel. 

Re: Notavailableeither - Yeah the skywalk connection is a factor for us. I've only been downtown Indy a few times at night (the couple years it was just me or I talked the others into doing something after 9) and I won't say I felt threatened but I didn't feel safe. 

I doubt there's an easy answer for us. My friends and I know that one of the major reasons (probably the major reason) is due to Covid which is causing low attendance. So, will there actually be much to do or are we getting a room so we can go get a few drinks after the Con? Just wanted to make sure that was our only real question/issue and not anything we should know about the hotel situation in general (or that particular hotel). 

I mean there will still be tens of thousands of people there.  You will find people playing pick-up games all over the place, in all likelihood, particularly in the open gaming areas, even if you do not sign up for any of the ticketed events.  Plus even if this will surely be a subdued year, just wandering the Exhibit Hall and taking in the atmosphere is well worth the trip in my opinion, and that is just a fraction of what will still be going on for sure this year.