A possible place to take refuge

[RealityDeviant]

I'm looking for feedback on the possibility of taking refuge in this particular hotel and in ones similar to it.

I was thinking about places that someone might take refuge in my city if it were too dangerous to make a run for one of the neighboring counties. I’ve come across a possibility, although I realize there’s a slew of potential problems with this.

The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. It’s a rather large structure that’s in downtown Richmond just on the borders of the VCU campus.

Some pictures can be found on these two sites and on most travel sites:
http://www.jeffersonhotel.com/
http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/virginia/richmond/jefferson/hotel.html

It seems to me that the main problem with the building would be the windows on the first floor. There are quite a few, and even though not all are high enough to be reached from the sidewalk, a sufficient number are. If attacked by a large contingent of zombies, it could be a nightmare. Additionally, I’m not certain just how many entrances/exits there are. I’d really have to take a tour (and ask my friend that works there) to give you an adequate answer as to its defenses. I haven’t forgotten the possibility that there would be a great deal of risk in securing the location in the first place. It might not be abandoned at first, and without a relatively large group with you, it’d be tough to clear out and secure.

I think, however, that there are several merits to this location:

1) If it were too dangerous to get out of the city, it might be a decent place to hole up. Even if the first floor were harder to secure, the upper floors would be much safer.
2) It’s likely to have a sufficient amount of furniture and other items with which you could barricade or block off potential entrances.
3) It could house a large number of people. If you had a big team with you, it could be a decent outpost.
4) It’s likely to have a large food storage area, meaning that the supply problem would be taken care of for a time.
5) The upper floors and the towers command excellent views of the surrounding area. This would be invaluable to scouts and snipers.

Bear in mind that I’m not endorsing this as the “perfect location,” but it does have its good points. Opinions?

[Gundown]

The only thing I see being a problem is the windows. (Which you pointed out)

If you owned it or had a man on the inside (and you do) it might be possible to plan enough ahead of time to board up the windows that were closest to the ground first.

I think it's an excellent "Plan B" structure. If at first you can't get out of the populated areas and into the boonies then use this as your back up.

... And buy a nail gun. If you've got to board up that many ground level windows you might as well be prepared for it.

(Do they have battery powered nail guns?)

[Stoic Guardian]

have fun living in the hallways unless you have all or some of the romm keys...

[RealityDeviant]

Thanks, GunDown. Over the past few days I've been going over easily-accessed locations in my head that might be defensible. I don't like the idea that running off to a rural county is my only means of surviving in the P.A.W. Although running and camping have their unique risks, I'd prefer to avoid being forced into one course of action.

And you are making a valid point, Cyber_Ninja. While I don't know for certain, I suspect that the age of the hotel means that there are both standard and electronic locks in certain places. I'd have to ask my friend. In any case, most of the keys could probably be obtained.

[ghostface]

Ahhh, The Jefferson.

RD, I highly recommend the champagne brunch.


BTW, high occuppancy locations like hotels may not be the greatest during the initial outbreak stages of the zombocalypse. You have to take into account not only the number of guests and staff (some of whom may flee), but all of the people on the street nearby as well as people like yourself who might consider it a good place to hide out.

If I were you, I might think about heading someplace like the Tredegar Iron Works and then making my way along The Rivah.

[RealityDeviant]

You know, I seem to recall my friend telling me about the brunches offered at Lemaire. Unfortunately, a lack of money has deterred me thus far.

Yes, the possible number of people trying to take refuge in the hotel could be a serious problem. If enough tried to in the earlier stages, it’s possible that zombies could have already gotten into it by the time I got there. Very problematic, I agree. But I’ve been trying to think of possible places in the area that would at least suffice as a temporary shelter, and the Jefferson is an option. It wouldn’t be my first choice, but it’s better than no choice.

Hmm. I hadn’t really considered the Tredegar Iron Works, but it is an idea. It’s about a mile and a half from my apartment complex, but I’d have to cross Main St., Cary St., and I believe I-195. I don’t like thinking of what the first two roads would look like when the SHTF. They’d likely be congested, meaning that I’d have to hike the distance. If I managed to get to the Iron Works, I’d be stuck having to figure out which way I’d like to go along the river. Probably heading towards the west, even though it’d take me longer to get into the county.

[ghostface]

I've only been there a few times, but it's big, solid and not likely to be a spot most people would go. I don’t remember having to cross 95, but I might have been coming a different way. I didn't mean that one building in particular, but that kind of place.

Depending on the season, you could conceivably fish and hunt in the James River State Park.

[RealityDeviant]

I think that I'd end up crossing over I-195, not across it. But regardless, I get what you mean, and it's definitely something to consider. It bears more research.

James River State Park is a possibility as well, but if I could get that far out I could conceivably get in touch with a friend of mine and beat a hasty retreat to Mathews County.

I appreciate the feedback. It helps that someone knows the areas I'm talking about. Check out my thread on supermarkets in the P.A.W. forum.

[Oracle]

I really think the idea of staying in a major population center during a zombie outbreak would be a very poor idea. Most people in the cities aren't prepared for anything, much less this sort of thing. That means that most of them would be zombie food, and then zombies shortly thereafter. The best way to avoid being killed by zombies is to get away from the places that are likely to have the most zombies, and those places, for the aforementioned reasons, would be cities, especially larger cities and their metropolitan areas.

That being said, if you are in a major population center and have no way of getting out, or need to hole up temporarily until you can get out, I'd choose a tall building that is unlikely to have that many people in it. As was mentioned, a hotel would probably be a poor place to hole up, as during the outbreak it would be filled with travelers who are likely more unprepared than the average city dweller (because they are travelling), and thusly, would likely be zombies in short order, filling that location with zombies.

I'd go for an office building. I doubt there would be that many people heading to work in a crisis of that nature, which means that the office buildings wouldn't have as many people in them. A multi-story warehouse might not be a bad idea either.

[Gundown]

Locks are an easy obstacle to overcome. Electronic locks are even easier.

The hotel will have room keys in a box if it still uses cut keys. But if the locks are electronic they're all run to a central computer. That computer will be wherever the security room is (and if in a hotel it will most likely be right at the front desk) you can access that system and look for an "all doors" tab or a door icon. From there you can choose which doors to lock or unlock. You can even set up what times you want them to lock or unlock.

Keep in mind that electronic locks in civilian structures make for poor cell doors as they will almost always open from the inside unless it's a two-way door. If it's a two way door and you loose power it will unlock automatically.


Pheer my leet security skillz.

The other people being there would suck up your plan though.