A new hotel and the steampunk theme were the most noticeable things about Califur this year. Held May 15-18 at the Hyatt Regency in Irvine, California, the fifth Califur convention attracted 587 registered attendees.^[1]

After con staff felt that they had outgrown the Holiday Inn, they arranged for Califur 4 to be held at the Hyatt Regency. Califur 4 did not come close to filling the event space in the hotel, as there was a wedding, a senior prom, and other events the same weekend.^[2][3][4]

Hotel staff put up a black curtain to separate Califur areas from space being used by the other events, which annoyed some Califur attendees.^[2][5][6] There were reports that non-Califur people, some possibly drunk, were disregarding the curtain and bothering Califur attendees.^[7][8]

Some attendees felt that the convention was unwelcome at the hotel,^[6][5][9] but most still admit that individual hotel staff were friendly or at least professionally polite.^[10][2]