Dreary in Dallas
It occurred to me last night that though I've been to the Dallas area a number of times before, this is my first time actually staying in Dallas. Most of the time I've stayed in suburban towns to the north, particularly Richardson and Plano. That's where the companies building software that I've traveled to visit for my job are located. Twice I've stayed at hotels on the DFW airport grounds while making an overnight connection... but the airport's actually in Grapevine TX, not Dallas. (BTW the Hyatt onsite at DFW is great. Take the elevator downstairs to the terminal in the morning!)
So, this is my first stay in Dallas... and I'm not at all impressed. Much of that comes down to the hotel my colleagues chose. Beside its weird design, which one colleague late last night quipped was done by "Rainbow Brite and her goth boyfriend," it's in a bleak corner off of downtown. It's like a neighborhood that'll be gentrified several years from now... There's this artsy hotel, and a few blocks away are some hipster lofts, but there are lots of vacant lots, empty builds, and a homeless encampments in the neighborhood.
In addition, the hotel is hard by a freeway. Last night they assigned me a room straight above it, and I asked for a change. They hemmed and hawed and put me in a room with only a partial freeway view. Later the bartender I was chatting with mentioned, "The hotel's not very full, there's only like 15 rooms rented tonight." 15 out of about... 200... and they couldn't give me a quieter one when I asked?
And it's raining. So it's literally dreary. Standing in the rain to get breakfast this morning wasn't fun. I went to a restaurant in the parking lot that built out of shipping containers. Yes, it's built out of shipping containers and they're in the parking lot. And the awning over the take-out window leaks. Apparently hipsters go ga-ga for this stupid stuff.
So, this is my first stay in Dallas... and I'm not at all impressed. Much of that comes down to the hotel my colleagues chose. Beside its weird design, which one colleague late last night quipped was done by "Rainbow Brite and her goth boyfriend," it's in a bleak corner off of downtown. It's like a neighborhood that'll be gentrified several years from now... There's this artsy hotel, and a few blocks away are some hipster lofts, but there are lots of vacant lots, empty builds, and a homeless encampments in the neighborhood.
In addition, the hotel is hard by a freeway. Last night they assigned me a room straight above it, and I asked for a change. They hemmed and hawed and put me in a room with only a partial freeway view. Later the bartender I was chatting with mentioned, "The hotel's not very full, there's only like 15 rooms rented tonight." 15 out of about... 200... and they couldn't give me a quieter one when I asked?
And it's raining. So it's literally dreary. Standing in the rain to get breakfast this morning wasn't fun. I went to a restaurant in the parking lot that built out of shipping containers. Yes, it's built out of shipping containers and they're in the parking lot. And the awning over the take-out window leaks. Apparently hipsters go ga-ga for this stupid stuff.