back from the Other Side
So THAT'S how the other half lives...
So, it turns out, the gap between the classes? Well, it's not so much a gap, as a huge gaping CHASM. Holy crap! I cannot believe that there are people in the world to whom that kind of treatment is *normal*! I think it is just sinful to take that kind of luxury for granted. I have never in my life been made to feel so special and important. We felt like we were the most important people in that hotel, and no treatment was too good for us. I thought about being vague and saying 'it was unforgettable' and leaving it at that. But who am I kidding? Let's just stop pretending that I'm not going to brag about every single, disgustingly luxurious second I spent there. Feel free to skim, or completely skip this entry.
We arrived at the hotel around 2-ish, to drop off our bags. The hotel is situated in the heart of downtown Van, near all the coolest shops. Upon arriving at the front desk we were informed that Brian (whoever he is) requested an upgrade on our behalf, and we had been moved to a Junior Suite, for exactly the same price. !! The room wasn't quite ready for us yet, so we left our bags there, and headed out to window-shop. We went into a few disgustingly expensive stores (one particularly nice dress was about $430) visited the bank for cash, bought a meal for homeless man (his name is Sheridan, please pray for him) and then headed back to the hotel.
After checking in, we headed up to our room. This room. WOW. We had a *living room* and a gorgeous, grecian looking bathroom with a huge shower and a bathtub that you could baptise adults in. We basked for a few minutes, changed our clothes and headed down to the spa.
The spa provided us with complimpentary water bottles (or coffee or tea, but we just wanted water). We filled out a few forms, and then headed into our seperate rooms. It was a slight shame that the facilites didn't allow us to be together, but we had a great time anyway. The bed I lay on was heated and cozy, the room was dimly lit with very soothing music playing. I got a half-hour long, full-body aromatherapy massage (lavendar scented). WOW. I've never been pampered like that in my life. Every single inch of me was massaged, even my scalp, and I got some good advice as to how to deal with the massive bruise on my right hip (from falling at work last week.) She was very friendly, and very good at her job. What luxury.
When we were done we headed back up to our room to shower and dress up for dinner. There are very few occasions fancy enough for me to wear my wine-red, form-fitting dress. At first I was a little worried that I'd be over-dressed....
Pffft.
The Restaurant. Holy cow, the restaurant. The Maitre D' sat us down, including pulling out and pushing in our chairs and putting our napkins on our laps. We were sat right next to the piano, which was an experience all on it's own. The menu was just incredible. We both ordered the lamb special, but were shortly told that there was only one left, so Beauty ordered the rack of lamb from the menu. We were given samples of cauliflower soup with "compliments from the chef" as compensation. A little rich for my tastes, but still quite nice. Beauty had a non-alcholic fellini, and I had the most to-die-for raspberry martini. mmmmm... The Piano Player conversed with us here and there, he was funny and very kind. He played 'The Way You Look Tonight' for me, and a lot of other fabulous music. He told us that it was the Maitre D's birthday, and asked if we'd join him in singing happy birthday to him. I agreed, (perhaps because I'd already had one and a half martinis by then) and we sang. It wasn't until the whole resaurant burst into applause at the end that I realised everyone was listening to us. Luckily, Beauty wasn't too embarrassed, and the Maitre D' was tickled pink. Then Desert. Beauty had the creme brulee, and I had a milk chocolate terrine with blackberry sorbet. WOW. I said "that's the best thing I've ever had in my mouth", realised how it sounded, and went thoroughly red. *grin*
We paid, said goodnight to our Waiter and the Piano Player, and headed back upstairs. We got into pj's, and rented The Incredibles off the TVlisting (which was just hysterical!), enjoyed the minibar (there were Pringles!) and snacked on some of the complimentary gourmet chocolates.
This morning we slept in a bit, and then ordered breakfast from Room Service. Holy Cow! The Waiter arrived with a huge table, decked out just like the restaurant, including fresh flowers, and brought our fabulous breakfasts, which we ate in our living room while we watched Star Trek: Next Generation on TV. Beauty had eggs benedict, and I had hazelnut waffles with raspberry compote. It was just fabulous.
Then we packed up, checked out and headed to the train station to go home. We're now planning to do something similar, (day spa, and dinner at the Wedgewood) for Rue's Hen Night.
What else can I say? It was unforgettable. I'll leave it at that.
And now I'm home, back on this side of the tracks, and ready for the season of prayer and fasting to begin.
So, it turns out, the gap between the classes? Well, it's not so much a gap, as a huge gaping CHASM. Holy crap! I cannot believe that there are people in the world to whom that kind of treatment is *normal*! I think it is just sinful to take that kind of luxury for granted. I have never in my life been made to feel so special and important. We felt like we were the most important people in that hotel, and no treatment was too good for us. I thought about being vague and saying 'it was unforgettable' and leaving it at that. But who am I kidding? Let's just stop pretending that I'm not going to brag about every single, disgustingly luxurious second I spent there. Feel free to skim, or completely skip this entry.
We arrived at the hotel around 2-ish, to drop off our bags. The hotel is situated in the heart of downtown Van, near all the coolest shops. Upon arriving at the front desk we were informed that Brian (whoever he is) requested an upgrade on our behalf, and we had been moved to a Junior Suite, for exactly the same price. !! The room wasn't quite ready for us yet, so we left our bags there, and headed out to window-shop. We went into a few disgustingly expensive stores (one particularly nice dress was about $430) visited the bank for cash, bought a meal for homeless man (his name is Sheridan, please pray for him) and then headed back to the hotel.
After checking in, we headed up to our room. This room. WOW. We had a *living room* and a gorgeous, grecian looking bathroom with a huge shower and a bathtub that you could baptise adults in. We basked for a few minutes, changed our clothes and headed down to the spa.
The spa provided us with complimpentary water bottles (or coffee or tea, but we just wanted water). We filled out a few forms, and then headed into our seperate rooms. It was a slight shame that the facilites didn't allow us to be together, but we had a great time anyway. The bed I lay on was heated and cozy, the room was dimly lit with very soothing music playing. I got a half-hour long, full-body aromatherapy massage (lavendar scented). WOW. I've never been pampered like that in my life. Every single inch of me was massaged, even my scalp, and I got some good advice as to how to deal with the massive bruise on my right hip (from falling at work last week.) She was very friendly, and very good at her job. What luxury.
When we were done we headed back up to our room to shower and dress up for dinner. There are very few occasions fancy enough for me to wear my wine-red, form-fitting dress. At first I was a little worried that I'd be over-dressed....
Pffft.
The Restaurant. Holy cow, the restaurant. The Maitre D' sat us down, including pulling out and pushing in our chairs and putting our napkins on our laps. We were sat right next to the piano, which was an experience all on it's own. The menu was just incredible. We both ordered the lamb special, but were shortly told that there was only one left, so Beauty ordered the rack of lamb from the menu. We were given samples of cauliflower soup with "compliments from the chef" as compensation. A little rich for my tastes, but still quite nice. Beauty had a non-alcholic fellini, and I had the most to-die-for raspberry martini. mmmmm... The Piano Player conversed with us here and there, he was funny and very kind. He played 'The Way You Look Tonight' for me, and a lot of other fabulous music. He told us that it was the Maitre D's birthday, and asked if we'd join him in singing happy birthday to him. I agreed, (perhaps because I'd already had one and a half martinis by then) and we sang. It wasn't until the whole resaurant burst into applause at the end that I realised everyone was listening to us. Luckily, Beauty wasn't too embarrassed, and the Maitre D' was tickled pink. Then Desert. Beauty had the creme brulee, and I had a milk chocolate terrine with blackberry sorbet. WOW. I said "that's the best thing I've ever had in my mouth", realised how it sounded, and went thoroughly red. *grin*
We paid, said goodnight to our Waiter and the Piano Player, and headed back upstairs. We got into pj's, and rented The Incredibles off the TVlisting (which was just hysterical!), enjoyed the minibar (there were Pringles!) and snacked on some of the complimentary gourmet chocolates.
This morning we slept in a bit, and then ordered breakfast from Room Service. Holy Cow! The Waiter arrived with a huge table, decked out just like the restaurant, including fresh flowers, and brought our fabulous breakfasts, which we ate in our living room while we watched Star Trek: Next Generation on TV. Beauty had eggs benedict, and I had hazelnut waffles with raspberry compote. It was just fabulous.
Then we packed up, checked out and headed to the train station to go home. We're now planning to do something similar, (day spa, and dinner at the Wedgewood) for Rue's Hen Night.
What else can I say? It was unforgettable. I'll leave it at that.
And now I'm home, back on this side of the tracks, and ready for the season of prayer and fasting to begin.