Things I HATE ABOUT HOTELS! (Repost and update from July 2008)
I've been going through my ancient LJ posts (yeah I know I should be editing AC or MP videos) but I found this gem I posted way back on July 7, 2008. Maybe you've been through the same BS I've been through.
BTW I did some updating of prices and added a few more things to this list that happened to me since 2008.
I kind of hate reposting this right now, because I just had a excellent trouble-free hotel experience at the Orlando Airport Marriott for Megaplex 2013. But in case I decide to delete most of my old LJ Posts (many have dead audio and video links) it will be here.
Comments Welcome!
**********
BTW this list isn't directed at any Fur convention. It's just hassles and annoyances I've experienced over the years.
* Cheap hotels or housekeepers who substitute a bedsheet that barely covers the mattress for a fitted mattress cover. I hate to say it but I had this happen to me at Anthrocon in 2008 and again in 2012. You think a nice hotel like the Westin wouldn't do this.
* You make reservations via a website or nationwide 1-800 number call center. A few days before you leave you check online and they are A-OK. Then Surprise! You arrive at the hotel and they never got the reservation. (always call the hotel to check!)
* Hotel staffers that you need to talk to NOW on the phone - but give you the dialpad runaround with their so-helpful computer voice mail system.
*Hotels that somehow bill you extra services. ALWAYS check your bill before you leave! At FWA in 2011 I was charged extra for hotel parking when my Grand Cherokee was several states away at the Shreveport LA Airport! Luckily I was able to remove those charges by a very nice lady at the front desk.
* Hotels that give you a crummy room because you registered on-line.
* Hotel rooms with little or no sound insulation.
* Heavily scented bath soap - that nasty green soap that was shaped like a fig leaf from Westin hotels immediately come to mind. If I'm in a hotel that has good unscented soap I try to take a few bars home.
* Hotels that never replace filters and never keep their air conditioners and heating systems clean. (I have asthma so this is very important to me.) At one convention my room air conditioner's vents were full of dead crickets. Yuck. Luckily maintenance quickly took care of that.
* Mexican, Indian or Asian housekeepers that give white people the "I don't understand english" cop-out treatment when you ask them to clean the room more thoroughly or to bring you extra towels, pillows, blankets etc. I had a housekeeper at one con do this to me ("Eey? Huh? Whaa?") and next day I saw her in the hall speaking in perfect english to another housekeeper. I didn't leave any room tips for housekeeping that week...
* Noisy Room AC/Heaters that only run on high speed. At my first MFM in 2006 (at the good ol' Holiday Inn Airport, Fifth Floor) my room had a noisy AC that would wake me up with a loud POP! and then HUMMMMM - it sounded like a generator when it turned on.
* Hotels that "accidentally" change your reservations because a big business con is in their hotel and they need extra rooms for the bigwigs..
* "We'll fix the plumbing, TV, Internet, Air Condition-Heating - on Monday". After the convention is over..
* Hotels that don't daily take the cash out, refill and do maintenance on their soda and snack vending machines before the weekend.
* Hotel gift shops that charge $3.00 or more for a soda or bottled water, when you can get one cheaper in the vending machines. On that note, thumbs down to the Orlando Worldgate gift shop for buying $1 products from Dollar Tree and then charging $3.50 for a bag of generic nacho cheese chips and $7.00 for a bottle of no-name nasal spray. (No I didn't buy them.)
* Unlit parking lots at night.
* Clogged up or cheap "water saver" shower heads that barely flow.
* Showers that run out of hot water in 3 minutes. (Motel 6, take a bow)
* Room Flatscreen TV's that have video/audio inputs for cameras, DVD, video games etc but because the room doesn't have the regular remote control (with the TV/Video switch) you cant use them.
* $120-200+ a night Hotel rooms that still have CRT Televisions.
* Hotel beds that use a rock hard wood foundation instead of real box springs. So all you're sleeping on is just the mattress. Even big hotels like Mariott have this crap.
* Big Pillows that look really fluffy but quickly go flat when you lay your head on then.
* Hotels that swap pillows from the smoking rooms in the non-smoking rooms.
* Housekeepers that ignore the "DO NOT DISTURB" signs and wake you up at 8 AM. (And they use really noisy vacuum cleaners too.)
* At one Motel 6 in Dallas TX they used a gray rubber mat on the floor instead of carpet. No Lie. It was even textured to look like carpet.
* And another big middle finger to the Orlando Moldgate for replacing the room carpet with tile floors. Housekeepers used a cheap Swiffer mop to clean the floors, and they were still dirty. So if you walked across the room barefoot and hopped in bed, dirt would wind up in your bed.
* Complimentary breakfasts with NO DONUTS. Bagels are no substitute. Thumbs down if you have to pay for the orange juice.
* Slow Wi-Fi connections, or ones that just quit if you use up too much of their precious bandwidth.
* Big and Medium sized Hotels that charge $10-20 a day for room Wi-Fi when smaller hotels and motels have it for free.
* Snotty Bellhops who "insist" that they bring in your (small) rollaway to the desk or to your room. I've had some really get in my face when I said "no, I can take care of that".
* And lastly, Hotels that forget Furries are their customers too!
BTW I did some updating of prices and added a few more things to this list that happened to me since 2008.
I kind of hate reposting this right now, because I just had a excellent trouble-free hotel experience at the Orlando Airport Marriott for Megaplex 2013. But in case I decide to delete most of my old LJ Posts (many have dead audio and video links) it will be here.
Comments Welcome!
**********
BTW this list isn't directed at any Fur convention. It's just hassles and annoyances I've experienced over the years.
* Cheap hotels or housekeepers who substitute a bedsheet that barely covers the mattress for a fitted mattress cover. I hate to say it but I had this happen to me at Anthrocon in 2008 and again in 2012. You think a nice hotel like the Westin wouldn't do this.
* You make reservations via a website or nationwide 1-800 number call center. A few days before you leave you check online and they are A-OK. Then Surprise! You arrive at the hotel and they never got the reservation. (always call the hotel to check!)
* Hotel staffers that you need to talk to NOW on the phone - but give you the dialpad runaround with their so-helpful computer voice mail system.
*Hotels that somehow bill you extra services. ALWAYS check your bill before you leave! At FWA in 2011 I was charged extra for hotel parking when my Grand Cherokee was several states away at the Shreveport LA Airport! Luckily I was able to remove those charges by a very nice lady at the front desk.
* Hotels that give you a crummy room because you registered on-line.
* Hotel rooms with little or no sound insulation.
* Heavily scented bath soap - that nasty green soap that was shaped like a fig leaf from Westin hotels immediately come to mind. If I'm in a hotel that has good unscented soap I try to take a few bars home.
* Hotels that never replace filters and never keep their air conditioners and heating systems clean. (I have asthma so this is very important to me.) At one convention my room air conditioner's vents were full of dead crickets. Yuck. Luckily maintenance quickly took care of that.
* Mexican, Indian or Asian housekeepers that give white people the "I don't understand english" cop-out treatment when you ask them to clean the room more thoroughly or to bring you extra towels, pillows, blankets etc. I had a housekeeper at one con do this to me ("Eey? Huh? Whaa?") and next day I saw her in the hall speaking in perfect english to another housekeeper. I didn't leave any room tips for housekeeping that week...
* Noisy Room AC/Heaters that only run on high speed. At my first MFM in 2006 (at the good ol' Holiday Inn Airport, Fifth Floor) my room had a noisy AC that would wake me up with a loud POP! and then HUMMMMM - it sounded like a generator when it turned on.
* Hotels that "accidentally" change your reservations because a big business con is in their hotel and they need extra rooms for the bigwigs..
* "We'll fix the plumbing, TV, Internet, Air Condition-Heating - on Monday". After the convention is over..
* Hotels that don't daily take the cash out, refill and do maintenance on their soda and snack vending machines before the weekend.
* Hotel gift shops that charge $3.00 or more for a soda or bottled water, when you can get one cheaper in the vending machines. On that note, thumbs down to the Orlando Worldgate gift shop for buying $1 products from Dollar Tree and then charging $3.50 for a bag of generic nacho cheese chips and $7.00 for a bottle of no-name nasal spray. (No I didn't buy them.)
* Unlit parking lots at night.
* Clogged up or cheap "water saver" shower heads that barely flow.
* Showers that run out of hot water in 3 minutes. (Motel 6, take a bow)
* Room Flatscreen TV's that have video/audio inputs for cameras, DVD, video games etc but because the room doesn't have the regular remote control (with the TV/Video switch) you cant use them.
* $120-200+ a night Hotel rooms that still have CRT Televisions.
* Hotel beds that use a rock hard wood foundation instead of real box springs. So all you're sleeping on is just the mattress. Even big hotels like Mariott have this crap.
* Big Pillows that look really fluffy but quickly go flat when you lay your head on then.
* Hotels that swap pillows from the smoking rooms in the non-smoking rooms.
* Housekeepers that ignore the "DO NOT DISTURB" signs and wake you up at 8 AM. (And they use really noisy vacuum cleaners too.)
* At one Motel 6 in Dallas TX they used a gray rubber mat on the floor instead of carpet. No Lie. It was even textured to look like carpet.
* And another big middle finger to the Orlando Moldgate for replacing the room carpet with tile floors. Housekeepers used a cheap Swiffer mop to clean the floors, and they were still dirty. So if you walked across the room barefoot and hopped in bed, dirt would wind up in your bed.
* Complimentary breakfasts with NO DONUTS. Bagels are no substitute. Thumbs down if you have to pay for the orange juice.
* Slow Wi-Fi connections, or ones that just quit if you use up too much of their precious bandwidth.
* Big and Medium sized Hotels that charge $10-20 a day for room Wi-Fi when smaller hotels and motels have it for free.
* Snotty Bellhops who "insist" that they bring in your (small) rollaway to the desk or to your room. I've had some really get in my face when I said "no, I can take care of that".
* And lastly, Hotels that forget Furries are their customers too!