Timing is everything

We've long known that the person sitting next to us in the plane may have paid next-to-nothing for his seat while ours cost an amount equal to a small country's debt. Now the same may be said, to a certain extent, of hotel rooms.

Needing one for a Saturday night in Dallas, I checked the opportunities at a hotel of choice. We'd never stayed there, but it was close to our kids' homes and since we would be seeing them as well as Christmas shopping, it was a prime candidate. It was booked. Choice number 2 belonged to my honors program and so I checked it out. There were choices in accommodations, varying from $99 to $141, depending on bed choice. I printed off the listing, checked with the spouse, and found he agreed that, given the nature of the venture--Christmas shopping--cheaper was better. Two hours later, I'm back online.

And the prices are $10 higher! Higher!

Not to be outdone, I called the hotel's reservations desk. Well, as the very nice clerk explained, there'd been a rush on rooms the last two hours, and so the computers automatically adjusted the prices to make them more valuable.

I could certainly understand that, so I booked before there was a $20 differential.

This morning, I checked again. How high could they go? I wondered. Well, not very. They were back down to $99.

I didn't cancel and rebook, although I thought about it. With my luck, there'd have been another "run" on the rooms while I was doing so. All I can say is: that place had better be full!

Let there be light

What is it with hotel rooms? And not just cheap ones, but expensive ones, too. The bathrooms are ill-lit. No wonder women look bad and tired on vacation. They can't get their make-up on correctly in the semi-dark. I've thought about moving the desk lamp in. Seriously.

So, here's my suggestion: Let there be light. Lots of it. What about putting the bathrooms by the outer wall and having a window like in the old motels? Not feasible, I'm sure.

Rant over. Next up: blankets and little scrunchy pillows. As in, where are they?

Blankety-blank-blank

The last three hotels we've stayed in have not given us the promised wonderful night's sleep. It wasn't the pillows, as I take my own, nor the comfort of the mattress, all of which were just fine. No, it was the lack of a blanket.

American hotels have top sheets, but then there's that thick bedspread/duvet/comforter. And that's it! It's too hot! We set the room temp to be cool, snuggle down, and pretty soon we kick the cover. Get cold. Wake up and hunt for it. At one fancy hotel, I pulled the lovely comforter off the bed and went hunting for the bedspread the maid had carefully folded and placed in the closet. I've no idea what she thought of us. Country come to town, no doubt. And of course she'd be right.

Trip before last to England, I noticed there were no top sheets, so on the last trip we made, I packed one. Which was a good thing, because the B&B didn't provide. I guess I'm just going to have to start packing my own quilt, too.

Hmmm.... I wonder, since we're used to sleeping with the cats....?

The envelope, please

Having spent the last seven nights in four different hotels, I'm ready to share a few conclusions about staying in rented beds. While the room rate did not differ by $20, the amenities and extra charges rose exponentially with the "classiness" of the property. Class does not automatically equate with an enjoyable stay.

Used to be you were slumming to stay at a Motel 6 (or one of its ilk) when you were used to say, Hilton. Now Hilton has a whole range of properties and quite frankly, given the choice, I'll hop into a Hampton or Homewood Suites (my fav on this trip) before a full-blown Hilton any day. And why? Oh, free breakfast. Free wifi. Free parking.

Because the class joint we're staying in this time, a Westin to set the record straight, has none of the above. A great room rate, a quiet room, a choice (and expensive--$20 for some movies!) of movies, a wonderful work-out facility. What this class place doesn't have: free breakfast. Wifi in the rooms. (I'm not the only renegade in the lobby where there is free wifi and yes, if wifi were in the rooms, I'd pay for it.) There is free parking if you're willing to go underground into the bowels of the shopping complex next door--or pay $25/day valet. Just put it on the bill.

At one of the Hamptons we stayed at this time out, we had satellite TV. SATELLITE! In HD, even. (No wifi in the rooms however, the first time I've even encountered either experience in a Hampton.) With the satellite, there were no movies to rent. Just as well, as we had a hard enough time figuring out the two remote controls. If we had put choices into the mix, we'd have really been confused.

But I had forgotten to bring along an envelope to put our receipts in. No problem. I'd just scour the desk for one. Really? When was the last time you found stationery or postcards in the room? Nobody writes any more, other than the little pad by the telephone. At least there were pens. A trip to the front desk secured an envelope, but even it wasn't marked with the hotel's address.

Conclusion? Whereas the desk clerk at a cheaper hotel (all things being relative) used to dread to see a guest come in used to the classiness of a top property (what bellman? what valet?--and don't even think about thick towels), now I think the tide has turned. It's the guys at the classy properties who should grimace when I have to slum and stay where the towels are thick, the bellmen plentiful, and the concierge helpful.

Where's my breakfast?