The Third Degree

An Event Apart: Hotel Room Adventures

I had a funny feeling something was going to go wrong during this trip. I avoided everything possible. I packed only what was needed and carried on my luggage, I even made sure not to bring fluids in containers larger than 3 oz. Is there a law of the universe that forbids everything going as planned when traveling?

 As Jody Ferry and I arrived in Seattle, our first adventure was the cab ride to the hotel. Our cab driver was courteous enough to load our luggage in the trunk and then risk our lives by going 95 mph in a 60 mph zone with hills, twists, turns, and traffic lights. What a nice guy.

Upon our fast arrival to our hotel we were greeted by another courteous gentleman, the hotel manager, who informed us that the hotel was experiencing "plumbing problems," and we were being relocated to the Marriott down the street for the night. Is it me, or is the "plumbing problems" excuse getting over used? Are plumbers all over the world making millions due to all these "plumbing problems?" I wonder when there will be a shift to "electrical problems?" You know, spread the wealth out a bit to the electricians of the world, so the plumbers don't have a monopoly on bullshit excuses.

After spending the evening at the Marriott, we returned to the Edgewater in the morning to check in to our room, only to be informed that it was not ready, but we could return around lunch to get our keys. Ok, not a big deal... we had a conference to attend so there were no problems. We checked our luggage and proceeded to AEA . 

During our lunch break, Jody and I returned to the Edgewater to get our room keys and recover a bit from the jet lag. We received our "upgraded room" keys and took the elevator up to our room. Well, our room was definitely "upgraded" but there was another problem... 1 king size bed. Jody and I both agree that we would make a cute couple, but... that's not our style. So, we continued our conversations with management only to be "downgraded" to the only double bed room left in the place. The room was on the ground level with a beautiful view of the cruise ship loading dock.

Both mornings I woke up to a beautiful view of the bow of a cruise ship, the gleaming white surface with very tasteful graphics along the side. It was great! At this point, we just wanted to recover from moving around, and didn't have the energy to complain and move to yet another room. On top of all the room problems, upon checkout I received the bill that stated a $19.98 charge for the "mini bar," when in fact we had not touched a bottle in the "mini bar."  

 Needless to say, from a travel perspective the trip was, well... an adventure.

No Comments Posted.

Comments Closed.

Latest Posts

• GoBama! (Nov 4, 2008 - 8:14am)
• A Sunday Drive in Brazil (Aug 13, 2008 - 1:30am)
• Bicycles For Sale (Mar 15, 2008 - 7:30pm)
• Alphabet Soup: Understanding Accessibility [Part I] (Feb 26, 2008 - 10:56pm)
• Do Not Call At Work List (Feb 16, 2008 - 3:02am)

About The Third Degree

The Third Degree is James Van Arsdale III's personal blog. Topics covered will range from web design and development techniques to rants about cabs hitting cyclists, and everything in-between. I encourage all to join in on the discussions, or contact me directly.