Wednesday 29 January 2014

Back to the Land of the Living!

The trip went pretty well.

The drive up was nice, having a good chat with one of my colleagues as we went.

We eventually found the place we were staying at, one of those chain hotels that advertises on TV.

It was pretty good overall, but I felt that the bed had been mis-sold.

On the TV ad, the guy is shown falling backwards onto it, sinking in to the comfy mattress with a sigh.  If he had done that on MY bed he would have had a major injury, I swear!  It was the hardest bed I have ever encountered, only slighly softer than a pebble beach.

Here I am pressing as hard as I can...



When checking out I mentioned this to the girl on the desk - she suggested that if I went to another one of these places again, I should ask for an extra quilt to be put on top of the mattress.  When she sleeps over she has SIX quilts.  Clearly I am not the only person who thinks that they are too hard!

The view out of the window wasn't great either...



The food made up for it, though, so overall I was happy.

The meeting itself was interesting and constructive - I made a few contributions that should prove useful so hope they felt it was worth taking me.

The return trip was nice too, with my boss driving.  The weather was a bit grim, though, so we went carefully, not wanting to aquaplane under a truck.

So today I am back to normal, my cold more or less gone and looking forward to a few days of normality.

10 comments:

agg79 said...

I've stayed at a few places like that one. I've learned not to set my expectations too high and take the advertisements with a grain of salt. If you want to get an honest opinion on a place, I usually use TripAdvisor.com. A lot of unvarnished opinions/comments on a place. Good to hear the trip went well despite the bed.

Shammickite said...

I've used Tripadvisor too. It helps to hear what others have had to say before you leave home!

lotta joy said...

We were all ready last year to stay over at Cedar Keys in Florida until I did a Tripadvisor. After finding out that the motels were full of bedbugs (complete with photos of people with huge bites on them) I decided to never, ever, go anywhere in my lifetime.

terri said...

Funny, when I was young, I thought spending time away from home and in a hotel was sort of an adventure. These days, I would much rather sleep in my own bed than anywhere else.

Glad the meeting was good and that you're feeling better.

ShadowRun300 said...

Aww... sorry to hear you had a bad hotel experience. I probably would have given you your money back. :)
But glad to hear your meeting went well and that you're feeling better. Have a great rest of the week!

Riot Kitty said...

Do you guys have online comment/complaint sites that rate places? I say go for it!

Rock Chef said...

AGG79 - Didn't really see the need for serious checking up, but maybe next time!

Shammickite - I looked at Trip Advisor AFTER we went to Malta in the summer and found that a lot of the comments about our hotel were bad! Seemed that people were booking into a 3 star hotel and expecting a 5 star experience!

Lotta Joy - that is grim!

Terri - Yes, I prefer my own bed too.

ShadowRun300 - They do seem to have a policy that you get your money back if you have a bad night, but I don't like the "I want my money back" culture unless it is really deserved. I am sure they charge everyone extra just to cover those who demamd a refund...

Riot Kitty - I guess I could have gone for more, but felt that just commenting at the desk was enough. If I was staying longer I would certainly have gone for the extra padding, though!

Abby said...

EEK! A disembodied hand!!

I don't trust TV commercials. I've been to McDonald's. I know what the hamburgers really look like.

Rock Chef said...

Abby - Love it! The ultimate proof that ads are just BS!

meleah rebeccah said...

Yikes! I could never sleep on a bed that hard!

"The food made up for it, though, so overall I was happy." - Oh, good!