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[gennimom]

Try staying in hotels full of teenagers. Of course, I have no one but myself to blame. I was a chaperone for some of them. We did start a curfew at one after the boys from one group came to our floor harassing our girls at 2 am. Their chaperone was NOT happy with them.

[gesualdo]

Oh I really enjoyed the adjoining room housing two women who were in Dallas for a Saturday shopping spree.  It was near midnight on Friday, and I had to get up very early for a Saturday class.  But how dare I ask them to quiet down (in a hotel room, you know, where people sleep, and stuff like that) at such an hour on a Friday night?  I was not happy about having to pack up and switch rooms at 2 a.m.  Now THAT's entitlement!

[rattusdomesticus]

v.p. is right on. It would have been one thing if the guests had asked management and *they* had asked. That might have ended up in some form of bribery (ala upgraded room, free cable, comped breakfast, something...). As it was, the note on the door is just plain rude. And shows a sense of me-ness (entitlement) that my university students are proud to say that they innately have. It's not even an effort for them!

That said, I have only boring hotel stories. One room that overlooked some big square white room that hummed loudly and inconsistently (hum, HUM, HUUUMMM) all night. One that looked over covered pool (can you say shriek?). Another by the elevator. Another by the ice machine. Another with the rolling, gurgling toilet. Most had the big annoying too cold/too hot fan thing under the window--which I immediately turn on to mask the noises from other rooms.

Usually I've asked for a better room, but for those who have read my post in the academic traveler section, I am often in a strange town at midnight, driving around in a rental car, desperately trying to find the hotel... so I'm not in the best of shape for evaluating my room.

Oh, oh, last trip in a state just West of me. Woman shouting at 9pm and hammering on hotel room door three doors down. When I poked my head out of my door, she apologized, but continued hammering and shouting for Blah-Blah (her son) to open the door. Only now, she was also shouting that he'd better answer because he was bothering other guests. Hmm. She alternated calling his hotel room on her cell phone and shouting and hammering on the door and shouting. After another 20 minutes, I finally stepped out into the hallway, and said, "Uh, you might want to ask the manager to open that door for you. Just to see if he's alright." To which she was astounded and grateful. She immediately *called* the manager and shouted into her cell phone that she needed help. You know... instead of simply using the elevator to go downstairs and ask. Sigh.

Turns out the young man was fine... just really sleepy. Well, or hungover. Either way, I think he was avoiding her. As every guest on this floor, the one above, and the one below were. Sometimes I'm just a bit surprised at the lack of critical thinking skills that people in the regular world seem to employ. Then I remember my last stack of composition papers and I'm not *that* surprised.

[angel]

I have plenty of airline horror stories but few for hotels. Usually the only thing of note that happens to me in hotels is being caught nude. Three times now, by overeager cleaning staff who knock and BAM! open right up without pausing a second. I swear they've got the key in the lock or card in the swiper before they put knuckle to door.

[magimax]

red_queen, I was in the next room stalking you. Where else would a good stalker be? As far as I know, magimax was not there.

Ha ha ha!  :-)  Nope, it wasn't Le Pavilon.  It was a run of the mill Best Western or something similar - not too fancy.  I can't afford fancy! 

[expatinuk]

I'm in a hotel NOW.... 6 a.m. Paying $25 for wifi internet access that doesn't stay up. Stuck in the lobby (it's the only place with internet access). It's FREEZING. The coffee is brown water, the OJ is orange water. And they are playing MTV AS LOUD AS IT CAN BE SET.

I have a cold.

I cough a lot.... and at my age... well... you women know what happens when I cough a lot... *sigh*

Day 1 of a 3 day biz trip.

Tomorrow another hotel...

I'll still have a cough.

but perhaps the coffee will be better and the internet cheaper.

[magimax]

I'm in a hotel NOW.... 6 a.m. Paying $25 for wifi internet access that doesn't stay up. Stuck in the lobby (it's the only place with internet access). It's FREEZING. The coffee is brown water, the OJ is orange water. And they are playing MTV AS LOUD AS IT CAN BE SET.

I have a cold.

I cough a lot.... and at my age... well... you women know what happens when I cough a lot... *sigh*

Day 1 of a 3 day biz trip.

Tomorrow another hotel...

I'll still have a cough.

but perhaps the coffee will be better and the internet cheaper.

Ugh.  Been there, done that.  Well, except for the what happens when you cough bit.

Don't you HATE having to pay for Internet access in hotels?  Sheesh.  It's not like they don't already have it coming into the building - why not make it free for everyone?  And why is it it's usually the real swank hotels that make you pay outrageous amounts for Internet, anyway?  Or for any other amenity for that matter. 

[gesualdo]

I have plenty of airline horror stories but few for hotels. Usually the only thing of note that happens to me in hotels is being caught nude. Three times now, by overeager cleaning staff who knock and BAM! open right up without pausing a second. I swear they've got the key in the lock or card in the swiper before they put knuckle to door.

Perhaps the hotels you stay in are different from the ones I stay in, but I make sure the slide lock stays on until I'm ready to leave.  That way, even with a key, they canNOT open the door.

[gesualdo]

Oh, oh, last trip in a state just West of me. Woman shouting at 9pm and hammering on hotel room door three doors down. When I poked my head out of my door, she apologized, but continued hammering and shouting for Blah-Blah (her son) to open the door. Only now, she was also shouting that he'd better answer because he was bothering other guests. Hmm. She alternated calling his hotel room on her cell phone and shouting and hammering on the door and shouting. After another 20 minutes, I finally stepped out into the hallway, and said, "Uh, you might want to ask the manager to open that door for you. Just to see if he's alright." To which she was astounded and grateful. She immediately *called* the manager and shouted into her cell phone that she needed help. You know... instead of simply using the elevator to go downstairs and ask. Sigh.

Turns out the young man was fine... just really sleepy. Well, or hungover. Either way, I think he was avoiding her. As every guest on this floor, the one above, and the one below were. Sometimes I'm just a bit surprised at the lack of critical thinking skills that people in the regular world seem to employ. Then I remember my last stack of composition papers and I'm not *that* surprised.

All evidence considered, who wouldn't be trying to avoid her?  But then again, frantic people have often thrown all reason out the window when confronted with a problem.  Drama Queens come to mind...

[starrigyrl]

My favorite airline experience was when I sat next to the woman who wanted to fill me in on her entire, extremely bizarre life story. This was an overnight flight, and everytime I dozed off, she reached over and poked me awake to tell me more. I finally told her I had to get some sleep, and to find someone else to talk to.
The worst hotel experience happened to one of my graduate students who was awakened in the wee hours by a drunken/drugged male banging on her door, screaming out the name of some female acquaintance of his. Obviously too chemicallly altered to find the right room.

[expatinuk]

I'm staying in a hotel right now... it smells like a fish and chip shop. It's also really dirty.

[case_insensitive]

I'm staying in a hotel right now... it smells like a fish and chip shop. It's also really dirty.

France, eh?

[expatinuk]

I'm staying in a hotel right now... it smells like a fish and chip shop. It's also really dirty.

France, eh?

LOL... no... England. Just south of London in Ewell...  I'm hoping that they will turn the hot water on for me to have a shower. Right now, at 5:00 a.m. there's no hot water.

[case_insensitive]

I'm staying in a hotel right now... it smells like a fish and chip shop. It's also really dirty.

France, eh?

LOL... no... England. Just south of London in Ewell...  I'm hoping that they will turn the hot water on for me to have a shower. Right now, at 5:00 a.m. there's no hot water.

There's a concept I just don't get.  No hot water in a hotel you have paid for?  What is included in the cost of the room if not hot water for a shower (at whatever time of day you want!)?

[expatinuk]

Yeah... well... this is an 'old fashioned' Brit hotel. The place is a nightmare. I didn't pick it, the arrangements were made by the University where I'm externally examining today. Trust me, when I come back in June I will NOT say here. Last year they had me in an OK hotel...

I'm on a 3 day biz trip. Different cities each day:

Day 1 - Hotel OK, bed really bad, coffee was brown water, OJ was yellow water, internet access $25

Day 2 - Hotel I stay in often (it's the worst service of any hotel I've ever been in). No different this time. Put me in a smoking room... then moved me. Called room service, they delivered the meal to the wrong room. Then after 2 hours when I called to see where food was they told me that the kitchen was closed. Opened kitchen to fix my meal... brought it to me, but didn't bring any knife or fork. Ate chicken breast with my fingers. Internet access $25

Day 3 - hotel that smells like a chip shop and has no hot water. I think they are trying to heat the water maybe by having the radiator set on 7. It's really hot in the room. I opened the windows. Internet access free.

I'm home tonight.