This weekend we went on a mini family vacation to Springfield, Massachusetts. We went to the Basketball Hall of Fame, ate at a few restaurants, and visited the waterpark at the hotel we stayed at. It was a nice mini-vacation that we didn’t need to drive very far for, or take time off of work or school to go to. Our hotel was okay. We’ve been very Hampton/Hilton brand-loyal for a while now, only straying when there isn’t a property near where we are staying. This time we didn’t stay at a Hampton or Hilton. Part of the reason was because we wanted Wolverine to have fun with waterslides or at least a great pool.
This isn’t going to be a hotel review, but here are my basic thoughts: The reception area was beautiful. The hallways were cold. The hotel room was small, much smaller than we are used to, but comfortable enough. The room looked nice, but it really appeared as if the “renovation” was just covering over poor conditions of the old room, not a proper renovation. The waterslide are seemed great. My only issue was that we all had to pay for entry. All in all, it was a safe, clean night away from home. I can’t complain abut that.
I didn’t get much sleep. Isn’t sleeping in hotels the strangest experience? In a really great hotel, rooms are pretty soundproof, and generally you can’t hear too much of your surroundings. I don’t know why, but I feel like most of the hotels we’ve stayed at this year we’ve been able to hear guests in neighboring rooms, guests in the hallways, doors slamming shut, conversations through bathroom vents. This experience was somewhat similar. The entire hotel was smoke-free, but after the bathroom got steamy from showers, it smelled mildly of cigarettes. The door slamming from the hallways was so very loud. At one point in the middle of the night I heard two gentlemen in the hallway having a conversation about wearing condoms and how important it was to not catch anything. We also had double beds, and while I am a serious cuddler, I felt as if I couldn’t turn over without waking up Mr. O.
Sleeping in hotels is either one of the greatest experiences or one of the weirdest ones.
Tonight I’ll be happy to sleep in my very own bed and roll around as much as I please without having to worry about walking up Mr. O, slamming doors, cigarette smell, or men chatting about prophylactics outside my door.