So it’s almost 6 in the morning, and nearly time to check out of my hotel. What a trip this has been.
I left my house around 4am last sunday to catch a 6am flight down. The flight was decent, but when I arrived the usual driver wasn’t there to pick me up. Apparently the policy regarding company-funded shuttles had changed, and no one had mentioned it to me. I found this out *after* I’d called the shuttle and had them drop me off at the Fitzgerald Hotel.
Now, I’ll admit it — I’ve been spoiled. I’d been to Club Quarters twice, and once to the Hilton. I’d been hoping to go back to Club Quarters this time, but they were all booked up. Regardless, I expected roughly the same kind of living conditions here.
Wrong. The hotel’s an antique, and not well maintained. The rooms are incredibly tiny, without even space for a work table. There’s no coffee pot in the room, nor air conditioner (or any white noise generator). There’s no sound proofing either, so the noise from the other rooms is transmitted with regrettable clarity.
All of this I discovered later — arriving I was told to go away and come back after 3, the standard checkin time. Again, spoiled, I was used to arriving early, half dead, and crashing out in my hotel room for at least a few hours. Instead I had to kill 6 hours before I could check in, so my mood was already poor by the time I saw the room.
The lack of a white noise device of any kind, coupled with the lack of soundproofing has guaranteed some pretty sleepless nights, I’m surprised I made it to this weekend. Last night was the worst, cheap hotel + friday + international tourists == LOUD. I managed an hour or so of broken sleep, and have otherwise just been watching the clock.
Next time I have a different hotel thank god. I picked it, which means it’d better not suck, or I won’t have anyone to complain to. I had a slim number of choices, so I picked one with good ratings and neglected to check the neighborhood details. It’s in a part of the city called the “Tenderloin” — what reference that has escapes me, though I assume it means a higher percentage of homeless and prostitution.
It just means I’ll need to dress down a bit more next time, to be less of an obvious target. Suits me just fine — this new hotel is about 12 blocks away from work, and walking that in dress clothes is HOT. Not exactly enjoyable arriving to work overheated and damp.
Other than the room and the lack of sleep, I can’t complain. The work is interesting, the people are fantastic, and I get to go home today. 🙂