Looking for Less-Than-Scary Lodging
This isn't exactly business-travel related, but with Halloween upon us, where's the scariest place you've ever stayed? --Laurie H.
Not to worry Laurie, I can make anything business-travel related. (Next month look for my recipe for holiday sugar cookies shaped like carry-on luggage.) I like to think of scary accommodations as those without room service and 1000-thread-count sheets. Though I would have to say the scariest place I've ever stayed (aside from my first apartment) would have to be a motel on Cape Cod during off-season, where the innkeeper carried a chainsaw around like a keychain; and he shared a striking resemblance to Jack Nicholson in the last five minutes of The Shining.
Of course, as with all gothic tales, it was a dark and stormy night. The power failed along with the water pressure, and I shared my Cape Cod Lobster Trap Motel with one other guest, who I'm sure had just escaped from a federal prison. (I know I saw stenciled numbers on his shirt.) But I digress.
There is a way to avoid scary motels and hotels: search and plan accordingly. For instance when beginning a hotel search by city you have the option to narrow the search by: near a city, near an airport, near an attraction, or near an address. Once you get your search results, take it a step further and narrow your search by hotel amenities, including everything from fitness facilities to my favorite, room service. You can also sort your results by Expedia picks, price, hotel name, city, and hotel class. How scary can a hotel be when it has high-speed Internet and spa facilities? If you're not sure still, check out the hotel reviews or travelers' opinions. Oddly, my Cape Cod cozy stay was not listed.
I'm also fond of our sister site TripAdvisor.com for in-depth traveler reviews whether for hotels, attractions or dining, that way the only frightening thing I find in my hotel room is a full-length mirror.
Comments
Where I live there is a haunted plantation. I've been a few times and never really found anything that scary about it.. Oh well.
Posted by: TalkAirlines.com | November 1, 2007 11:36 AM
Scary is when you ask for a nonsmoking room and find you're trapped in a hotel room stained with nicotine.
Posted by: Carson | November 1, 2007 2:04 PM
Scariest place I had stayed was in Casablanca Morocco. Besides the room itself being drab, the location turned out to be down some dimly lit alleyway. And you just don't get that safe feeling in Casablanca i fyou know what I mean.
Posted by: Kango Marblehead Vacationer | November 2, 2007 12:58 AM
I stayed at a Russian operated hotel in Dong Ha, Vietnam called the Truong Son (corner of Hwy. 1 & Rt. 9). After dinner I took a banana to my room and set it on the night stand for a snack later on. I fell asleep and awoke the next morning to find the banana gone. Not sure how it came up missing but but I don't think a human took it.
Posted by: Chris | November 2, 2007 9:36 AM
Tom, the scariest place I've ever stayed was the Ramada Plaza in West Hollywood. This was a business-pleasure trip (you know those) for myself and 3 colleagues to go to the Museum of TV and Radio's Paley Festival to attend the "Lost" screening and cast interview/QA.
Being that my company is part of your happy family (IAC) I used Expedia Corporate to book the room; which was listed as 3 stars ---count them 1, 2, 3. I ordered a suite with two beds. We arrived and were checked into a suite with a loft overlooking the lovely rue de Santa Monica.
Have you ever been in a time warp? Seriously. This place wasn't "retro" 80's Miami-style, it was 80's Miami Vice (after a massacre) style.
The white stucco walls, the (formerly) white leather sofa, the loft with master bed that I swear when we opened the door, you could hear the seal on the crypt being broken and a cough of air and staleness puffed out.
The black mildewed drip stains from multiple corners of the room was a treat we had not expected.
The room did have wi-fi, which they had the nerve to charge $15 a day.
The "second" bed, turned out to be that once-white wrinkled leather couch downstairs. When it came time for bed (yes, after driving from SF to LA) we decided to just deal with it for the first night. Well, that petri-dish of a hide-a-bed was a wild ride for my colleagues (I opted for the stuffy, stale elevation of the loft) turned out to be like one of those trampolines where there's literally one spring left hooked to the frame and the others were either missing, or rusted through (?). The ride began with the party attempting to lay on the bed, and finding themselves on the floor. Awesome.
They dealt, slept on the matress on the floor and the next day we demanded a new room.
Forgot to mention the 6 inch layer of cigarette butts on the 2 foot deep balcony outside the room.
The new room was a 2-bedroom connected suite in not quite as dank condition, but with the added bonus of a roller-skater upstairs or some really active aerobicizers (I didn't want to know).
The complaints to the staff went nowhere. Upon checkout I asked them how the dump could be rated 3 stars? I'd stayed in 2 star hotels that were cleaner and more restful.
I think the manager waived my parking fees for the weekend. Whooo-hooo.
Upon return to work, I submitted a complaint to Expedia for having the audacity to rate this fright house 3 stars. What exactly does that mean?
Don't even get me started on the hotel decor, etched pseudo-deco mirrors in the hall, and mirrored elevator doors. This is the kind of place you DON'T want fingerprints visible, but they did everything they could do to encourage it.
Were the place haunted, I'd at least have had good time.
Posted by: Jon L | November 2, 2007 10:05 AM