We opened the door to the overwhelming odor of chemical cleaners, later realizing it covered most of the smell from the musty air conditioner. The room itself was well faded from its glory days, from the missing wallpaper to the chipped pink paint on the doors that didn't quite fit right anymore.
We found the alarm clock plug under the nightstand, plugged it in and set the time. We removed the ink stained pillow from the bed, kicked back, and turned on the flat screen TV to the fuzziest picture I've seen since the 70s. Sigh.
No need for the alarm clock after all, as we woke to the hotel's laundry machine thumping along. Fortunately, the exterior door had a 1/8th inch gap along a third of the door. It let in enough light in the morning to see by as my wife stumbled to the shower.
Turns out, the morning shower was non-existent, as neither of us were able to turn it on. We cleaned up a bit in the sink, and went to the front desk. The very indifferent clerk stated all the handles were very tight and had been for a year. She "courteously" pointed out a small note on the side of the check-in desk stating that. Not that anyone pointed it out when we checked in.
Out of my insatiable curiosity, I went back to the room to check. The clerk was right, if you wrapped your hand around the base, and didn't use the actual handle, and gave it a long, hard, solid pull, you could, in fact, achieve water flowing in the shower. Not that my wife, kids, nor even my Grandma could have managed to turned it on. While I'm more than happy to help my wife in the shower, I'm sure grandma would not appreciate it.
Our time here done, showerless, we explored the continental breakfast options, and decided to partake in the better food choices at the gas station across the street. read more