Saturday, March 17, 2012
High Season, Shoulder Season, and ...
Off season. I'm sitting in a decent hotel Lake George Village on St. Patrick's day. The weather is nice (at least for March 17th.), and I would love to walk around town, but nothing's open. I should have known I would be disappointed when Hotwire didn't have any decent hotel deals. At first I though something was going on, but it only meant most of the hotels aren't even open.
Before I continue musing about Lake George, I should explain why I'm even here. I'm driving for the college, taking the honor society (PTK) to Saratoga for a conference. Normally I'd stay the weekend with them, in the Saratoga Hilton. Alas, they don't need me today, so I was scheduled to drive up on Friday, go home, then come back Sunday by 10am. That's a little nuts, so I elected to stay for the weekend, on my dime. I didn't mind, since I was earning $200 for the two days, and the hotel would cost me $110. Food was my only concern, and I brought a bag of food with only breakfast in question. Anything I spend this weekend is a write-off any way (I actually have to report what I on my taxes), so what was the problem?
Well, first is the notion that the first hotel could have been used in a horror movie. It's listed as a 2 star hotel, which might be true for Moldova or the flood-prone ares of Bangladesh, but it's a welfare motel here in America. I was scared I would get bedbugs, stabbed, robbed, involved in an escaped convict's desperate shootout with police or any combination of the above. There was some sort of fight close by, but it never spilled over into my room.
The front desk requested I sign a credit card slip, which has never happened in all the years I've used Hotwire, so I called them. After a 23 minute wait, I finally got through. I was then transferred to another line because I am now a gold (diamond? platinum? something else rappers would wear? Dunno, I was kinda tired.) level customer, so I could get express service. This is news to me, but I do use them frequently. It isn't automatically the best site for flights or rental cars (though I always check), but for hotels it's almost always the best.
After explaining the situation, they offered to refund my money if I was double charged. They also offered to get me out of the Bates motel and into a decent place. It was late so I stayed Friday, but Saturday was another story. The price was double, but I wouldn't stay any longer. Anyway, after cruising my two fave Lake George towns: Bolton Landing and Lake George Village for breakfast, I checked out the local activities. There was a small St. Patrick's block party, but I was (and am) otherwise out of luck. I did get some corned beef, and finally checked into a hotel that would end up on CSI or Law and Order.
That's enough for now. Time for me to do something, well, social. Walking around would be a good start.
Before I continue musing about Lake George, I should explain why I'm even here. I'm driving for the college, taking the honor society (PTK) to Saratoga for a conference. Normally I'd stay the weekend with them, in the Saratoga Hilton. Alas, they don't need me today, so I was scheduled to drive up on Friday, go home, then come back Sunday by 10am. That's a little nuts, so I elected to stay for the weekend, on my dime. I didn't mind, since I was earning $200 for the two days, and the hotel would cost me $110. Food was my only concern, and I brought a bag of food with only breakfast in question. Anything I spend this weekend is a write-off any way (I actually have to report what I on my taxes), so what was the problem?
Well, first is the notion that the first hotel could have been used in a horror movie. It's listed as a 2 star hotel, which might be true for Moldova or the flood-prone ares of Bangladesh, but it's a welfare motel here in America. I was scared I would get bedbugs, stabbed, robbed, involved in an escaped convict's desperate shootout with police or any combination of the above. There was some sort of fight close by, but it never spilled over into my room.
The front desk requested I sign a credit card slip, which has never happened in all the years I've used Hotwire, so I called them. After a 23 minute wait, I finally got through. I was then transferred to another line because I am now a gold (diamond? platinum? something else rappers would wear? Dunno, I was kinda tired.) level customer, so I could get express service. This is news to me, but I do use them frequently. It isn't automatically the best site for flights or rental cars (though I always check), but for hotels it's almost always the best.
After explaining the situation, they offered to refund my money if I was double charged. They also offered to get me out of the Bates motel and into a decent place. It was late so I stayed Friday, but Saturday was another story. The price was double, but I wouldn't stay any longer. Anyway, after cruising my two fave Lake George towns: Bolton Landing and Lake George Village for breakfast, I checked out the local activities. There was a small St. Patrick's block party, but I was (and am) otherwise out of luck. I did get some corned beef, and finally checked into a hotel that would end up on CSI or Law and Order.
That's enough for now. Time for me to do something, well, social. Walking around would be a good start.
