Today's gesture turned out to be a cancellation of my own plans in favor of Barney's plans. My idea for today was that I would make a nice meal that the two of us could enjoy after the kids went down while we watched the return of Community and The Office (two of Barney's favorite shows, though not really mine). We used to always eat after the kids went to bed, but we've drifted into a family dinner time, which I think is much healthier and is a trend I want to keep. But, sometimes it is nice just to sit and enjoy our food without dealing with Olivia deciding she is done and thus thrusting all of the uneaten food off of her tray and onto the floor or George procrastinating eating by climbing into our laps and making it impossible for us to eat. Plus, I was going to make spaghetti, which I love. I was rather looking forward to the event.
But, at about 5:30, Barney started suggesting to me that perhaps I was too busy to cook. I assured him that this was not the case. Five minutes later, he brought it up again, commenting that he could run out and pick up some fettuccine alfredo (one of his favorites) and that we could just eat with the kids. I finally cottoned onto the fact that he was hungry and craving fettuccine. So, we switched plans. And Olivia threw her food on the floor, and George sat in my lap and cut up a breadstick into crumbs. But, Barney was happy, and so was I (which is quite a change from this morning, as you will see).
I've been pouring over hotel websites and travel websites to figure out where to stay when we are in NO, and I've been toying with the idea of using Hotwire to get a good deal on a hotel for several days now. The upside is that they were advertising a four star hotel with good reviews in a good part of town for almost 50% less than any four star was getting on any other websites. The downside is that you have no idea what hotel you are getting and that it's non-refundable. I used the amenities list and the map to narrow it down to 8 possible hotels, 5 of which I thought would be good fits. I either want something that is very upscale and elegant or something that is full of character and New Orleans style. The other requirements for me are that I want at least a queen sized bed (remember I will be 8 months pregnant at this point) and must have high speed internet in the room.
So, I queried Hotwire and was told I could request a bed size after the purchase, and the amenities list included high speed internet access in the room. I purchased the emergency cancellation insurance (just in case something were to happen with the baby) and made the plunge. The name of my hotel popped right up, and I was immediately very disappointed. It was an Intercontinental Hotel--not exactly the W or the Waldorf Astoria that were my other options that fit the description I got. But, I started researching to find out the good things about the hotel. The more I saw though, the more upset I became--like really upset. It has to be the only hotel in NO with absolutely no character. The Comfort Inn is prettier on the outside for crying out loud, and the pictures of the rooms are straight from the 1980s (which is when it was built, so that makes sense). The positive reviews primarily focused on an extremely friendly staff, but that is not that important to me.
Then, as I was trying to figure out whether or not I would have to pay for internet in my room, I became suspicious that something was up. The hotel website did not list internet access in the room. After reading reviews, I figured out that the rooms are wired for internet--dial up. For a fee! I immediately saw an out because Hotwire had advertised high speed internet available in room, and dial up is not high speed my friends. So, I placed a call to Hotwire (definitely upset by this point), where I let them know that because my husband and I both would need to work from our computers on our trip, I would need to find a different hotel. It took a while to get things arranged because Hotwire is pretty adamant (and clear on their site) about no refunds, but I finally convinced them that dial up and high speed are not the same thing. They are going to make the hotel stop listing that as an amenity on Hotwire's site, and in the meantime, I got a full refund.
The (very) good news is that we are not stuck staying at this hotel that was not a good fit for what I want, but the bad news is that I am back to square one on the hotel search. I still can't believe that I convinced Hotwire to give me a refund. And, I really can't believe that dial up internet still exists outside of museums and movies from the early 1990s.
No comments:
Post a Comment