two kingdoms, hundreds of thousands of miles
I was only able to stay three nights at the Hilton Houston Westchase in Houston, TX.
The hotel is well maintained, but there are signs of age. My room had an outlet in the floor covered by a plate. The three elevators had control panels that numbered floors 2-12 and had a big button at the bottom called “Lobby.”
The king-size bed was quite comfortable, having a soft pillow-top mattress and pillows of varying firmness. The bedside alarm was nice and loud, and one could hook up an MP3/iPod.
Teaching in Charleston, WV, this week, I stayed at the Charleston House, a Holiday Inn.
The king-size bed was the most remarkable part of the hotel room. It was quite comfortable for not being a pillow top.
Even though the hotel underwent a fairly successful renovation, there were little annoyances when it came to technology. The power outlets were behind the TV, in the corner near the window, and behind the bed — none near the desk. Two six-way power strips hid at the corners between the bed and the wall, and they didn’t accommodate a cell phone charger.
A quick trip to Cleveland landed us in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Middleberg Heights, OH, for a night.
After checking in we got an initial shock — the room had a balcony, but the door had two major malfunctions. There was no handle on the door, and the double-elbow locking bar was bent out of position. The next room we got still had no handle on the glass door, but the lock worked.
Our room had decent space for two queen size beds. The mattresses had soft pillow-tops, and they were comfortable. The air conditioner worked well. While the unit was controlled on the unit’s own panel, there was a temperature sensor above the room’s door.
For the last two weeks I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Acme, MI, just east of Traverse City.
The hotel is in the middle of a renovation, so the first two-thirds of my stay was in a cramped, double-twin room, and the last third was spent in a jacuzzi room with a king-size bed. The bed alone was a difference-maker, as I didn’t sleep too well in the small bed.
Heater and A/C worked well, the window unit controlled from a thermostat on the wall.
For the first couple of days this week we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Oakwood Village, OH.
My bed of the two queen beds was too soft, and I woke up both days with pain in my neck and shoulders. A couple of times I found relief in the rolling chair.
The television had good channel selection, including Noggin, PBS Kids, and the Disney Channel. The refrigerator was large enough to hold a couple of days worth of drinks.
The wireless Internet service performed well, with only a username/password given with the key. The data jack for wired Ethernet was strangely several feet on the other side of the refrigerator.
This week found me staying at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites in Weston, WV. The hotel is new enough that it hasn’t been been published in the Hertz NeverLost GPS system, but it is in Google Maps.
I was upgraded to a roomy King suite. A couch, two extra tables, and a small area for refrigerator, microwave, and sink took up the extra room. The microwave was incredibly flaky. Unless I slammed the door pretty hard, the carousel would spin and the light stayed on.
The room had an HDTV, but the channels were all analog. The TV would try to “adjust” the aspect ratio according to the picture, so I manually set the aspect. Channel selection was good, including ESPN/2/U/Classic, FitTV, SciFi, and Disney.
Internet was available with Ethernet and wireless. The Ethernet was faster than average. The proxy and login system worked as it’s supposed to; kudos to them. Four outlets were available at the desk, which had decent space.
