Shortly after the New Year 2010, Dan and I found ourselves extended on a contract at the Cleveland Clinic. Until that time, we had lived for 3 months in a 6th floor loft downtown. However, upon extension, we were put up in a hotel room at the Homewood Suites in Beachwood, OH. Allow me to paint a picture for you...despite how painful this picture may be.
This is the hotel room we found ourselves living in...I DID make it cozy...
I am by no means entitled or snotty when it comes to living conditions. Having myself been somewhat homeless for several months when I was 24, I'm pretty solid when it comes to adapting to my environment. However, truth be told, the Homewood Suites WERE NOT our idea of ideal. While I was able to make the room cozy, that's about where it ended. We did, indeed, have a kitchen. One that was broken. The cabinets would fall apart if you should try to open them. Maybe it's just me, but I like my cabinet doors to stay intact when using them. The one burner on the stove simply didn't work. The really thrilling part of it all was that ANYTHING we decided to cook would set off the fire alarms. This includes boiling water. The heater either did not work, or it worked too well...and we'd have to crack the window open in the middle of snowstorms. What I found interesting is that when we'd call maintenance, we'd get BLAMED for the issues or flat out told that they didn't exist and we were lying.
Dan works 3 nights a week...and sleeps during the day. That's all well and good until you realize that the bed then needed sectioned off. He'd sleep on one side, and I'd lounge on the other watching the 15 channels this particular hotel boasted. Four of them were ESPN. If not for it being the Winter Olympics, we might have gone even crazier than we were. There was a chair with several stains and a few holes over in the corner, and the choice must be made to have either used the chair or to be able to open the closet. There was less than 2ft. on either side of the bed, so it really isn't as spacious as the photo may indicate.
Housekeeping was a non-option. No change of towels. No change of sheets. No vacuuming. We had to take out our own trash. Should we have wanted what I consider even a semblance of basic human cleanliness, I could have obtained it to the tune of $35 even for a towel or sheet change. So...Dan and I just cleaned ourselves. In terms of the bathroom, that too was a treat. The shower didn't SHOWER a bit. It sort of spurt and dribbled. To top it all off, the place was pretty dirty...and Dan and I both caught some itchy foot situation and let's face it...that is just gross. (I've NEVER so much as even had my feet smell...much less ITCH)
In the end, Dan and I found ourselves laying in bed, traces of shampoo in our hair, fire alarms going off, the heat going in and out, feet itchy, and watching Olympic Shuffleboard for a month. So, travel advice for you: Should you find yourself in Beachwood, OH, stay at the Homewood Suites. I assure you...you'll LOVE it. We did...
No comments:
Post a Comment