Lubbock in my rear view mirror

I had to smile when I first saw the name of this hotel... Holiday Inn Lubbock - Hotel & Towers. Towers? In Lubbock, Texas? (The name still cracks me up.)

The hotel staff was very pleasant, made me feel like a valued guest, and upgraded me to a suite. Actually, I got the feeling that I could have had my pick of rooms since the hotel had only a few cars in the parking lot, and seemed almost empty.

The area of the hotel the suites are in is set apart from the rest of the hotel and had a convenient side entrance. The room itself was nothing spectacular, but it was clean and quiet.

It turns out that the section of the hotel with the suites had an open space with a fountain that could have been considered an atrium if you squinted your eyes. I guess that counts. I found it rather amusing that the "atrium" still had an imitation floral arrangement in the shape of a cross that was obviously left over from a memorial service. I guess that's one way to keep decorating costs at a minimum.

I tried the restaurant for dinner, and while only three tables were occupied, I heard the guy in the next booth saying his meal took thirty minutes to arrive. I ordered a salad, so it's hard to mess that up.

When I was checking out I mentioned how quiet it was at the hotel, and was told it is usually empty except for game weekends and Tech graduation. I wonder if they leave floral arrangements, too?

The Alleys of Austin

Occasionally I find myself in a non-Holiday Inn property, so it's only fair that I subject the other hotels to the same scrutiny offered to my hotel chain of choice. I found myself this trip staying four nights in a lovely Marriott property, the Renaissance Austin Hotel in Austin, Texas. It was a wonderful experience, as most of my Marriott stays are. I'm not sure why I don't stay more often at the chain. My father was a Marriott "Black Card" holder - pretty high up on the Marriott frequent traveler chain from what I understand.

It was a bit too high-priced for my regular business trips, though. Probably the reason I don't stay in such hotels too often.

This was a great hotel stay. Excellent service, and a beautiful well-lit room with an exceptionally comfortable bed. It was a good location for my home base, had complimentary on-site parking, but charged $13.00 a day for internet. Another added perk was the proximity of a nice upscale shopping mall within walking distance (for evening entertainment) and a terrific Japanese Restaurant next door with $5.00 Martini specials.

I enjoyed Austin. It's a really pretty place. But if you visit you have to be careful. I was driving along enjoying the scenery while on the way to a meeting, and I found out that other people on the road don't want you to enjoy the scenery. They just want you to get out of the way.

I drove by the Church of Conscious Harmony and found myself wondering what the services were like. Does the congregation sit around listening to someone with one of those tuning harmonica thingies that barbershop quartets use to get their pitch? And is there somewhere a Church of Unconscious Harmony? The church was right down the street from the Telepathic Tattoo Shop. I hope the Church of Conscious Harmony doesn't interfere with the psychic nature of the tattoo artists. That could get ugly.

A Steak Out

I've never been to Baton Rouge, Louisana before. I selected the Holiday Inn Baton Rouge on College Drive based on its location in relation to my meetings. It is a bit of a challenge to get to the first time if you don't know about the weird intersection that you have to negotiate to get to the correct street. All in all this is one of the nicest (regular) Holiday Inn Hotels I've stayed in to date. They truly understand customer service.

Tonight after a recommendation by the front desk person I ate dinner at the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse just down the street. I just spent thirty minutes writing about the best steak dinner I've ever had. (It was a word doc and I didn't do an automatic save.) Before I could post it to the blog the hotel wireless kicked me off. So now you'll just have to imagine that you've read my glowing review of Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Baton Rouge Louisiana. Sorry. I think you would have enjoyed it.

Even a nice hotel has a few problems now and then.