A rose by any other name...

I learned a lot when I went to Tyler, Texas. I already knew the city was considered the "Rose Capital of the Nation." Tyler Roses are magnificent - no doubt about it. But did you know that they have an even bigger claim to fame? Oh yes. They do. You see, Tyler was the very first city in the world to adopt a section of the highway in the Adopt a Highway Program. Now that is a claim to fame.

I also learned that less than satisfactory hotel experiences almost always ride on the heels of a really great hotel experience. I wonder why that is? I gave this serious thought over a margarita, and have decided that it isn't just a matter of perception. It really happens.

My latest adventure into this really weird phenomenon occurred when I checked into the Holiday Inn South Broadway in Tyler, Texas. I stopped by between meetings to see if maybe I could check in a little early. I was told my room wasn't ready. OK, no problem - I'll be back later. I went back several hours later to check in and was told my room wasn't ready. Hmmm. No apology, no thank you for your patience, no thank you for your patronage, in fact, no thank you for anything.

So anyway, now the desk clerk gets on her walkie-talkie and loudly announces the room number to the person on the other end to ask if the room is clean. It was and had been since the morning, but now the whole hotel knows my room number which is generally a no-no for a single female traveling alone, but since the lobby wasn't a beehive of activity I figured it would probably be a non-issue. I hoped.

This hotel's website advertises two executive floors with a club floor lounge. I was not put on either of the executive floors. No upgrade here, at least not when I checked in. I asked if I could have access to the club level, since I was allowed access as a Platinum member even if I was not upgraded. Then I asked if the hotel was full, or if it was policy not to upgrade Platinum members. The desk clerk told me she didn't know what was going on because she just got there. Hmmm again. The clerk said the hotel wasn't full, and asked if I wanted an upgrade. I said that I almost always get an upgrade without asking and didn't really care if I was staying on the club floor if I could have access to the lounge. You can't have access to the lounge without a key and you can't have a key to that floor if you aren't staying on that floor. So I got an upgrade.

My upgraded room was actually just a regular room on a key-access floor. But wow did they make me feel important when I saw that I had a power strip in the room since there was only one open outlet at the desk.

When on the road I don't ask for much. I want my hotel room to be clean, quiet, and secure. Oh, and I like to have a telephone in my room that doesn't have a perpetual flashing light. The message light was blinking every time I went into the room. Room service told me they had a new system. They manually turned it off each time I called. And I didn't even need the blinking phone to provide a wake-up call, because each morning at about 6:00 AM a loud crash - so loud it shook the balcony rails - woke me up. On my way out I stopped by the front desk to ask what it was. The desk clerk told me she didn't know what was going on because she just got there.

Finally, the internet was down almost the entire stay. I didn't even bother to ask the desk clerk about it. I figured she wouldn't know anyway. She just got there.