Duh - that was a compliment.

The Crowne Plaza at Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, Florida was filled with kickboxers. Really. I even think there was a life-size cutout of Rambo at the athlete check in table.

I didn't check in there. I checked in at the front desk.

I was told that the hotel was full so I wasn't given a room on the executive floor because I wanted a king room and all they had were doubles. Hmm. You'd think they would have asked me anyway. But I did ask for access to the club lounge.

I got on the elevator with six of those toned and tanned bodies and jokingly commented about the pleasant situation I found myself in. They just blankly stared. Duh - that was a compliment. I thought that one or two of them must still have a few parts of their brain untouched after all of those barefooted blows to the head. Guess not.

There was no wireless access except on concierge level, which I wasn't on. The lower floors were wired access only. So I called the front desk and asked for a longer cord. The desk guy said "Well, okay, I'll see if we have one. But platinum members don't have to pay for internet anyway."

Huh? Maybe he was taking kickboxing lessons on the side.

Sign of the times

It's hard to criticize a hotel that gives you a warm welcome, complimentary drink, a Hershey Bar with Almonds, and an upgrade to a large two room suite.

The hotel even had signs in all the the hotel elevators stating that floors other than the lobby are designated quiet zones. It politely reminded guests that other guests may be on different sleeping schedules. How considerate. Usually the signs are in the corridors. It's nice to warn guests in advance so they can go back down to the lobby if they feel the need to make noise after they arrive. It might just save them a trip.

The Crowne Plaza West Palm Beach in West Palm Beach, Florida seemed to have it all.

But... (yes, there has to be a "but" here.) You know that old saying about too good to be true? Well, this wonderful hotel had everything but quiet. Apparently no one reminded the nearby airport that the hotel guests had varied sleeping schedules.

Now, I booked this hotel knowing it was an airport hotel. I stay in airport hotels a lot because, well, mostly because they're close to airports. It's convenient.

Typically I don't mind the noise because there is usually a fan in the room that blocks everything out, and I travel with ear plugs just in case. But there was no fan in the room. Without a fan in the room even the earplugs didn't block out all the sound. I listened to airplanes well into the night.

Lack of sleep is not a good thing. It might keep me from staying in this lovely hotel again. What a shame.

Sugar coating doesn't always make it better

I don't like delayed flights. Especially when it makes me late for a meeting.

After my (late) meeting I arrived (late) at the Holiday Inn Airport West Palm Beach in West Palm Beach, Florida. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get a room upgrade, but I was guaranteed for late arrival and was glad to finally relax after such a long day.

Sometimes I think I just step into some sort of an alternate reality or something. Delayed flight, late meeting... and, the room.

When I opened the door to my room I was overwhelmed by a smoky smell. I knew I had reserved a non-smoking room, and this was pretty bad. Interesting to note here, the halls smelled fresh. Usually it's the other way around. That's when I realized I was not in Kansas any more.

I went to the restaurant and the sign said to wait to be seated, but there was no one there to seat me. There were only about seven other people in the the restaurant, and finally someone in the kitchen saw me standing there.

I was pleased when I saw a low-carb dish on the menu, and ordered the low-carb blackened salmon with steamed veggies. When it arrived it came with mashed potatoes with gravy, and glazed carrots. The carrots were good, but that's probably because they were cooked in sugar. Obviously they don't understand the concept. Now I know why I usually choose to order appetizers and eat in the bar.

I went back to my room hoping the smoke would have dissipated, but it was still there and quite unpleasant.

Every time the people in the next room flushed the toilet the walls rattled. Loudly. And they flushed a lot.

I woke up the next morning with a headache. But now that I think about it maybe it was a sugar hangover from the previous night's carrots.

As I checked out of the hotel the next morning I told the desk clerk about the smoke, and he called the manager. The very pleasant young man was the same person that had checked me in the night before, so he obviously spent a lot of time there. He told me he had heard that complaint before and the hotel attributed the smokey smell to a ventilation problem. He said he wished I would stay and offered me a spray bottle of room deodorizer.

No one ever offered me a bottle of room deodorizer before, and though I was flattered I still went to the Crowne Plaza down the street.

Two jewels for this Crowne

Is this a record? Two great stays in the same hotel? I really liked this hotel the first time I stayed there, and I was not disappointed the second time. The Crowne Plaza San Antonio Airport in San Antonio, Texas is a class act. The staff is wonderful and the rooms are great.

Now if you remember my previous post about this hotel you will know that the hotel was still undergoing some renovations the last time I was there, but I think all that must have finally been finished. The hall was clear and no parade waited for me on the concierge floor. I was a little sad at that because I was hoping for a balloon animal this time.

The concierge lounge had nice little evening snacks and a decent breakfast. Little things like this encourage me to be a repeat guest, and I wasn't disappointed this time either. They even had Froot Loops. Obviously they understand what is important.

I was a little surprised when I walked into my room. This room was huge. So large in fact, that it had two separate thermostats. It wasn't one of those controls that just saves a few steps like a "dual" light switch, but two separate units. I could've invited everyone in the hotel to a reception in my room. I didn't though, because I didn't think my company would've approved it as a business expense.

If I had one real criticism of this hotel it would have to be the noise outside the room. OK, I know it's an airport hotel, but it's not the airport that makes the noise. It's the highway outside. It's loud. Crowne Plazas traditionally provide guests with earplugs, though, so it kind of becomes a non-issue.

Oh, and the TV. Here was this great room - spacious and comfortable. But it had this little bitty TV at the far end of the room from the bed. I think it was 19" screen. It was so far away that I had to go to the sitting area to see the evening news. Not that the evening news was really important, but it's nice to be able to see it while propped up in bed. I'm surprised that the hotel went to all the trouble of creating this nice spacious suite without adding a bigger TV.

Maybe they were just hoping that the occupant would forget about the news and host a big party, or maybe learn to make balloon animals for the next parade.

Reflections on a Margarita #4

New Year's Eve morning in Houston was foggy. Before I left for work the weather babe on TV said that we had less than 1/2 mile visibility. It was worse in our area and was totally weird when I pulled out of the driveway. I know my neighborhood, and it was disconcerting not to be able to see the other side of the road. When I was a kid I used to have bad dreams where I would open my eyes but couldn't see where I was going because everything was a gray fog. Driving through the New Year's Eve morning fog gave me flashbacks.

I'll be 74 years old the next time there is a blue moon on New Year's Eve. I wanted to see this one, but the night was overcast and I missed it. Yes, of course I know it wasn't "blue." But this interesting event will not repeat itself until 2028. There is uniqueness in knowing that something is rare.