Travels with Tish Girlfriends’ Getaway Guide

Is it clean? I’d like to know before I get there. You’d like to think that any hotel at all that is rated with a star or diamond or any rating system has at least passed the basic “clean” test. By that I mean that the linens were changed since the last guest, the bathroom has been cleaned and sanitized, the towels are fresh and the room has been somewhat deodorized from previous guests. Beyond that, I’d like to think that the higher the rating, the cleaner the hotel room — bedspreads washed/drycleaned frequently, the mattress/mattress pad are cleaned and sanitized often, the carpets and floors are shampooed or washed and so forth. But is that always the case? Not necessarily.

Betsy’s Experience in Dallas
A 24-year-old friend of mine booked a hotel through a popular online low-fare travel site for a 3-day getaway. The hotel had 2 stars, was inexpensive (about $71), but many hotels on the list were in that price range. She booked it and left for Dallas. Upon arrival, she found her room to be dirty — still not cleaned from previous guests. She asked the desk clerk for a different room. No problem, the clerk said she hadn’t had a chance to “check” that first room. But Betsy’s second room was even worse — can you believe it? Here’s her list of what was amiss in the rooms:

Room #1:
DIRTY!
-urine and hair on toilet, and something floating on the bottom

Room #2:
-door didn’t lock when you shut it
- vomit on toilet (and down toilet sides) and stuff floating in it
-hair on bathroom counter and floor
-stain on pillow and hair on sheets–did they even change them?
- mold in tub and ceiling in bathroom
-mold/water stains, cobwebs on bedroom ceiling
- no internet access as promised
- floor/carpeting had not been vacuumed
-unpleasant odor in general
-massive yellow stain on corner of bedskirt, that was totally visible
- sticky dresser top– spilled drink or something
-ALL walls were dirty, scratched, had holes in them
-non-smoking room, but there were cigarette burns in the blanket
-fire safety sheet on door hasn’t been updated since June 1999.
-”Do Not Disturb” door hanger filthy with visible crud.

Betsy could not even consider staying there another minute. She called home and had her folks book another room for that night and subsequent nights in Dallas — a nearby Hilton Garden Inn that proved to be clean, fresh and affordable. But now she had two hotel bills for the same nights. She has been trying to contact the popular booking site, but has not yet received any response. She is in the process of disputing the payment through her credit card company.

How Can You Avoid a Hotel Nightmare?

• Visit the Hotel’s Own Website. A start, but not always reliable. Betsy did check the hotel’s own Website. It sounded okay. Pictures looked okay. Nothing special. (What she didn’t “see” was that the pictures were “canned.” Too many photos of the Dallas skyline, not enough of the hotel amenities. But in this case, the hotel pix were probably from the day it was built.) Anybody could make that mistake.
• Look at Prevailing Room Rates on the Hotel’s Site. I’ve often used this as a guide to what I may be paying on any discount site. But in this case, the hotel’s site listed its regular rates quite a bit higher, giving the impression it was a more deluxe hotel. But beware — it is usually true that you get what you pay for.
• Hotel Description Might Be a Clue. This hotel’s description focused on the area, talking about its close proximity to a convention center and hundreds of restaurants — not on its own amenities. Like the photos, the description was vague.
• Don’t Go By an Impressive Name. Don’t make the mistake of associating a luxurious-sounding name with quality. Ritz, plaza and other similar copycat names are just “puttin’ on the ritz!”
• Check Any Available Reviews. Don’t skip this step. Read all the reviews provided on the online travel site. They were mixed for this hotel, most not good. (I checked the other major online travel sites: 1 prominent site did not list this hotel; 3 others did with 1 and 2 star ratings and bad reviews. Doesn’t anybody check on the hotels they sell to unwary travelers?
• Check TripAdvisor.com. This site offers forums on various cities. Tap into the city forum you need, search for a hotel you’re interested in and see what people have said. Or add your own question about the hotel and someone will answer. It’s a very active forum and I’ve found its recommendations accurate.
• How to Get a Refund. Betsy is working on that. Various Internet comments seem to say that it’s very difficult to get online travel sites to respond. She can dispute the charge through her credit card company. Beyond that, she can check with the hotel itself, even though she purchased through an online service. With the complaints she had about this hotel (and accompanying photos she took in the 2nd room), she can contact the Dallas Board of Health, the Dallas Convention Bureau, Better Business Bureau, Dallas Chamber of Commerce. She can put her experience on TripAdvisor.com and other similar travel sites that accept comments.

NOTES:

• I did not include any of Betsy’s numerous and well-detailed photos — they were just too gross. But she ought to send them along to the online travel site and all the other places she will contact about this hotel.

• Quikbook.com. This site offers a Customer Care page. It gives you 3 e-mail contact addresses plus phone and mail contact options plus an online contact form. This hotel search site actually gives you a point-by-point guide to using their site and a invitation to contact them if your hotel is not as expected. Check out the positive press Quikbook has gotten from travel experts. That’s why I chose to offer my readers hotel choices through Quikbook. Good prices, ability to change or cancel reservations and no upfront payment for most hotels. Plus customer service stands far above the others. And Quikbook assures me that they fully stand behind all hotels listed on their site as Quikpicks. Look for the Quickpick symbol on the hotel description. By the way, Quikbook is on my site as a service to you — no commission or remuneration comes back to me if you do business with them.

RATINGS — Do you see “clean” mentioned?

• USAToday.com. Traveler’s Aide article on ratings.
• USAToday.com. Rating chart definitions for Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia.
• Orbitz. Rating system defined by Orbitz.
• Mobil Travel Guide. How Mobil rates hotels.
• AAA. Diamond rating system explained.
• Zagat. Survey and rating details.
• NewYorkTimes.com. Practical Traveler: Sorting Out Stars. Excerpt: “In interviews, representatives from Hotels.com, Priceline, Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity said they not only took into account Mobil and AAA ratings when coming up with their rankings but also did their own inspections (at least in major cities) and considered customer feedback.” My comment: I don’t believe that onsite inspections take place very often; if they did, this particular Dallas hotel would not be on anybody’s list.

Conclusion: Without a personal recommendation or sterling reputation (like Hilton, for example), choosing a hotel can be a gamble. Do some homework.

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If you want to get in on some great fares for a girlfriend getaway in the next few months, this is the time to buy your tickets. Midwest’s most popular destinations are being offered at special prices. Call your friends now and grab them up while they’re available!

Travel through March 14. Tampa, Orlando, Ft. Myers, New York, Atlanta, Boston, Phoenix, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Baltimore and more. Fares start at $148 RT. Check out this deal.

Travel through June 7. San Antonio, Seattle, Los Angeles, Denver, Dallas/Ft. Worth, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Phoenix. Fares start at $158 RT. Check out this deal.

Ever taken a getaway with a girlfriend or two? It’s fun and can be just the prescription for boredom, stress, tension and for reviving a waning friendship.

I started  getaways with girlfriends back in college. My first trip was a long weekend in New York City. We wanted to shop Macy’s and Bergdorf, see some landmarks, dine at Sardi’s, see a show. My girlfriend, Diane, had her heart set on purchasing something at Tiffany’s.  It was a terrific experience and I believe Diane still has the beautiful Tiffany pin she bought on that trip.

Today’s Pace Limits Girlfriend Time
It’s not that we don’t want to do more with our friends, it’s just that we can’t find the time. Too many family responsiblities, long hours at work, children’s school activities and sports. Our personal list of daily to-do’s goes on and on. Back in the day when women stayed home with the children, they had time to share coffee, a long phone call each day or lunch out with the girls. That’s not our lifestyle anymore and our friendships are suffering because of it.

We Need Girlfriends
Female friends help balance the social support system in our lives. Women share different viewpoints from men, have different interests and just enjoy getting together with the girls. Guys go on fishing trips and hunting weekends up North. They may play poker on a regular basis with the guys, golf with them or just have a boys’ night out occasionally. Many women tend to stay closer to home,  sacrificing girlfriend activities for family responsibilities.

Stimulate Your Creative, Fun-Loving Side
Shopping at the local mall is not the same as strolling down Fifth Avenue. Going on a kids’ field trip to a local museum is not the same as sharing a trip with a friend to an art museum you both want to visit. Walking around, exploring a new city is energizing, exciting and stimulates all your senses. Seeing Times Square in person is absolutely amazing — not a feeling you can get from seeing it on TV. Getting away for a couple of days — with nothing to think about but yourself — is good for the soul, mind and body. Think of it as a mental health  trip. You’ll be a happier, vibrant and more relaxed person when you return home — because you have rediscovered your real self.

Nourish the Friendships You Cherish
With today’s pace, we tend to put our long-time or best friends on the backburner until we have time. Going away for a couple of days with them re-energizes the bond that you share and gives you real quality time to share great conversations about absolutely anything. Lots of time, no interruptions and fun all packed into a few days.

Girlfriends. Sisters. Daughters.
You’ll find that you can also enjoy this kind of time out from daily life with sisters, daughters, nieces, granddaughters. Who would you like to reconnect with on a more personal basis?

Where Can You Go? What Can You Do?
Discover a new city. Shop. Visit museums and cultural exhibits. See a Broadway show or a production at The Guthrie. Enjoy a destination spa. Find those quaint little shops that are loaded with treasures. Hang out at the beach. Tour some wineries. Take a sightseeing tour of a new city. Treat yourself to an exotic cuisine or a spectacularly elegeant restaurant experience. It really doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you can relax and enjoy it together.

TIP: Check out the cities that make great getaway destinations.

Have you been caught offguard with a meme challenge? I’ve watched it floating around the blog world for some time, and have managed to evade the “tap on the shoulder” indicating that it’s my turn to dance.  But MaryJo of Fly Away Cafe tagged me today and so I’ll just get right to it — I have to reveal 5 things about myself that most people do not know. I think I have far less interesting things to tell than MaryJo who’s actually been on televison and won a beauty contest! So here’s my list. (It’s a digression from my normal posts, but my next one on Toronto will be published soon.)

1. I can take shorthand — real Gregg Shorthand – used to do 140 wpm. Still use it when doing interviews or taking notes at a meeting.
2. I’d like to take a river cruise in Europe.
3. I am still best friends with Charyl, one of my best friends from high school — we rediscovered each other at a class reunion some years ago – and found that we were living in the same metro area at least 100 miles away from where we grew up.
4. My given first name is not Tish or Trish or Patricia, but Letitia, from which Tish is derived. It has no cultural or ethnic significance, except in Latin (ancient Latin), it means joy.
5. Early in my career, after 4 rounds of interviews for a new PR position at the Community Blood Center in Appleton, I called the Center’s director to tell her to withdraw my name from the pool. (I really couldn’t stand the sight of blood!) She, in turn, told me that she wished I wouldn’t do that because they had selected me from the finalists. I only agreed to take the job if it could be on a trial basis and it turned out to be the most fulfilling position I’ve ever held. I even ended up learning how to draw blood samples for the pre-donation hemoglobin test! Who’d of thought? Not me.

So that’ my story. Now it’s another blogger’s turn to feel that “tap on the shoulder.”

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