Hotel Hell, and then some!-Updated with Pix

We were so looking forward to the weekend. David being the commencement speaker at Colorado College, Jordan meeting us in Denver to share the excitement. And things were going pretty well. We landed in Denver within five minutes of one another and had no trouble connecting. We decided not to go right to Colorado Springs but instead to stop in Denver for breakfast at our favorite little place called the Snooze Cafe. It's on 23rd and Larimer. If you get to Denver this place is a must--I'd go with the pineapple pancakes or the crisp hash browns covered with cheese and onions and go for some eggs on the side, although the steak & egg benedicts are not to be ignored. Here's the thing, go with a whole lotta people and share everything. Adam is the host and if you're more than eight he'll take a reservation.

DB,JKB and IJB at the start of the trip
We left "Snooze" feeling pretty great and made our way to the Cheyenne Mountain (Last) Resort. And I do not say this in any frivolous way. Maybe it was just a terrible hotel Karma day, but it started bad and never really got better. Here's the tale --not a fairy.

We arrived with 9 bags. We thought we would pack light and I only had one carry on, David two and Jordan a small bag. But then with all the new rules you can't carry on hair gel or shampoo or sun tan lotion or anything you really need (hair spray) and you don't want to buy or you'll have 12 of them. So you need to put at least one/make-up, medication bag through. Then, since we're going to the Grand Canyon we needed clothing for hot and cold weather. That's at least another bag or two to put through. Anyway, before you know it you are schlepping mega amounts of luggage. But we could actually carry everything without help--not comfortably but manageable.

In a favorite line from F-Troop, Jordan channels Corporal Agarn (Larry Storch) having been told by the Chief.."Turn Right at the Rock that Looks like a Bear, and Left at the Bear that Looks like a Rock."

When we checked-in we were told at the front desk not to drive around the building because there was construction. I have been in hotels with construction so I asked, quite pointedly, if it were anywhere near our room. "Oh no" the registration clerk replied. Off we went, nine bags in hand, on foot and on wheels. It was quite a distance to our room. When we arrived in 509, it was so noisy we couldn't even hear our own complaints. The construction was not only near our room, if it had been any closer it would have been in the room. So we called and asked for a room change. But before we moved everything we asked to see the room.

This room was in another building. The noise was worse, but this time from the heat and air conditioning vent. We went back to the desk. Well, they did have another room but we would have to wait for them to finish cleaning it. "And why didn't we wait in the lobby" the clerk suggested. "No, we're going to go back to 509, change into work-out attire, go to the fitness center and then we'll come back and chnage rooms."
They weren't happy about us taking up space but reluctantly agreed.

The fitness center was weird and the weights were locked up but we exercised for 45 minutes. When we returned to the room it was 5:00, we were tired and we needed to get moving for our cocktail and dinner commitment at 6:00. We called the desk and asked for a bellman to help. We were told it would take fifteen minutes. I asked if there was a luggage carrier we could use ourselves. "No, there were none", we were told.

Jordan and the Construction (see, we didn't just MAKE this up!)

We put all the suitcases together and once again shlepped them though the lobby on the way to the next building. One our way we ran into the manager and he was apologetic and sympathetic and helped us carry our bags. There was, of course, a luggage rack right outside the door to the main entrance.

We got to our room and finally unpacked. Three people in a small room need to be organized. We did choose to all stay in one room because it's more fun - but it does require more thought about what goes where. It was now 5:20 and we all needed a shower, in our new digs.

This was not to be and this was not our final destination. The shower was not working and not fixable, according to a lovely young man who was desperate to make it work and us happy. But we were no longer dealing with desk clerks, we had the manager's phone number. We called Mr York, or David (we had quickly moved to a first name basis) and gave the bad news. He said he would change us again. But now we not only needed to schlep from one room to the next we needed to pack and badly needed a shower.

He appeared at our door within a reasonable time and we moved again. We cleaned up in a short amount of time, dressed and were on our way by 6:30. We were not relaxed. We needed a drink.

Dinner was fun and David's hosts were terrific. We are looking forward to the rest of our trip and figure our accomodation situation later in the trip can't compare--they can't get worse. Forget I said that. As the poster child for glass half empty, they can always get worse. We hope they won't. We're just sayin...Iris