At the end of my last entry, I had completed my first visit to an IKEA with a stop at the store near Indianapolis, Indiana and I was on my way to my hotel for the night.
I mentioned "an unexpected turn" that would result in a somewhat stressful end to the day.
Let me start this post with the details. I had no problem navigating my way to the hotel.(it wasn't literally an unexpected turn)
My troubles began when I walked into the hotel and gave them my reservation number. Initially, the desk clerk couldn't find it. But when he finally did, he told me that it was "closed". The check-in date on it was September 10 and it was changed to a "no show" status on the 11th. I made the reservation on the Choice Hotel website on the 10th but it was for the night of the 20th. Something happened during the processing of the reservation. Either way I was out of luck.
After I digested that information, I asked if they had any open rooms. The clerk said because of the "Disney thing" and "the concert" in the area they were full.
At that point the two things that upset me were: I had to find another place to spend the night and I had I may have been charged for a "no show" reservation that wasn't my fault.
I decided to try and get a room at the hotel where the Dis Meet people had reserved a block of rooms. For cost considerations, I had not done so initially. But I figured it would be my best bet and maybe I'd run into some of the other Dis Meet guests as well.
Twenty minutes later I found myself at the front desk of the Cambria asking about getting a room. The clerk told me that, for the same reasons, there were no rooms available.
She very kindly offered to call the Holiday Inn Express that was just down the road to see if they had accommodations for me.
The good news was that they had a room. The bad news was that it was $235 for the night. I told the Cambria clerk that I couldn't pay that much for one night.
I had no idea what I was going to do. This was something I that had never ever happened to me when traveling. Where was I going to spend the night?
The manager on duty suggested that I drive further down Rt. 69 to the 96th street area. The hotels there were further away from the concert venue so they probably wouldn't be as expensive.
At this point, I was a bit tired from my long drive and the walk around IKEA and frustrated because of the situation, so I wasn't exactly thinking clearly.
I considered just getting back in the car and driving back home. But that was a 4 1/2 hour drive and I wanted to go to the Dis Meet. So I did what the manager suggested.
When I found myself on 96th street I didn't see any hotel signs. I pulled into the parking lot of a Taco Bell to consider my options.
In the past at times like this, I've been with my wife and not on my own. We would have figured things out together. I found myself wishing that was the case this time as well but that wasn't possible.
I didn't want to bother her with my problem cause there really wasn't anything she could do for me, I couldn't do for myself. I got on my phone and found a room on Expedia at a Raddison hotel that was less than a quarter mile away from me. It was $135 for the night. I called Expedia and booked it over the phone.
I went and checked in around 9:30. My room was a small suite at the end of the hallway farthest from the elevator on the 2nd floor. Once I was there, I was glad to be settled in for the night. Here are some pics I took of the room.
I made a quick trip back down to the lobby to get a snack and a drink at the hotel "grab n go" store.
Now that my hotel problem was solved, I called Paula and told her the whole story. I apologized for having to spend more money than I had wanted to. She said she understood that I did what I had to do.
I found out later in the week, after I got home, that the original hotel didn't charge me for my first reservation. That was a relief to me.
Shortly after I finished my snack I crawled into bed for the night. The room didn't have the usual AC/heater unit under the window. A central HVAC system ran through the ceiling and there were vents at the top of the room. The temperature was controlled by an in-room thermostat.
I may have had to spend more than I wanted to for the room but all's well that ends well. I fell asleep listening to a podcast on my Ipod.
I had a pretty good nights sleep and woke up to my phone alarm at 8AM. I was excited that this was the day I was there for. I was going to the Indy Dis Meet. But it didn't start until noon.
I went down to the lobby for the free breakfast. It was pretty typical as far as hotel breakfast buffets go. I didn't have to check out of the hotel until 11. I went back to my room and relaxed on the couch with the TV on. I took an hour long nap.
At 10:15, I loaded up my backpack and checked out of the hotel. I got in my car and headed for the Hamilton County fairgrounds where the Dis Meet has been held for the last 10 years.
I will share with you the details of my day at the Dis Meet in my next post.
That will not be until next Friday. I will be busy with a family outing this next week and won't be able to publish a post on Monday.
But please come back in a week and I will share with you my day at my favorite Disney fund raiser of the year.
Do you have any unusual hotel experiences in regard to reservations? What did you do? I'd love to have you share your story with me on Facebook.
Like I mentioned, I'll be back next Friday, October 11. Til then, look for my Facebook posts. I'll be sharing what I'm up to. Thanks for reading the Yankee Near Nashville Blog.
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