In which business travel affords unexpected pleasures
For the casual traveler, a functional bed and shower suffice. The road warrior requires so much more, more than we usually get. Its the amenities and service that make this lifestyle tolerable. Days are intense; for eight or nine (or more) hours, we invest everything we have to insure our clients' success. In every case the job is demanding because no two installations are alike; every station we implement has a new set of people, hardware and infrastructure. There are great, smart learners, and there are those who require special handling. Some are motivated, others are demanding. Some of the management teams are supporting, some are absent. Some of the technical staffs are problem-solvers and some are obstructionists. Once we leave the station, the living space we have been able to secure really affects how well we can relax, come down, and prepare for another day tomorrow.
I'm on the road up to 75% of the time. Since so much of my life is spent far from the comforts of home, I have developed some preferences - demands - for traveling. Most of the time, there are aspects that fail to meet my expectations. The rooms are small, the service is poor, amenities are lacking.
This week is different.
Ten days ago, I received word that I was traveling to Opelika, AL this Sunday past. Opelika is near Auburn, the home of Auburn University. Although Opelika seems to be rather economically depressed, Auburn is a college town, so one might expect civilization. But a quick check of Orbitz showed Holiday Inn, Best Western, and Motel 6 as the moderately-priced hotels. Checking the only two business hotels in the area showed that the Hilton Garden Inn and the Marriott were both about $70 above the average lodging rate for the area. I had resigned myself to limited amenities and less service.
Imagine my surprise when my co-worker let me know that we were staying at the Marriott! Surely our small station would blanch at the cost! But John had finagled $89/night. Well, that seemed like a deal we couldn't refuse.
We flew into Atlanta and met at the airport. John had rented a car, and we drove south the hour and a half to Opelika. He had the forethought to print out the directions from the Marriott site. After several miles of driving through the countryside, I was beginning to doubt the wisdom of booking a hotel so far out in the boonies. It didn't seem to look so good for our intrepid travelers. Figuring that every Sunday is an adventure in our business, we pressed on.
After a call for directions to the hotel ("they're always wrong," the clerk on the phone said), we did finally make our way to the hotel. It seems that the mysterious "Grand National" sign that was beckoning drivers to turn left pointed the way to the Grand National golf course, and the Marriott hotel on the property. Our Marriott hotel.
The drive to the hotel is in the grande promenade style, and we felt more optimistic as the hotel came into view. Situated near Saughahatchee Lake (the pond in the picture is a largish bit of water landscaping but not the lake) and fairly surrounded by the golf course, the hotel looks more like a large country club. A piney forest surrounds the grounds, enveloping the hotel in a peace and natural beauty. Through the trees the lake is visible before the evening mists creep through the trees. The courtyard contains a fountain and two fire pits; the tiny white lights in the trees complete the inviting outdoor living areas.
But the real surprise was yet to come. My hotel room is by far the nicest I've had since I began traveling.
An executive kitchen suite (yes, the promotional picture is my room, #400), it has two rooms, a large bathroom, two closets, and two front doors. The king bed is very comfortable, and the living room and kitchen are larger than those in our house. Two easy chairs and a divan in the living room make relaxing easy. There is a television in both the bedroom and the living room. A sliding glass door opens onto the fourth-floor balcony. My balcony faces east; the full moon and the rising sun both shine into my bedroom.
This would be enough, but the service from the hotel also exceeds that which I have experienced at most of my homes-away-from-home. In the thirty-eight weeks that I have spent on the road this year, only one or two other hotels have approached the service that we have gotten here. Each morning, John and I have breakfast at the hotel's resturaunt - included in the room rate - and the wait staff remembers the tea that I prefer. Everyone wishes us a good day on the way out, and they greet us when we come in at night. The room is always impeccable, and Housekeeping seems to make a point of leaving lights on and the televisions tuned to classical music for when we come "home". There are Otis Spunkmeyer cookies on the front desk.
The only racing motorcycle engines and sirens that I have heard since arriving here have been on the television. The only ambient sounds are voices from the courtyard and the thunderstorm that rolled through this morning. I sleep with the back door open to the fresh air and moonshine. No children are racing through the halls. I hear that there is a hot tub here somewhere, but I'm so content that I don't feel the need to wander. Well, that's not exactly true - I do crave a walk by the lakeside through the trees. Perhaps I'll change from travel knit to denim and go.
My suite at the Marriott sure makes the prospect of coming back to the rather bleak Opelika much more appealing. It's much harder leaving the husband at home with a destination like this.
I'm on the road up to 75% of the time. Since so much of my life is spent far from the comforts of home, I have developed some preferences - demands - for traveling. Most of the time, there are aspects that fail to meet my expectations. The rooms are small, the service is poor, amenities are lacking.
This week is different.
Ten days ago, I received word that I was traveling to Opelika, AL this Sunday past. Opelika is near Auburn, the home of Auburn University. Although Opelika seems to be rather economically depressed, Auburn is a college town, so one might expect civilization. But a quick check of Orbitz showed Holiday Inn, Best Western, and Motel 6 as the moderately-priced hotels. Checking the only two business hotels in the area showed that the Hilton Garden Inn and the Marriott were both about $70 above the average lodging rate for the area. I had resigned myself to limited amenities and less service.
Imagine my surprise when my co-worker let me know that we were staying at the Marriott! Surely our small station would blanch at the cost! But John had finagled $89/night. Well, that seemed like a deal we couldn't refuse.
We flew into Atlanta and met at the airport. John had rented a car, and we drove south the hour and a half to Opelika. He had the forethought to print out the directions from the Marriott site. After several miles of driving through the countryside, I was beginning to doubt the wisdom of booking a hotel so far out in the boonies. It didn't seem to look so good for our intrepid travelers. Figuring that every Sunday is an adventure in our business, we pressed on.
After a call for directions to the hotel ("they're always wrong," the clerk on the phone said), we did finally make our way to the hotel. It seems that the mysterious "Grand National" sign that was beckoning drivers to turn left pointed the way to the Grand National golf course, and the Marriott hotel on the property. Our Marriott hotel.
The drive to the hotel is in the grande promenade style, and we felt more optimistic as the hotel came into view. Situated near Saughahatchee Lake (the pond in the picture is a largish bit of water landscaping but not the lake) and fairly surrounded by the golf course, the hotel looks more like a large country club. A piney forest surrounds the grounds, enveloping the hotel in a peace and natural beauty. Through the trees the lake is visible before the evening mists creep through the trees. The courtyard contains a fountain and two fire pits; the tiny white lights in the trees complete the inviting outdoor living areas.
But the real surprise was yet to come. My hotel room is by far the nicest I've had since I began traveling.
An executive kitchen suite (yes, the promotional picture is my room, #400), it has two rooms, a large bathroom, two closets, and two front doors. The king bed is very comfortable, and the living room and kitchen are larger than those in our house. Two easy chairs and a divan in the living room make relaxing easy. There is a television in both the bedroom and the living room. A sliding glass door opens onto the fourth-floor balcony. My balcony faces east; the full moon and the rising sun both shine into my bedroom.This would be enough, but the service from the hotel also exceeds that which I have experienced at most of my homes-away-from-home. In the thirty-eight weeks that I have spent on the road this year, only one or two other hotels have approached the service that we have gotten here. Each morning, John and I have breakfast at the hotel's resturaunt - included in the room rate - and the wait staff remembers the tea that I prefer. Everyone wishes us a good day on the way out, and they greet us when we come in at night. The room is always impeccable, and Housekeeping seems to make a point of leaving lights on and the televisions tuned to classical music for when we come "home". There are Otis Spunkmeyer cookies on the front desk.
The only racing motorcycle engines and sirens that I have heard since arriving here have been on the television. The only ambient sounds are voices from the courtyard and the thunderstorm that rolled through this morning. I sleep with the back door open to the fresh air and moonshine. No children are racing through the halls. I hear that there is a hot tub here somewhere, but I'm so content that I don't feel the need to wander. Well, that's not exactly true - I do crave a walk by the lakeside through the trees. Perhaps I'll change from travel knit to denim and go.
My suite at the Marriott sure makes the prospect of coming back to the rather bleak Opelika much more appealing. It's much harder leaving the husband at home with a destination like this.
posted by Melanie Unruh-Bays at
12:27 PM
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