Have you ever had a free upgrade, or other goodies?

I have had an upgrade once, although to be honest, I am not sure if it was an upgrade.  

I had booked a weekend away at a caravan park and paid my deposit.  Unfortunately the booking system was not fully automated so I had to wait for a real person to check availability (even though there was availability according to the website at the time of booking).  A week later I was advised that the level of accommodation I had booked was now sold out so I had been downgraded to the next level down.  Thankfully they did reduce my balance payable, unlike another holiday company that I have recently had dealings with.

By the time the holiday came around, the site had scrapped most of the level of caravan they had downgraded me to so then had to upgrade me back to the original level, as they had purchased more of those.

And yes, I did get ridiculously excited.

Sorry, that was even more rambling than my usual posts!

I know I will never get a flight upgrade, as I don't travel on flights that even have anywhere to upgrade to, other than sitting with the pilot.

But just once, I would like to walk into a hotel room somewhere to find a bottle of wine on ice, compliments of the hotel.  I've even considered contacting the hotel I have booked in Spain and asking for a bottle to be in my room waiting for me.  Obviously I would have to pay for this, but if I did it now I might have forgotten about it by June.

A free drink in a restaurant if I've bought a meal.  And I don't mean free refills of pop or coffee.

A free sample box of chocolates in with my shopping.

Have you ever had a free upgrade?  What was it for?

The Consort Hotel, Wymondham, Norfolk.

I have posted about this hotel before on a couple of occasions.  I have now stayed on three separate occasions, once with the previous owners and twice with the current owners.

The first time I stayed I received entry codes a couple of days before my booking.  I had a single room and I loved it, it was on the first floor and so very quiet.  The hotel did not have a full time staff, just part time for breakfast and cleaning/preparing the rooms. It wasn't a problem, the room was spotless and the breakfast fantastic.  

A year later I stayed for the second time, the hotel had now been taken over.  Reception was now covered until 10pm every day. The breakfast room was now leased out to an independent restaurant The Marrakesh and so breakfast, if booked, was served in the bar area.

On this visit, I had again booked a single room but was upgraded to a double.  There was a huge bed, two seater settee and a single chair, two tables, wardrobe and chest of drawers, a television bigger than the one in my living room, and the usual tea and coffee making facilities.  This time I was on the second floor which was even more quiet.

The third visit was definitely not the charm.

Having left the house at 10.30am I finally arrived just after 4pm, it's a long journey from home involving three trains, two tube journeys and a walk up the hill to the hotel.  The receptionist was talking to a man in the lounge so I waited until she came back to the desk.  

I asked to check in and she told me that the man who had had the room before me always leaves his case in the room and then comes back later for it, according to their website, check out is 11am, so why he is allowed to leave his case in the room until it suits him I don't know.  She said that she would check whether he had done this.

There was a young man at the reception with her and he opened up the laptop in front of him, he clicked a few buttons and brought up a picture of a room 

"This room?" he asked the receptionist, "Yes", she replied "I can't see his case, I will have to go and check".  So evidently this was a live feed which meant that THERE WERE CAMERAS IN THE BEDROOMS!!!  Is this not illegal?

This time the room I was given was on the ground floor, the wall behind my headboard was the wall of the bar lounge.

I was informed that there was a party booked into the bar but "as I always go out" it won't be a problem.  I think always go out is a bit of a stretch.  The last time I stayed here I didn't go any further than the local co-op to get sandwiches, wine and chocolate the first night, the second night I had been to a 4 year old's birthday party and was back by 8pm absolutely exhausted!

The party itself wasn't an issue to begin with, despite it being held just the other side of the wall, it was nothing really more than a murmur.  Unfortunately, my room was right by the back door and the favoured area for the smokers to stand to smoke and continue the party.

At 10.20pm the music suddenly ramped up, I am guessing the receptionist had left.  This went on until just after 11pm.

I then had nearly two hours of the hoover being bashed against the wall and heavy wooden furniture being dragged around to ready the room for breakfast.

The next night I was out at a party so I had no idea if anything had gone on.

Unfortunately for such a large town, there are only two hotels, the other one being disgusting by all accounts (I know people who have stayed there) so my options for my next visit are to stay here again, cameras and all, or pay twice the price to stay in Norwich and then have to pay for a taxi (about a 20 minute drive) after the party.

I need to think about this.

Sunday Night Mash Up

Last night I spent the first Saturday night at home for four weeks and it felt odd!

I have had three weekends in Birmingham studying for my ACCA and one long weekend in Wymondham so when I left Baskerville House after class yesterday I had to remind myself that I was going back to the station as I automatically turned towards the hotel when I left the building.  I had actually thought about checking myself in somewhere but decided it was an unnecessary expense considering I am supposed to be saving for a car.

And it wasn't until I woke up this morning that I realised that I would have to make my own breakfast too. In the various hotels I have been having sausages, eggs, croissants, petit pain, butter, jam, lattes or any combination of the above.  Today I had toast.

Next weekend I am at home, with the three weekends after in either Birmingham or Wymondham.

Nothing much else has happened this week.  There are things going on at work which obviously I cannot talk about, but which are not doing anything for my mental well being.  I was feeling better after I had my anti-depressant medication doubled, but over the last couple of weeks I feel that all the progress I had made has been lost.  I even considered phoning in sick on Friday but that wouldn't have made any difference to the problem, just made it harder to go in tomorrow (Monday).  Hopefully things will be resolved soon, fingers crossed.

I have finally made a decision with regard to my fancy dress costume for the Ghostbusters themed Hallowe'en party, I am recycling an old one!  I wanted a Statue of Liberty costume but being bigger than a size 12 I couldn't find one, so watching the film again, for research purposes you understand, I reaslised that there was a maid in the hotel where the team go to catch Slimer.  I have a maid's uniform from a previous Rocky Horror themed party, yeay!

Credit where credit is due.

A few weeks ago I was quick to write about how much a hotel had changed, for the worse, since its new owners took control of it.

Well I am pleased to report that on my last visit, things have been much improved.

There was no queue at reception, no-one having problems with their bookings.  I didn't even have to leave a deposit like I had previously, whether this was a change in policy or because I hadn't trashed the room on the previous visit I don't know.

I had a corner room on the 4th floor, it was wheelchair accessible and huge!  There was even a wet room in place of the usual shower room.

The theme of the 4th floor is obviously purple, purple carpet and walls, the 3rd floor was blue.

Breakfast was great too, with a new coffee machine that made excellent lattes.

I have two more weekends booked at the hotel, I am not dreading them anymore.

If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It.

As some of you will know, I decided this exam sitting to stay over in Birmingham when I have weekend classes as it would be so much easier than trying to get over on a Sunday.

I asked for some recommendations of places to stay and also consulted Trip Advisor.  I settled on the Lionel Street Hotel, which at the time of booking was a Holiday Inn Express.  I booked the five separate nights that I needed at a total cost of £202.  

I arrived the first weekend after my Saturday course and the hotel felt so welcoming.  The staff were excellent and check in was quick and painless.  The room was clean and well appointed, in fact the mattress on the bed was so thick I could have done with a step ladder.  My only complaint was that the room was too warm. and frankly, that really cannot be counted as complaint as I am used to an unheated bedroom.

Breakfast was a self service buffet, but there was so much choice; fruit, cereals, cooked breakfast, bread for toasting, pastries, rolls, lots of tea, coffee and fruit juice.

I discovered last weekend that the hotel was becoming an Ibis Style hotel, but I really didn't think it would make much difference.

I was wrong.

As soon as I walked through the front door, it just felt wrong and I thought 'I don't want to be here'.  I don't claim to be psychic or have special powers, but I am sensitive to atmospheres, and this just felt 'not right'.

There was a queue for check in, and it was not moving.

There was a man trying to check in a group, it was either a stag weekend or a birthday, and despite him having all the paperwork, they were adamant that he had only booked two rooms, not four.  He was still at the desk when I eventually checked in.

I had made these bookings over a month ago, and they were all fully paid, but for some reason I had to leave a £25 deposit on my credit card in case of damages, this was to be refunded once I had checked out, the room had been assessed and a communication sent to my credit card provider.  In other words, probably just in time for the next weekend I have booked there.

I eventually made it to my room to find that my key card would not work, so back to the queue at reception I went (the man trying to check his party in was STILL there), my card was reset and I tried again.

This time it worked and my room was pretty much a duplicate of the one I had had the previous weekend.

I noticed a door stop on the floor by the television shelf and thought it was a random place to put a door stop.  Then I realised that the room had a connecting door with the next room.  In such a huge hotel, why would you put a single female in a room with a door that connects to a stranger's room?

The breakfast was nearly as good as the Holiday Inn Express offering, but not quite.

But it all just felt wrong, to the point that I was thinking about cancelling the remaining bookings and losing the money.  Still, only three to go.

The walk up cost is £129 per room per night, which is a good £100 more than it should be.  

It is also described as 'all inclusive'.  Now I may be wrong, but I understand all inclusive to mean bed, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and all local drinks, not just bed and breakfast.  

Despite the fact that it is only about two minutes walk from my training provider, I think for next sitting, I will be looking elsewhere.