OMG I shoulda slept in the van!

[cheri1122]

I know that tourist draws cause the prices to triple, but I'd never considered the problem of needing a room in the wrong place at the wrong time, like Augusta during the Masters. Somehow, I don't think that stressing your non-tourist [event] related need would cut any ice with a business that relies on the jacked up prices to support their business.

 

[wannatruck]

What I hate, and its happened to me, is when you WANT a room, but can't find one that fits your needs.

It was 2am, I was somewhere between Tupelo and Birmingham and I was exhausted. I started calling ahead, looking for a room. Couldn't find one with a checkout time that would let me get a full "nights" sleep, and under 100 bucks. (Mind you I wasn't calling the "local" ones, just the nationwide chains)

Ended up in Tupelo, in a truck stop parking lot. Hotter than hades on the fourth of July and muggy......and I got about 5 hours before it was unbearable...but it was enough to get me home. Free beats 100 bucks for a 5 hour nap. Floor of that van felt like heaven, but had to defog the windows when I woke up. Left them cracked for a little air, and it just wasn't enough.

Spent the weekend in Cut Bank Montana at a little local joint, room was spotless, cheap, and cool. Only downside to that one was no pool. I did get over to glacier national park for an afternoon though.

 

[davebeckym]

A few years ago I had a free room at Harrah's Tunica. The room wasn't at the hotel next to the casino, it was a older one across the road. The room wasn't too bad.
The fire alarm went off! I'm getting dressed and peeking out the window looking for smoke and my wife is yelling to "hurry up". Hey, I don't want to go to the wrong exit where the smoke is! Anyway, we get out in the hall and they are saying "Never mind, just a small kitchen fire, it's over".
So now I'm wide awake so I decide to check out the emergency exits just in case. I head to the nearest exit and walk down to the bottom floor, open the door to a roof! I see some workers pulling up a latter, the only way off the roof....so I head back to the room. The door to that floor is locked! Luckily they came back to that staircase with the latter, and unlocked the door for me. So I'm going back to my room and think "That can't be the fire exit" so I head for the other end of the hall. I walk down the stairs and get to the bottom floor.....LOCKED. All the floors were locked. I pull out my cell phone as banging on the doors hadn't helped.....NO SIGNAL! I see a pipe going up so I press my cell against it, still no signal. I keep walking up the stairs and pressing the phone against the pipe until finally on the top floor I get a signal! Call my wife,,,,no answer. Called the front desk and finally got help.

I did get a free buffet for my wife and I. Got back to the room, wife was sleeping like a baby.
I couldn't sleep.....


Dave