Monday Monday!
Aside
When the hounds of spring are on winter’s traces,
The mother of months in meadow or plain,
Fills the shadow and windy places
With lisp of leaves and ripple of rain.
Algernon Charles Swinburne
1837-1909
And we have all had quite enough of it now, thank you. The rain that is.
During the last two years MTL and I have been gallivanting – staying in Inns, Country house hotels and cottages and I have always written honestly about them. Sometimes it must seem that I find everywhere ’lovely’ but we have been remarkably fortunate.
However this latest jaunt – my birthday treat - wasn’t perfect. MTL had booked a ‘superior room’ which we both found a bit bleak. The bathroom was very good but then I noticed the bedspread was stained - I opened the bed and the bottom sheet may have passed muster to an unpractised eye (I have been changing beds for decades) but it clearly had not come straight from the laundry. I don’t mind roughing it on occasion but this was not one.
I asked the receptionist first, if this was a superior room – it was. Then I told her about the bed linen and she found it difficult to believe so I persuaded her to come and look - BTW she did immediately offer me an upgrade to a ‘four poster’ at no extra charge but I knew MTL wouldn’t want the bother and asked her to just give me a couple of clean sheets and I would change it myself. She was reluctant to do that but when she came to the room and saw for herself we decide to accept her offer and trailed to the other end of the hotel to an even more superior room.
From then on all was satisfactory and I’m sure this was just a rare blip, but hopefully it won’t happen again We had only had good reports previously and as we expected, dinner was a delight and it all turned out fine – apart from the wretched weather. The next morning I was chatting to a nice man from the
The nice man went one better; he married his wife when one had clothes coupons – in the war - and she had used her precious coupons to buy a beautiful outfit. The weather was wet- the car had a sliding roof and all their friends threw in confetti which stained her suit for ever. That is real disaster!
The taxi driver was befuddled; why would we be going to Minehead on a day like this? Going home. Why would we be staying in a hotel so close to home? We tried to explain but he clearly though we were daft as brushes. Maybe he’s right.
Oh I forgot to say; at dinner we were asked if we would accept the wine, as a gesture - to apologise for the inconvenience. We were happy to agree.
25 comments:
Resolutions - ever so important. The stained suit sounds like the sort of thing that one might see on a poster for Joseph and the Amazing Et Cetera Et Cetera Coat.
Oh, Pat, I am sorry that you had that experience, especially on your birthday. We have had pretty good luck in hotels here and abroad, but once we discovered curly hairs in the bed and porno magazines under it! We complained and got the room free for 2 nights!
Shane: it must have been quite a sight - poor girl! We were all great at 'make do and mend' but nothing could fix that.
Judy: I knew that had happened to one of my friends. No pubes this time - thank heaven.
When, having eloped, we went to visit the Sage's sister a few weeks later, her children stuck confetti to the inside roof of the car with Vaseline. We couldn't get the marks off - and we were selling the car the next week...
As a man with a beard, I have to say that short, curly hairs on the pillow might have an alternative explanation. The porn, however...
Oh dear, what a disappointment ! That has also happened to us in Blackpool and St Annes, which is usually why we normally go self-catering now, you have much more control over where you stay and have the freedom to do as you wish, we eat out mostly and Rob does the rest of any cooking that is required. A number of the flats we use have very good decor and facilities and have been totally redecorated and renewed. We normally go to either place 2 or 3 times a year for a week's holiday (I love pottering around the shops - and it's normally flat around that area, so I am able to walk around easier).
Roll on April, I'm looking forward to it - should set me up for my eldest son's wedding on the 3rd of May. Gosh having just reread this post I have 'gone on' a bit, Sorry, Kate x.
The thought od that lomen being rather dity kind of turned my tummy...NOT a pretty thing to discover in a "Superior" Room...!
So happy to hear the all the rest was wonderful---Outside of the downpour,I mean...!(lol)
Are they predicting more Rain in the coming month or so? I know you get a lot of rain in the UK, but this past year has been kind of outrageous, hasn't it?
Hope you are having a lovely Monday, Pat...Happy St. Patty's Day to you your MTL, my dear
After a rocky start sounds like your birthday getaway went very well. Great stories about the rain..I visited a while ago and forgot how nice it was here. Michele sent me and I'll be back. Happy Birthday after the fact.
I hope it was a very good bottle!
It was generous of you to offer to change the sheets, considering their inexcusable mistake.
Pat, Michele sent me back. apparently there are only a few of us who realize the game is still on!
z: little darlings!
Kim: I still don't want them on my sheets:)
Kate: I used to know Blackpool well and I started training in St Annes. Hope you have a good break and a lovely wedding.
Naomi: I don't take much notice of the weather predictions as they tend to be inaccurate. Today has been fine and cold and I have been too busy to go out.
Gemma: thank you. You are always welcome.
Nea: it was a cabernet which we had already chosen. I think she was quite shocked that I wanted to change the bed myself. Sometimes the nurse in me pops out.
Judy: It is unusual but nice:)
I love that you suggested you change the sheets yourself, that's the spirit!
The very least you expect in a hotel is clean sheets. That's a pity, on your birthday as well. Maybe they just had a bad day in housekeeping or something. At least they showed some remorse with the upgrade and the wine though.
I'm impressed at how you handled the irritations and pleased that you ultimately did well from it.
And suitable "Birthday Greetings!"
As I travel for work a fair bit I'm amazed at the things that can go wrong in even well-known hotels including several times being booked into rooms that were already occupied and once being stranded in Atlanta at around 2am when the hotel had re-let the reserved rooms. I also have a collection of unmade up room stories. I wonder if the sheer volume of throughput now means that if one item gets out of sync then the whole thing goes wrong?
rashbre
Personally I wouldn't have given a monkeys but I would have gone after a bottle or two of wine...allright, vodka.
"Pubes in't bed? Tha were luxury! We had eight of us in't bed wi six inch nails stickin' in us for comfort an't dad'd whip us wi' barb wire three hours after we'd gone't kip four hours before we'd close our eyes 'n...."
Yer've a beautiful face tha knows. Just thought I'd say.
g'night babe x
On our wedding day a friend gave us a present of real very expensive silk sheets for the bed. My wife-to-be made the bed up with them for later. We held the reception at home in the ballroom, but a person or persons unknown collected some blackberry brambles from the orchard near the rose gardens and put them into the bed as some sort of sick joke. Later when we got rid of the guests, waving gaily to them as they drove off down the elm tree lined drive to the road, we went to bed and discovered that the silk sheets were ripped to shreds by the brambles! My wife was not very pleased; to put it mildly. So we had to spent the wedding night in the Blue Room in the West Wing that night. We never did find out who the cad was who did that!
Eryl: it seemed the bvious thing to do.
Sam: I'm sure it was just a blip. I hope I have been fair to them.
Rashbre: you could probably write a very interesting post on that subject:)
4D: thank you for the compliment. And did your Dad wear clogs? Mine did:)
Keith : I had to click on your name to ascertain which Keith you were - there are two. After that horror story I had my suspicions - and they were correct. What a rascal you are!
You were very gracious, Pat, some folks would scream, behave badly.
I love staying at different places, even if it's for a night and not far from home. Clean sheets, too, eww, can't stand the thought of dirty sheets.
GG: I might have done that if they hadn't attempted to put all right. All is forgiven. Also it makes one appreciate our favourite family hotel where it's impossible to imagine that happening. we hope to go in April.
I just love reading about all the inns and cottages YTL and you stay at. The two of you sound so in love, and so enjoying your time together. Really, Pat. You're the luckiest woman alive!
Kanani: thanks! Gotta make hay while the sun shines:)
Just got back last night and am making the rounds following church this morning. I have a hotel story from our trip which will curl your hair. I'm glad yours turned out OK.
Cheers.
Randall: welcome back! I wasn't going to do any visiting until tomorrow but now I'll have to slip over :)
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