Here's Michelle and her cutie little girl. She's a blog reader I got to meet!
Here's Jenny & Joe. Are they adorable or what?
And I don't think I got this woman's name (or I forgot because my brain is a sieve these days) with her sweet, cute little 12 week old baby, Jaden (I think I spelled that right.)
Meeting some blog readers was the best part! Thanks for coming out guys! :)
The hotel I stayed in, however....yikes! I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee. When I got to the hotel, they couldn't find my reservation. Vicki, the Baby Expo organizer took care of it right away, but it was a little aggravating that the hotel had screwed up.
The hotel is undergoing major renovations, but it says nothing about this on their website. Not a word. The hotel reeks of paint and there was a layer of drywall dust on every surface. Even the counter in my bathroom was covered in dust. I checked into my room and saw the following letter on the desk. (I've added a bit of translation in red.)
Dear Guest (schmuck who is staying here amid the wreckage),
Thank you for choosing the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee. (I guess the fact that we weren't forthcoming about the renovations on our website worked!) We hope you enjoy your stay. (We hope you don't come down from your room and complain too much.)
On Friday, February 6th, 2009, certain guest rooms will experience intermittent water interruption as part of the hotel-wide renovation. (If you're here on Friday, you're screwed.) The rooms that are affected by the interruption will experience a lack of water sometime after 9a.m., which will last for several hours. (You won't be able to shower, flush the toilet, or wash your hands, but that's not really important, is it? We've done our part warning you, so if you're stuck in the shower with shampoo in your hair when we turn the water off, it's your own fault.)
We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding of this situation. (Please don't beat us up.) Please contact a member of the front office staff with any questions or concerns. (We will ignore you and offer you stupid platitudes, but please feel free to contact us.)
We hope you enjoy the remainder of your visit to Milwaukee, and look forward to serving you in the future. (Other places in Milwaukee you may want to visit are the Hilton, the Sheraton, and The Best Western. We know we'll never ever see you again.)
Sincerely,
The Staff of Hyatt Regency Milwaukee
And then, last night I requested a wake-up call for this morning. Thankfully, I woke up on my own long before my scheduled call because they never called me. And, and, and, their tea burned my tongue and their coffee spilled down my front and burned my boob! Ok, fine, I can't blame that on them. That was my own stupidity. But still...
Seriously, check out the dust on the tissue box!
OK, I'm done ranting now.
19 comments:
Yikes. I hate crappy hotels. There was one in Philadelphia that I was at that I would never return to. Argh.
But! You have someone's voice! That's a plus!
Have a great night!
On the plus side, I feel better about my housekeeping now... ;)
Bummer on the Hilton. They're usually pretty solid, but ouch. That's not the kind of reception you want. Glad the Expo went well for you at least!
I used to work at a Hilton. If there was renovation happening, the entire floor or one half of the floor was closed off in the room inventory system. If we were so busy that people had to be on the same floor, they were given coupons to the restaurant for breakfast to compensate. Seems unwise for a hotel under that level brand, to not minimize the mess or at least contain it. Write the company, it will get a response, especially if you include a link to this blog entry lol.
i would have loved to hear you talk! did the hotel charge full price for the hotel rooms? there should be a major discount.
I'm sure glad that you said what the picture was of! I stared at it just wondering! Would have made a great, "GUESS THE OBJECT!" game!! Ha ha!
With all the Murphy's Law stuff going on, it probably was better than you did not have a humungous group listening to you speak. This way it was more of an "intimate" discussion group, no?
Sounds like you had fun, despite the few irritations! Chalk it up to one more conference to put on your resume!
Glad you're back home!
Dawn, I have a Sunday question for you. What do you know about CPSIA? Will it affect you?
I am going to Tag you!!! To blog about your FAVORITE 5 things CPSIA will affect in your life Feb 10, 2009.
Link to my blog and post a link to your blog in the comment section.
http://kraftymommas.blogspot.com/2009/02/cpsia-and-my-five-favorites.html
:0) Trevor
The same thing happened over Fremd's reunion weekend. We stayed at the Hyatt regency Woodfield, as you might remember, and they were also renovating. Brian and I were looking forward to our stay because we had our wedding reception there and had not been back since... the place was a mess. The rooms were clean, but the construction was a bit irritating to say the least!
Wow! What a crummy hotel visit! I wouldn't go back there either! It was nice to meet you and I really enjoyed hearing your stories. You have a gift. I think you might have hooked my mom to your blog (after I exlained to her what a blog was).
Oh...and my name is Adrienne, and my son's name is Jalen, not Jaden...but close enough.
I hope you have a better turnout in Madison in a few weeks!!!
Hi Dawn, I Hate drywall dust! I always said I think that is what people in hell have to deal with for eternity. Kristine in Michigan.
You got me laughing again! I hate going to hotels for the pure fact that most of them are always filthy. You can never trust if the warm blankets have actually been washed because they always smell weird and seem a bit to starchy for a blanket. The floors turn your feet and socks black yet they claim they clean every day. I think all they do is look after the linens. The rest of the stuff they pretend they don't see or they leave a sweet little note in your room explaining why ;P
Ew! You were breathing that dust! Health risk!
Thanks for coming, we loved meeting you & listening to you speak! I know the turnout wasn't great, but I think it was more fun that way! Sorry your hotel stunk, hopefully that won't scare you away from Milwaukee, we'd love to have you back!
I feel your pain...I lived in Milwaukee for 3 years and some times a very few people are not the most considerate of guests. I had a lady as me why I moved to WI from Texas? I told her not by choice but jobs. But I loved it in the summer and I made some really great friends.
Hugs.
I thought the speckles on the tissue box were part of it, then I looked again and saw the finger streak mark. Yikes!!! Please do not hold this against us here in MIlwaukee, even if we do tease you and call you "FIBS" (my in laws are from IL).
Was there a warning on the tea or coffee...you could sue?!?!? Just kidding. It sounds like you had an ok time...not great but probably still better than cleaning up puke and doing laundry all weekend! ;)
Boy am I glad I wasn't in that hotel on Friday!!! I'd have been one ticked off person!
Glad the Expo went well and that your voice is making a return!
Donna in PA :)
I loved your "letter" to the hotel. What a hoot! You gave me a good laugh today!
I hate when hotels are devious! It is just wrong. If they only knew who they were messing with. Now you are telling the world and no one will stay there!
Becca
Please visit me at http://www.askbecca.com
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