I mentioned the other day that aside from the wonderful Orange Bowl experience, our trip to Florida wasn't exactly ideal. In fact, had it not been for the KU win in the big game, it would have been a complete disaster of a vacation. So many things went wrong it was actually laughable, and thankfully most of the time we did laugh because there wasn't much else we could do!
Since we all know I tend to be long-winded, and since this post is already fairly untimely since the trip happened almost two weeks ago, I'm going to try a more concise and organized outline format to save time and spare us all some unnecessary blathering. So, here were the few hits and mostly misses of our trip:
Hit #1:
AirTran flight goes well. No delays, professional staff, luggage arrives. Snack leaves much to be desired, but funny self-deprecating humor about said snack on side of pretzel package makes up for lack of food.
Miss #1:
Forget that we're flying over the lunch hour and therefore forget to eat early lunch or snack before boarding. As friends know, hubby gets super cranky on empty stomach, exacerbating trials to come.
Miss #2:
Land in Orlando, head straight to luggage pickup and call shuttle service to off-site Advantage rent-a-car location. Tell Advantage we need shuttle. Receive dead air in response. Call back and request shuttle again; receive 2nd hang up. Chad calls back and requests shuttle; receives 3rd hang up. On 4th call they indicate shuttle is coming and where we should wait.
Miss #3:
Wait 20 minutes. Call back after 20 Enterprise shuttles & 15 Hertz shuttles pass by. After two more hang ups, told shuttle is delayed but on its way.
Miss #4:
Wait some more. Call back after 20 more minutes. Are told we probably just aren't looking for the right van. Chad cries"bull" and gets another hang up. Calls back to no answer. I call back to no answer. As I walk to other rental car counter, Chad calls to say shuttle arrived.
Hit #2:
Arrive at Advantage location and infuriated husband immediately speaks with manager. Manager is kind; takes 10% off bill and gives us upgrade, although claims that hang up calls were not routed through their location--lie.
Miss #5:
Upgrade turns out to be 2008 Chrysler Sebring convertible--not very cool or practical and impossible to use because it's 50 degrees outside. Wait another 10 minutes for car to be brought up from lot; receive snide comment from woman at counter saying we'll only have to wait another hour. Confirms suspicion that she was hanger-upper from previous conversations.
Miss #6:
Because of rental car fiasco and bad directions from rental car company, don't make dinner date with friends in Miami. During drive south, don't even see ocean even though drive is right along coast. Trees block view. :(
Miss #7:
Stop for lunch/dinner half way to Miami. Return to car; hit keyless entry remote and nothing happens. Unlock car with key, which sets of car alarm.
Miss #8:
Trying to find interior light in convertible, Chad accidentally hits button to put top down. Tries to put top back up, but procedure won't finish before going down completely. Get's stuck halfway because luggage in trunk is blocking roof apparatus. Thought of driving to Miami with top half down makes us laugh and horrifies at same time. Thankfully, top eventually returns and locks in up position.
Miss #9:
Arrive at Howard Johnson. Rude staff directs us to room 222, which has sign on door that says "Meeting Room." Upon entering, we find 6 person conference table and bed which folds down from wall, along with TV that doesn't work well or even face bed. Chad calls to explain that room is not acceptable; is told to "calm down" by rude person at front desk.
Miss #10:
Retrieve keys for new room, one of which does not work. New room is well decorated and clean, although deadbolt and security chain are both broken. Maintenance is gone for night and no one can fix. Heat does not work so spend first night freezing since temp is way below normal.
Since we all know I tend to be long-winded, and since this post is already fairly untimely since the trip happened almost two weeks ago, I'm going to try a more concise and organized outline format to save time and spare us all some unnecessary blathering. So, here were the few hits and mostly misses of our trip:
Hit #1:
AirTran flight goes well. No delays, professional staff, luggage arrives. Snack leaves much to be desired, but funny self-deprecating humor about said snack on side of pretzel package makes up for lack of food.
Miss #1:
Forget that we're flying over the lunch hour and therefore forget to eat early lunch or snack before boarding. As friends know, hubby gets super cranky on empty stomach, exacerbating trials to come.
Miss #2:
Land in Orlando, head straight to luggage pickup and call shuttle service to off-site Advantage rent-a-car location. Tell Advantage we need shuttle. Receive dead air in response. Call back and request shuttle again; receive 2nd hang up. Chad calls back and requests shuttle; receives 3rd hang up. On 4th call they indicate shuttle is coming and where we should wait.
Miss #3:
Wait 20 minutes. Call back after 20 Enterprise shuttles & 15 Hertz shuttles pass by. After two more hang ups, told shuttle is delayed but on its way.
Miss #4:
Wait some more. Call back after 20 more minutes. Are told we probably just aren't looking for the right van. Chad cries"bull" and gets another hang up. Calls back to no answer. I call back to no answer. As I walk to other rental car counter, Chad calls to say shuttle arrived.
Hit #2:
Arrive at Advantage location and infuriated husband immediately speaks with manager. Manager is kind; takes 10% off bill and gives us upgrade, although claims that hang up calls were not routed through their location--lie.
Miss #5:
Upgrade turns out to be 2008 Chrysler Sebring convertible--not very cool or practical and impossible to use because it's 50 degrees outside. Wait another 10 minutes for car to be brought up from lot; receive snide comment from woman at counter saying we'll only have to wait another hour. Confirms suspicion that she was hanger-upper from previous conversations.
Miss #6:
Because of rental car fiasco and bad directions from rental car company, don't make dinner date with friends in Miami. During drive south, don't even see ocean even though drive is right along coast. Trees block view. :(
Miss #7:
Stop for lunch/dinner half way to Miami. Return to car; hit keyless entry remote and nothing happens. Unlock car with key, which sets of car alarm.
Miss #8:
Trying to find interior light in convertible, Chad accidentally hits button to put top down. Tries to put top back up, but procedure won't finish before going down completely. Get's stuck halfway because luggage in trunk is blocking roof apparatus. Thought of driving to Miami with top half down makes us laugh and horrifies at same time. Thankfully, top eventually returns and locks in up position.
Miss #9:
Arrive at Howard Johnson. Rude staff directs us to room 222, which has sign on door that says "Meeting Room." Upon entering, we find 6 person conference table and bed which folds down from wall, along with TV that doesn't work well or even face bed. Chad calls to explain that room is not acceptable; is told to "calm down" by rude person at front desk.
Miss #10:
Retrieve keys for new room, one of which does not work. New room is well decorated and clean, although deadbolt and security chain are both broken. Maintenance is gone for night and no one can fix. Heat does not work so spend first night freezing since temp is way below normal.
Miss #11:
Call Advantage to request exchange of car at Miami location. Are told they don't have a Miami location. They offer suggestion of going by Chrysler dealership to see if remote can be reprogrammed. Instead we set off alarm every time car is entered for entire trip. Embarrassment abounds.
Miss #12:
Continental breakfast at HoJo is horrible. International travelers steal our seats. Maintenance staff comes and fixes locks, interrupting our morning for at least an hour. Chad gets key card reprogrammed; still doesn't work. Asks to have staff come unlock room safe for use; safe does not work because battery is dead. Thankfully, hubby realizes this before putting valuables inside.
Miss #13:
Attempt lunch at Daisy Dukes Saloon, official headquarters of KU alumni for weekend. Building is so crowded we can hardly move. Are told wait will be "a really long time." Choose to look for another restaurant.
Hit #3:
Spot interesting restaurant for lunch called Bahama Breeze; think it's local so we stop. Turns out to be a chain, but still have a wonderful meal!!
Miss #14:
Trip to beach is dismal and cold. Try to take drive along ocean but can't see ocean through all tall hotels along beach.
Hit #4:
Orange Bowl victory! The only hit that matters. Can't even call off and on rain during game "miss" because game was go great!
Hit #5:
Have good parking spot so don't sit in traffic for long leaving game. Talk to friends later who sat in traffic for hours afterwards.
Miss #15:
Leave stadium at 12:30 a.m. Can't find open restaurant to get bite; end up at McDonald's drive through, though do enjoy fruit & walnut salad. :)
Miss #16:
Arrive back at HoJo after 1 a.m. Thursday night dance party going on in restaurant area. Elevators are broken. Use scary stairwell to go to 6th floor. Neither key card works in door. Walk back down 4 flights to find courtesy phone and call front desk. Climb back up stairs and sit outside room in dirty hallway to wait for staff. Staff comes to open door; lets us in w/out checking ID, card, anything. Very alarming. Finally in room, can still hear dance party 5 floors below, while trying to sleep at 2 a.m.
Miss #17:
Awake at 6 a.m.; pack up and drive to Orlando. Arrive at Epcot about 11 a.m. and proceed to spend the majority of our day standing in line, being bombarded with corporate sponsorships (I could seriously write an entire blog on this topic alone) and being cold. Hubby starts calling the park Epcrap.
Hit #6:
Leave Epcot to go find better place to eat not involving giving money to Disney. Find great restaurant called Kool's Oak Fire Grill and have amazing seafood. Rest of the area looks like Branson.
Miss #18:
Find resort from hotels.com reservations. Arrive at gate and are told reservation can't be found. Call hotels.com, who confirms reservation again and gives us person to call. Confusion came because resort also owns motel across street, where our room was.
Miss #19:
Awake at 5 a.m. next morning to prepare for flight home. Set off car alarm (as always) at 6 a.m. right outside our room.
Hit #7:
Arrive at rental car location, drop off car and catch first available shuttle back to airport.
Miss #20:
Stand in Sky Cap line outside airport for 15 minutes until they determine computers are down.
Hit #8:
Stand in Air Tran line for 30 minutes. Hardly any line at security; pass through quickly. Arrive at gate with hour+ to spare before flight. Flight home is smooth and arrives on time.
So there are all of the hits and misses of our trip in a nutshell--a very large nutshell. The moral of the story is: you get what you pay for! Never again will we stay in a HoJo or rent a car from Advantage!
4 comments:
I was getting so frustrated with you by just Reading some of your situations! I am glad that 1) KU won. I agree--the game was amazing, the victory sweet, and the whole purpose of your trip :) 2) Air Tran treated you well...nothing is more frustrating than airline hassles... 3)you got to have great seafood while in Fla. Thanks for the post!
Excellent synopsis. I had forgotten about waiting in that scuzzy hallway for the manager to open our room door. And like you said, how alarmed we were that he did not bother to check to see if that was actually our room. Running a tight ship there at HoJo.
Holy Moly. I bet you have never been so happy to be home in your life! That sucks the trip was such a disaster. I'm glad you got to eat at Bahama Breeze though. They have the best Jerk Chicken Sandwich!!!!
I have to admit I couldn't help laughing. It was like something from a movie. I know it wasn't funny at all,at the time. But at least you guys also have a good sense of humor. It was a huge test! And you still had a celebration. Life is so fickle. =) mom
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