Gut Instinct

When the lady at the front desk said "We don't have any king beds, all our rooms are single or double queen rooms" I should have listened to my gut, thanked her for her help and gone to the next hotel. Instead I allowed myself to be caught up in the newness of the hotel. Not the best move on my part.

Let me back up to the beginning. We were visiting family in Mountain Home, Arkansas and decided to stay the night. I knew there was a fairly new Holiday Inn Express and had expected to grab a room there. However, when my husband and I drove by, we spotted a brand new Hampton Inn next door. "Even newer?" I thought. "Sure, why not!" So along the way we stopped and I ducked in to reserve a room for the night. Everything was shiny-new and looked like a typical new Hampton Inn. The rate seemed reasonable, and rooms were available. Then the clerk gave me the news about bed choices. Succumbing to the gloss, sparkly gleam and a mostly empty parking lot, I decided to proceed with the room.

That night we returned to our room for the night. The room itself was standard fare, but typical of a small town was a bit more spacious, especially for the price. The bed was reasonably comfortable, as was the rest of the room. We nodded off for the night. Then came 6am. Around that time, it began to sound like someone was taking a shower about 3 feet from our bed. Anytime someone walked by in the hallway, it was as if they were talking to us. So while it was nice on the surface, the sound issue falls into that area that is inexcusable.

So I have to remind myself to listen to that little voice when booking a hotel. Anytime I've questioned my judgement and not heeded the warning, I've regretted the decision. Next time it's the Holiday Inn Express with the king-size bed.