Thursday, March 22, 2012

WW: Hotel Hell

Spending an hour or maybe two a week should never be used to gauge whether or not you and some one can be compatible. Not necessarily compatible, but get along without thinking what in the hell was I thinking? 

Back in February, Miss K attended a Dance Competition that was held in Coral Springs, FL. It was pretty much mandatory to attend and to have a better experience it was encouraged to stay at the resort where the competition was being held. I checked the hotel price online and said hell no are they crazy?! I really wanted my daughter to attend and volunteered my paycheck to pay for the competition fees and classes but didn't know how I would pay for the hotel.

The hubs wasn't going to be able to go so it was going to be a girls weekend, just Miss K and I. I thought maybe if any of the other moms were going without husbands, one of them might want to share a room. I have befriended a few of the moms and thought I wouldn't mind sharing a room with one of them. I assumed figured that based on the price of the rooms, that they would be large and that if it was uncomfortable, we would have enough "space". Never assume.

The only mom that was willing to room together was mean girl's mom. Before going to competition I never knew that her little girl was like that. Or I would have never agreed to room with her or offered to share the bill on a room. I booked the room in my name and she was to pay me half once we got there. 

The Friday afternoon we left for Coral Springs, I got a later start than I wanted to. I left Miss K's medicine at home and it was of utmost importance that I made the trip back home to get it. So we were an hour behind schedule which put the other mom getting there before us. She texted me when she arrived and said they would just wait in the lobby. Fifteen minutes later she texts me "we checked in and we're in the room". I was like WTH? I had to control my anger at that very moment. If she had been any real friend of mine, I would have been fine with that. But to just go ahead and take it upon herself to do that, really set the tone for the weekend.

I was also very surprised that hotel staff would allow some one to check into some one elses room just because they knew the check in name. I never confronted the staff about it, but I should have. I was already mad about it and I'm sure she knew and I didn't need to make the weekend anymore uncomfortable than it had already become. 

After Miss K and I arrived I wasn't surprised to find that she had picked the bed closest to the window and the air conditioning. Something that drove me crazy all weekend. She "controlled" the air and I was sweating like a pig somewhat sticky when it was bedtime. I slept in a sheet to stay cool. I like to have a radio on or watch television to go to sleep, as does Miss K. We had to turn the tv off when it was lights out, because mean girl her daughter wouldn't fall asleep. It was one thing after another. 

I looked forward to the daytime when the girls had classes. I spent most of my time hanging out with a few other moms, reading my Kindle, hustling around to get lunch for the kids, preparing for competition or just being busy. It kept me from being closed in a hotel room with some one that really was different than I.

The day we left to come home should have been relaxing. The route that the mom used to drive into Coral Springs was different than mine and she wanted to know which way I used. I have GPS in my Odyssey and she does not. She asked if she could follow me home. Of course I told her no way yes.

Have you ever had some one follow you and not keep up the same speed as you? Seriously?!  The best part, I have a SunPass ( a transponder that lets you pass through tolls and electronically charges you) and she did not. So she had to pull through toll booths while I sailed through the auto lane. The first one I thought I would pull over and pause for her. After about getting killed by another driver when I did that,  I called her and told her she would just need to catch up to me after each toll.

When we reached the point where she would continue down the last toll and I would head towards another interstate (we live in different cities) I called her to say goodbye. She actually sort of complained that I never stopped for a potty break. SERIOUSLY?! I actually felt bad. for a moment. She very well could have called me and said her daughter needed to use the bathroom. We could have used a break too, but I didn't need rudeness if we stopped. 

So I will suggest, don't share a room with an almost stranger. It's better to swallow your lumps and fork out the money. For sanity. Well, I wouldn't have had a post to write though. I'll chalk it up as another learning experience.


This post was written for Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. This week I chose prompt 5) What was the occasion? Write about the last time you stayed in a hotel.

3 comments:

Diane@BeStillAMinute said...

That would have been a nightmare for me too!  But that's the great thing about blogging.  There is always an upside to every little mishap...Good Blog Fodder! :)

Sorta Southern Single Mom said...

Ah yes, sharing a room with an acquaintance... when it goes right, it's fabulous, but when it goes wrong... oh lord!

Kristen said...

Oh Dear! Sounds like a rough weekend when it could've been a lot of fun for you and your daughter. The mean girls and their mean moms always find a way to spoil things as long as they can...like complaining about no potty break. Ugh!