A Tale of Two Hotels

I believe I mentioned that we stayed at the cruddiest hotel  in Ft Lauderdale (and quite possibly all of Florida) on our way to our final destination in Naples, Florida.  There were a number of conveniences that were worth noting however: 

• Our room was conveniently located directly across the hall from the garbage collection area (where we found a whole bunch of clothes strewn around the next morning, just in case we had needed extra clothing). 
• No shampoo or other personal grooming products were provided but they weren't necessary because of the powerful cloying fragrance that billowed through the place and coated your body and all of your belongings.  That smell will no doubt persist onsite long after the motel has disintegrated and cockroaches have taken over the earth.   As an added bonus, free epidermal exfoliation was provided via thin, abrasive sheets and pillowcases.
• Also convenient was that the former closet doors had simply been removed, leaving completely unimpeded access to the one bare wire shelf inside.   There were no annoying hangers to clatter around or get in the way.  
• Wake up service was provided for free thanks to the extremely thin walls which meant that every time someone opened or closed a door somewhere in the building, walked past the room, or coughed next door, everyone woke up.

I could go on, but I'm sure you get the picture and have probably had the memorable occasion of stumbling across a similar location at some point in in your life.

Now, some people might question the judgment of the person who selected this particular lodging.  But let me assure you that said person, who prefers to remain humbly anonymous, knew exactly what she  was doing.  Because staying at the cruddiest hotel in Florida was the perfect way to prepare ourselves -- both mentally and physically -- to appreciate our second hotel, the Naples Grande Beach Resort.

Aside from having an absurdly pompous name -- the Naples Grande Beach Resort, The Waldorf Astoria Collection -- the hotel was lovely.  [What's with the "e" in Grande, anyway?  Is that supposed to be like a Grande Latte?  or is it like the silent middle English "e" in shoppe?  and don't get me started on "Collection".]  Anyhow, it is a beautiful hotel, it smelled pleasant, there were toiletries galore, closet doors and hangers, the sheets were cool and luxuriant, our room was quiet (except for SpongeBob who seems to follow us on TVs across the country).

 

The lobby was sleek and stylish.  I need more sleek and stylish in my life.
 

There were helpful people just standing by waiting to assist me.  I don't seem to encounter this so much at home.
 

We rode up and down the escalators for fun. It's what we do.

These were lamps in a little sitting nook.  I want them.  I also would like to have more nooks in my life.

 

Here was the Fam having breakfast at the coffee shop in the lobby.

The pools were beautiful but it was too cold to swim. 

Wait!  What's this?  Turns out the pool was heated.


I would have braved the 5o degree air temps to go in myself, but I had to man the camera so that I could share our tale of two hotels with you loyal readers.  I'm selfless that way. 

Comments

[wendy]

Nice story!
and your photo's are soo beautiful!!

[Jacinda]

Sorry to hear of the horrible first hotel, but glad the 2nd one was so nice for you. You make me smile with the way you write,and your photos are really lovely.

[stacey@Havoc&Mayhem]

Yeah I've stayed in a couple real dumps in the Miami-F Lauderdale area. Scary ones that make me barricade the door with the dresser. The other hotel sounds wonderful thought

[Lauren]

OMG ROLLING at the "just in case we had needed clothing" remark!!! it's always smart to look at the brightside, right!? ;) great shots btw! xo