Still Too Much Hot Water

[kevin_standlee]

When I got back to the motel about 9 PM, the shower still hadn't been fixed. And it was the same story at the front desk, with a third person in three days. Each one of them has had the same reaction, has written down the issue, and said that s/he will pass it on. The second and third persons have said there was no record of the previous reports and that s/he can't do anything themselves. Nor can they move me to another room. That can only done during the day when the manager is there. The fact that I'm not here during the hours that the person who can actually do anything doesn't matter; these people are helpless and under orders. Sigh. I rather expect that it will never be fixed, including after me leaving. After all, if they can keep selling the room to people who are desperate enough to rent here, they'll do it and avoid spending any money at all if they can.

This morning, I used the shower at the office for the first time. I feared that I might have traded too hot for too cold, but it was just that I was the first person who had used it that morning and it took a long time for the hot water to make its way to the shower. It works, but it's annoying. At this rate, I should have just taken out the rear seat of the van, slept there and saved the motel rental.

Comments

[garyomaha.livejournal.com]

I hope you find something. My partner stayed at a chain (I'm not sure which) several years ago and they gave him an extended-stay rate...have you looked into that? It might help bring a more expensive room down closer.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Oh, I work every angle that I can. The underlying issue is that hotel rooms in the Bay Area are absurdly expensive from the point of view of most people who aren't in the Bay Area. Let's look at the next time I have to be down here, which is arriving July 21, departing August 2.

I am not staying in San Francisco, which is 30 miles north of me. I work in Mountain View, on the Peninsula. Anything there, or San Jose, or Southern Alameda county (Hayward south) works okay. Here are the best rates I can find (AAA or extended stay rate where available), before tax, for a selection of places. Rates are per night, sometimes averaged:

Ramada Inn: $124 Mountain View (close to office)
Country Inn: $116 Mountain View (closest to office)
Holiday Inn and Affiliates: $109 Union City
America's Best Value Inn: $106 Mountain View
Extended StayAmerica: $105 Milpitas
Hotels.com returns $96 for the Camino Inn & Suites, Mountain View
Vagabond Inn: $66 San Jose (10th night free, so effectively only about $60; however, it may require payment in advance, no changes)
Caravelle Inn & Suites: $70 San Jose
Motel 6: $60 Sunnyvale (Substantially closer to my office than where I am right now)
Motel 6: $46 Newark (shares a fence with where I am right now)
EZ-8: $43 Newark (where I am right now)

I think it rather likely that I'll try Motel 6 Newark next time I have a chance, as $3/night more is acceptable for a clean, comfortable room. There's no refrigerator, although I can finesse that if Lisa will let me take the electric ice chest.

A further complication is that on the next trip, Lisa will probably be with me because we want to take her to the osteopath again if we can. I need a better room in that case because she will be living in the room rather than just sleeping in it. Also, she hates shower-only hotels, so Motel 6 is out.