Sunday 29 June 2008

One Thing I've Learned

On this trip there are many things I've learned, such as:

  • I'm not as patient as I'd like to think I am.... especially when I am tired & hot. I just get cranky & snappy.
  • I really, really like specialty coffee & it's not so easy to find when you are in the middle of nowhere (although I knew this before the trip too, but it's VERY evident now).
  • Hotel rates are not set in stone.

This last one is a tricky one b/c we all know about AAA/CAA rates being lower than normal hotel rates, but did you know that if you hem & haw just a little, they will sometimes offer you an even LOWER rate? Our first hotel's rate was $120. They offered me $110 w/CAA, but then I asked how that compared to other rates in town & she said, "well, I can actually offer you $100." It came through as "Rate of the Day" on the bill, so it's worth asking for at Travelodges.

Tonight we stopped at a Holiday Inn & I asked about rates & they offered me $120, or $110 w/ CAA. I asked if there was anything cheaper & he simply said no, so we left. We went to a Days Inn & they offered $120 w/ CAA & I simply asked if she could give me a room for under $100, say $99 & she said, "sure." So It's definitely worth asking for cheaper or naming your price (as long as it's a reasonable price for a room) They'd rather have you there for a little less, than not have you there at all.

I am a bit surprised that they have cheaper rates though b/c it is Canada Day weekend, but perhaps we are just stopping at hotels that aren't full & that's working to our advantage.

Our hotel tonight has a swimming pool, a kiddie pool, a hot tub & a waterslide. We took advantage of them & tired Asher out. he went to bed easily & has been sleeping for the last hour or so. Much better than last night. Chad had to lay on the floor by his playpen for nearly an hour until he fell asleep. He just hadn't expended enough energy & wasn't very tired. We made up for that today by stopping for lunch at a rest area & letting him run around for awhile & then going swimming this evening. (The waterslide was pretty fun for all of us, though Asher took quite a bit of convincing to go on it).

1 comment:

  1. I love hotels with waterslides and stuff. They just make the end of a long day on the road fun. We never stay at hotels while we travel b/c Travis is Cheap. But I still love him. But I do love a good hot tub befer bed. Except that you smell like chlorine for like a week after a hotel swimming pool b/c they put so much in.

    ReplyDelete