Not In Kansas Anymore....

.... thank God.

It has been a busy week. Being busy usually makes time seem to go by fast but not this time. I'm just glad it's over. TGIF and all that.

I flew to Wichita, KS on business and stayed at the airport Hilton. I usually try to get something more along the lines of a Hilton Garden Inn or, in a pinch, a Hampton Inn. I actually like these better and my employer likes the cost savings. In this instance, however, the others were booked even though I tried reserving over a month in advance.

My stay at this Hilton simply affirmed my feelings toward the HGI and even Hampton Inn's. Despite being placed on the concierge level with access to food and snacks 24/7, it's just not worth the money. Who needs turn-down service, anyway? I would feel lazy accepting that service. I quickly shooed the lady away. Good thing I was still dressed as she barged into my room at 9pm the first night. A curt knock and then I could hear the electronic buzz as she had swiped her access card. The door opened before I could look up from my laptop. The second night I hung the "leave me alone" sign on the door handle outside the room and latched the deadbolt and bar just in case she felt like the sign didn't pertain to her. Sheesh.

It also didn't help that the walls were very thin and I could hear commodes flush, various bodily noises (coughing, sneezing, etc), doors slamming, and so on unless I turned the TV up to a moderate level. After hearing how noisy it was on my "secluded" level, I noticed the wall thickness wasn't much thicker than the door. Certainly not standard wall thickness. The building looked pretty old, too, so maybe that's it. The name of the integrated restaurant, "Legends", even seems to lend to the age of this "joint". I certainly couldn't recommend staying at this location.

Disclaimer: For any co-workers who might read this, the room rate differential wasn't excessive and I was upgraded to the concierge level due to the HHonors level I've attained over the years. Besides, there weren't any other options aside from a sleep-cheap (sorry but NOPE) or a more expensive Marriott.

Other travel events this week: the rental car scenario at the Wichita airport (ICT) stinks. With the exception of the very small airports, National maintains an Emerald Club Aisle allowing members to bypass the counter and select a car of their choice. Members who rent frequently can attain Executive and Executive Elite status and pick from the nicer vehicles. This is tossed out the window at smaller airports and you get what they give you. I'm sure they are supposed to use status and assign from their fleet appropriately but it doesn't always work for your benefit. For me, I like to drive different cars. I'm going to pass over the Mustang and Malibu if I see a Jetta on the isle. I'll pick the Tundra or a Saturn Aura over the Volvo's. What did I get this time? An Impala. Yawn. The only redeeming quality in this rental was the new car smell.

The HVAC was apparently broken on the CRJ for the last leg of my trip - DFW to LIT yesterday. It was mid-80's in DFW and the large metal tube was getting hotter and hotter. From my vantage point in 13B, I could see hand after hand reaching up to touch the air vent as if somehow it might have spun shut on them while they weren't looking. It's common for the air flow to fluctuate while at the gate and taxiing to the runway but the airflow remained weak to nonexistent throughout the flight. It was pretty miserable. I've thought about emailing American Airlines and complaining. Might be good for a few hundred miles. :) At least the flight attendant was nice. Being PLT I got a refill on my water. Woohoo!