The camera crews have packed up their equipment, the water has receded, the sun is shining, the wind has switched to a gentle Gulf breeze.....and all has returned to normal on our island.  We did dodge a bullet and we're grateful.  Here's hoping the rest of the season will find us just being the obscure little island we've always been.

On to my story about booking the Holiday Inn in Tewksbury for our trip last week......I've been booking hotels via the Internet for about 5 years and never had a problem.  This time I booked through Intercontinental Hotels, a free booking site.  I booked this on March 27 for June 4 for three nights.  It was also an advance purchase, so it was fully paid, guaranteeing our king suite.

We arrived in Mass. about 3:00 Sunday afternoon and went directly to our daughter's home to visit.  The hotel was paid and guaranteed, so no need to rush to get there, right?  Wrong!  We arrived at 5:00 p.m. only to find out......our room wasn't ready.  Give me a break.  5:00 and the room isn't ready?  Nope, it was going to be at least a half hour wait.  Ray returned to the car, where I sat with the dogs, to give me the unwelcome news.  Well, of course, Terri marches into the desk clerk with copies of the reservation in hand to find out what the scoop is.  With a total lack of apology, the girl simply stated "it's not ready."  A red flag immediately went up.  I said, "You DO know we have our 2 dogs with us, right?"  OH, gee, no......she didn't realize that.  EVEN though it stated such right on the reservation.  Well, goodness, that really changes things.....we can't have the room on the first floor.  Oh no, that's against their hotel policy.....guests with pets must be on the second floor and above.  Oh yeah....this really makes a lot of sense.....transporting dogs outside to do their duty via elevators.  Mind you, in all the previous dog friendly hotels, we were always put on the first floor for that reason.  To AVOID the elevators with dogs.

Well, now, it might take a bit longer than a half hour.  That's when Terri lost it.  You can't tell me that a room booked late March for June 4 isn't ready at 5:00.  And that's when I demanded to see the manager.  Well, gee, he wasn't there.  So that's when I said......I want you to call Extended Stay Suites for me to see if they have something for the next 3 nights.  A dour look crossed her face as she replied, "Oh, I don't think they're pet friendly."  I assured her they were and asked again for her to call them.  She did.  They had a suite available.  I then asked for the business card with the manager's name.  I also demanded that the full payment that I'd paid back in March be removed from my credit card immediately.  My friend Millie, over at My Mom's Blog, did a blog the other day about bank statements and credit card statements, so yes, Millie, you can bet I will carefully scrutinize my statement when it arrives to be sure that charge was removed.

Sure it all turned out well.  However, what on earth would I have done (especially with 2 dogs) if they had no availability, last minute, at Extended Stay Suites.  Customer Service is most definitely a thing of the past.  They simply don't care and I find that appalling for us consumers.

And now....now I'm off to type up that letter to the manager at that Holiday Inn.  For all the good it'll do.  But maybe it'll prevent this happening to another trusting customer.  So yes, I'm whining.....and I'll see you tomorrow.