$3.25 for a cheap cup of coffee ain’t cheap!
My family and I have been staying at a hotel during the remodeling phase of our kitchen and re-insulation of the house. We’ll be at the hotel for 6 days as they demolish a wall and vacuum the current insulation throughout the house. We decided to move out during this process as the dust and filth in the air and on everything in the house was too much to handle. Especially with asthma and allergies abundant in my family genes. It was a good decision to stay in the hotel.
Except for the cost.
You can get a cup of Starbucks Coffee for under $2.00 - and its damn good coffee. I don’t know what coffee this particular Hilton brews at the restaurant, but for a large cup, which isn’t even close to a Grande at Starbucks, is weak, has no flavor, and costs $3.25 for a cup. Three fricken’ twenty five!
What is the arrogance of a hotel, one star or five, to charge that much for a cup of weak coffee? It’s as if they spent too much money on a shipment of beans, let it sit in storage for years, and unlike wine, it got worse with age. And, to at least make up the profit margin for the beans, they charge $3.25 a cup, which is probably a percentage markup higher than what the local jewelry store uses!
The hotel rooms are expensive enough and yet if you were to order room services a percent of gratuity is added to the bill and then you have to tip the person bringing the food to your room. And in the end, you tip the staff after your stay when all they do is bring you towels. Trust me, no room service was delivered to us during this stay.
On our first morning there, I woke up to a worker’s strike outside the hotel. The hotel charge all this money- from parking, to the room rate, down to a little cup off coffee, and they can’t pay their employees a decent wage? Although this information is all assumption on the wage thing, but THREE TWENTY FIVE for a cup of coffee should throw flags up in the air on what they make and what they pay. I mean, if I worked there, got paid nothing and charged people $3.25 for a cup, I’d be pissed.
What’s so special about this hotel anyway?
Okay, okay, I’ll step back and look at the good side. What’s special? What can I get out of the hotel that most people don’t? And what other reason would I want to stay here instead of moving back into a dust filled, no-kitchen house right now?
Aside for all the money wasted on a stay at the hotel when it’s NOT vacation, here’s are some plus – money aside.
There’s a bar on the first floor. Need a beer? Need a Kahlua and Cream? Need some pineapple juice in your Malibu Rum or a double martini: go downstairs and get it. Convenience.
And my favorite part, which is included in the daily rate: the fitness center and pool. Down at the lower level is a decent workout gym. Outside there is a quiet pool that is long enough for lap swimming. One length is around 25 yards. And what makes the outdoor pool even more perfect; it’s been 80 degrees outside! My workout totals while at the hotel are: approximately 10 miles on the treadmill, 1,700 yards in the pool and 30 minutes doing weights along with several hours of leisure time in the pool and “cacuzi” as Bella calls it. This is probably more than what I would have done if I were at home this past week – except for the running. It’s been way too hot to run in the afternoon, so I’ve been on the treadmill. Unfortunately, the treadmill is boring!
So there you have it. Convenience. Everything is convenient. If you want food, call for it. If you want a mixed drink, it’s right downstairs. A run and a swim, just hit the “LL” button on the elevator and go-go-go: take advantage of what the hotel has to offer and get the most out of your daily rate. I, for one, sure do.
Okay, that being said, it still does not justify a $3.25 cup of coffee and $9.95 a day for Internet service!
I’m not so sure it’ll be good to be home. Yes, if the kitchen was up and operating, yes, if we could use the air conditioner, yes if there were no dust and I didn’t have allergies, it would be good to be home. But no… none of the above.
Oh, the best part of the stay at the hotel… I was already in the shower extremely early when Isabella woke up to pee proclaiming “I almost pee-pee in my pantie!” Stressing again she “ALMOST did.” After she got off the poddie, I got out of the shower and helped her wash her hands. As I held her up to the sink she sniffed my arm and said, “You smell yummy, Papa!”
Joy.
