An Undeserved Reputation
Dec. 5th, 2005 09:48![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mapsedgeA good number of you out there, dear readers, are either in or from at are at least familar with the Kansas City area, and as such I'm sure have heard the stories about The Elms. For a quick refresher, The Elms is a spa/salon/"resort" hotel resting on laurels that date back quite a long way. If you're interested, look here. Elegance, fine dining, comfort. Well, two outta three ain't bad.
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mljm and I are sticklers for detail. When we stay at a hotel we expect certain things to be true: the room and bathroom should be clean; the bathroom should be free of mold; the sheets should fit the bed. The Elms is a hotel that details forgot.
The company Christmas party was Saturday night. We invite the investors in, and everyone and their spouses gets together for a good dinner and a State of the Company address, drinking and socializing for the evening with people we don't get to see very often. All told it's usually about a dozen people and is, honestly, a good time. Part of the deal is a night's stay at whatever hotel is hosting the meeting. That's great if we're somewhere like the Radisson or the Hyatt, but sucks mightily if it's the Elms.
Oh, we were pleased enough at check-in: the room was spacious and warm, with a view over the back courtyard and woods beyond. The bar service was surly, but the coffee was good. After dinner, we went to The Library room for drinks and the service was exceptional. About 11:30, we retired to our room for a good night's sleep, sans children, and it was then that we discovered What Was Wrong With The Bed.
Did you know that you can turn a queen size sheet sideways and it will appear to fit a king size bed if you short-sheet the bottom? Hey, me neither! Damn, I'll have to try that at home! My toes were scraping mattress from almost the first moment, and within half an hour the bottom sheet had become a crumpled mess under the top of me. I guess a queen size sheet turned sideways is just wide enough to tuck in, but not wide enough to stay tucked in.
The Elms has had it's share of problems over the decades, and has apparently had to economize to make ends meet. The mattress was a "firm" mattress. I've slept on "firm" mattresses that were far, far softer than the slab we were laying on: the pad on top of the springs was wafer thin, and had the cheap feel of a mattress purchased from one of those wholesalers that advertises on late night TV.
KING SETS FOR ONLY 99.99!!!
Honestly, I've slept more comfortably at Super8 motels.
At 3:00 I still hadn't fallen asleep. A sinus headache with pressure great enough to make my lower jaw ache didn't help. If the rest of me is comfortable, I can cope, but laying on what was essentially a mortician's prep table with a flannel sheet over it made the night unbearable. Michelle got me drugs and a cold washrag to put over my face, and if I could have convinced her that we could have made it home safe, we'd have checked out at 3:15 and been in our own bed by 4:00. As it was we were on the road by 8:45, and sound asleep on our own Stearns and Foster Pillow Top by 10:00.
Have your wedding there if you like: the Gazebo is pretty. The conference room downstairs is very nice if you need that sort of service. The restaurant makes a really good Kansas City Strip. There's pretty good BBQ one block away.
But find somewhere else to sleep.
mljm and I are sticklers for detail. When we stay at a hotel we expect certain things to be true: the room and bathroom should be clean; the bathroom should be free of mold; the sheets should fit the bed. The Elms is a hotel that details forgot.The company Christmas party was Saturday night. We invite the investors in, and everyone and their spouses gets together for a good dinner and a State of the Company address, drinking and socializing for the evening with people we don't get to see very often. All told it's usually about a dozen people and is, honestly, a good time. Part of the deal is a night's stay at whatever hotel is hosting the meeting. That's great if we're somewhere like the Radisson or the Hyatt, but sucks mightily if it's the Elms.
Oh, we were pleased enough at check-in: the room was spacious and warm, with a view over the back courtyard and woods beyond. The bar service was surly, but the coffee was good. After dinner, we went to The Library room for drinks and the service was exceptional. About 11:30, we retired to our room for a good night's sleep, sans children, and it was then that we discovered What Was Wrong With The Bed.
Did you know that you can turn a queen size sheet sideways and it will appear to fit a king size bed if you short-sheet the bottom? Hey, me neither! Damn, I'll have to try that at home! My toes were scraping mattress from almost the first moment, and within half an hour the bottom sheet had become a crumpled mess under the top of me. I guess a queen size sheet turned sideways is just wide enough to tuck in, but not wide enough to stay tucked in.
The Elms has had it's share of problems over the decades, and has apparently had to economize to make ends meet. The mattress was a "firm" mattress. I've slept on "firm" mattresses that were far, far softer than the slab we were laying on: the pad on top of the springs was wafer thin, and had the cheap feel of a mattress purchased from one of those wholesalers that advertises on late night TV.
KING SETS FOR ONLY 99.99!!!
Honestly, I've slept more comfortably at Super8 motels.
At 3:00 I still hadn't fallen asleep. A sinus headache with pressure great enough to make my lower jaw ache didn't help. If the rest of me is comfortable, I can cope, but laying on what was essentially a mortician's prep table with a flannel sheet over it made the night unbearable. Michelle got me drugs and a cold washrag to put over my face, and if I could have convinced her that we could have made it home safe, we'd have checked out at 3:15 and been in our own bed by 4:00. As it was we were on the road by 8:45, and sound asleep on our own Stearns and Foster Pillow Top by 10:00.
Have your wedding there if you like: the Gazebo is pretty. The conference room downstairs is very nice if you need that sort of service. The restaurant makes a really good Kansas City Strip. There's pretty good BBQ one block away.
But find somewhere else to sleep.
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no subject
Date: 2005-12-05 15:59 (UTC)So very sad to hear it's gone in the toilet.
D.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-05 18:24 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-05 17:13 (UTC)Sorry you had such a bad sleeping experience!
no subject
Date: 2005-12-05 18:23 (UTC)We felt a little robbed, actually. Our first opportunity since Jami was born to actually have a night to ourselves, and it was terrible. You know that Christmas list you posted about? Babysitting we can afford regularly.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-05 18:27 (UTC)And I can't see us really making it to Excelsior Springs anytime soon anyway.
Eureka Springs, yes, definitely!
no subject
Date: 2005-12-06 02:26 (UTC)granted I really want to go back to Eureka Springs. I recall it was one good thing about Camelot....
no subject
Date: 2005-12-08 17:56 (UTC)And wouldn't it be fun to make a group trip to Eureka Springs? Bruce and I found a wonderful B and B that is right down off the main circle and really reasonable...they have deer feeders and the deer come to breakfast every morning!
no subject
Date: 2005-12-05 18:00 (UTC)The place frequently smelled like an adolescent's gym locker. Since the computer lives behind the front desk, I was also frequently within earshot of departing guests' complaints.
From these mental images I gathered that the hot tubs were more like crock pots, rarely cleaned of the previous guests' biologicals.
More of a human soup than a spa. And you know what people might do in hot tubs.
Eeeeew.
So although I appreciate the history and beauty of the place, I know way too much of the behind-the-scenes stories to comfortably get nekkid in any fashion there.
Eeeeew.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-05 18:18 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-05 18:27 (UTC)The next time
Date: 2005-12-05 18:36 (UTC)Re: The next time
Date: 2005-12-05 21:12 (UTC)When they officially open
Date: 2005-12-05 21:15 (UTC)Tell them I sent you!!