I first stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Merriam, KS about a year and a half ago. Actually, I had been staying at the Hampton Inn or the Hilton Garden Inn in Overland Park until I found out this one was much closer to my dealer.
I remember walking in and seeing at how nice the lobby was, thinking this place was brand new. I asked the desk clerk how long they'd been open. She said, "Oh, we've been open since 2000." Nice joint!
I've stayed there three or four times. The rooms are very nice, the staff is always attentive. They've upgraded me to suites a couple of times, which are two rooms - a living room area with a little kitchenette with a bedroom attached. They've got a nice breakfast spread in the morning - it's a great place.
But I'll never stay there again.
When I went to check in, they didn't have my reservation. The desk clerk was very helpful, however, and called over to the one in Overland Park to see if I had a reservation over there.
(As much as I travel, I make reservations days in advance and sometimes I forget where I'm staying. I usually print out the reservation confirmations to take with me, usually to help remind me where I'm staying and on what night. For some reason, I didn't print them out for this particular trip.)
It turned out that, yes, I was supposed to be over in Overland Park. I was tired, I'd driven a lot that day, I needed to check e-mail and do some work, then go get something to eat. I didn't feel like driving over toward Overland Park and going through the process again. I asked if she had rooms - she did - and I asked if she could cancel my reservation over at Overland Park. She did.
I sort of wondered why I didn't make my reservations at this one in Merriam because I knew it was much nicer than the one in Overland Park. (I always try to get into the Hilton Garden Inn in Overland Park first, but because the Overland Park Convention Center is next door, it is usually sold out well in advance.)
Let me back up a bit - to get to the Hampton Inn and Suites in Merriam, you get off I-35 at 75th St., then you go west down a hill to the first stop light. Take a right, then take another immediate right, go across some train tracks, then up an hill, around and down a frontage road. It's kind of a pain in the ass to get to, and if it's dark and you've never been there before, there's a good chance you'd get lost. Thankfully, the first time I went there, it was daylight and I'm usually pretty good with directions once I've been to a place.
They put me in the back of the hotel, on the second floor. Nice room. Little fridge in the room, comfy king size bed, it's a great room. So why won't I stay there again?
Remember what I said about going across some train tracks to get to the hotel?
About midnight, I'm trying to fall asleep (I don't sleep well when I'm away from Cindy) and all of the sudden I hear this train coming down the tracks. Being that I'm in the back of the hotel and closest to the tracks, it sounds like the friggin' train is coming into my room. Then the bastard hits the horn - holy shit!!!
I suddenly remembered why I didn't want to make reservations at this Hampton Inn.
Well, it didn't happen just one time - it happened at least FIVE times in the middle of the night. It turns out those are the Union Pacific tracks to Wichita and points south and west.
One time, I think it was around 2:30 in the morning, another one came by and he just laid on the horn like he was saying, "Hey, folks! It's 2:30 in the morning. If I have to work and not be in bed like you people, I'm going to make you all suffer." And the horn blast lasted about that long. I'm serious.
Now, we have friends - Mike and Gwen Schroeder - who live, literally, 30 yards from train tracks where trains go by their place in the middle of the night at 45 to 60 miles an hour. We've stayed there a couple times and the trains have scared the living shit out of us. But Mike and Gwen have lived there long enough that Mike says, "Awww, we don't even hear 'em any more when we're sleeping."
As many airlines, hotels and car rental companies say, "You have choices." I choose not to stay here again. Nothing against the staff, the facility or Hampton Inn's, but with trains going by and slamming on the horn all through the night - and I'm not used to that sound in the middle of the night. I'd rather stay in a more tired hotel than have to be subjected to that.
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