A Room with a View

So, I'm in Orlando for a conference this week. Everything went well with my trip until I arrived at the hotel.

I stepped up to the counter to check-in, gave the woman helping me my ID, credit card and last name. She types something on her keyboard and then informs me that my reservation was moved to another hotel. Excuse me? Can you repeat that? When I ask her why my reservation was moved, she tells me that the hotel was expecting me to check in yesterday and since I didn't arrive yesterday, they released my room. Uh...what? How could that have happened?! She informs me that the conference organizers have a hotel service next to registration, and I should check in with them to see if they can locate another property for me to stay at.

Fan-freakin-tastic! I've been up since 5:30 AM (California time) and have spent my entire Sunday traveling here for work. I'm tired, slightly hungry and a bit cranky about being here away from my wonderful husband, our adorable dog and comfy home.

So, I walk around the corner to registration and find the hotel service desk. There's an elderly woman sitting behind the counter on the phone and another gentleman in line ahead of me. I find out that he's in a similar position. Bernice, the woman behind the table, informed me that according to their records, I was supposed to have arrived yesterday and when I didn't show up, they released the room. All the conference hotels are completely booked, as are the nearest hotels. This is not making me feel better. I start having visions of me sleeping in some arm chair or couch in the lobby. While I'm getting more annoyed and frustrated that I have to deal with this, I'm trying to be polite. It's not her fault that my reservation got messed up.

She tells me the conference hotel has rooms available starting on Tuesday, but I'd have to call the 800 number to make a reservation. I should still be able to get the conference rate. That's great. I step away from the table and call the hotel. They do in fact, have rooms for Tuesday and Wednesday night. Great, can I get the conference rate? Hmm...the reservation agent doesn't seem to think so, but she'll check with her manager. Well, I was told that I could still get the conference rate. She puts me on hold and comes back with good news. I can, in fact, get the conference rate.

I'm feeling cautiously optimistic now. I've got part of my conundrum resolved. Now I just need to find a place to stay for tonight and tomorrow night. She makes some more phone calls while I ponder the idea of sharing a room with one of my co-workers for a few days. She's found a room, but it's off Disney property (read: I'll have to cab it to the conference hotel and back). It's a Hilton, so it's gotta be decent and have internet access. How far is it? She tells me that the hotel told her it was 2 miles from the Disney property. Umm...okay, that can't be too bad, can it? Maybe I can walk it?

So, I have a room for tonight and Monday night. It's nice. I have room with a view of the pool and there's free WiFi on the entire property. But it's not 2 miles away. It's more like 8 miles away or a 15-20 minute cab ride. It's also just a bit more inconvenient because I can't just "run" to my room to do some work, drop some stuff off or change. But it's definitely better than sleeping on a couch in the hotel lobby. And now that I'm here, it's actually kinda nice to be away from all the Disney-ness and in a normal room/hotel.