… and then there was that time that Best Western won

Merry Christmas from Cave City, KY!

photo 2

Christmas has brought us joy and cheer, beautiful scenery, and now free wifi and a non-smoking room before the final leg of the late 2013 great Florida adventure. Aside from the disappointment of landing in a dry county on Christmas night, the Best Western in Cave City is surprisingly choice when compared to the layover lodgings on the way down. I warned you there was a story about the Ramada in Nashville… here are the cliff notes, based on the qualities I look for in a one-night hotel stay:

Passing through traffic-free Hotlanta
Passing through traffic-free Hotlanta

Wifi:

BW – Yes.

Ramada – Yes.

Clean linens and no visible sign of bed bugs:

BW – Yes.

Ramada – Yes.

Fitness Center:

BW – No.

Ramada – One treadmill and one recumbent bike count as a fitness center, right?

A clean bathtub:

BW – Yes.

Ramada – We were booked in the only handicapable room despite having a reservation, so no soak in the tub for me.

Parking:

BW – In front of the room; included.

Ramada – Parking lot in front of the hotel; the staff attempted to charge us $40 for overnight parking due to a football game across the street at the stadium at 3pm. Check out was at 11am. After copious threatening tweets we arose in the morning and asked to speak with the manager. Parking was ultimately $10 + a headache.

Presence of a famous indoor guitar-shaped swimming pool:

BW – No.

Ramada – Yes. But there’s no water in it and it smells like feet.

Cost:

BW – $65 + tax.

Ramada – $89 + tax + the $40 parking debacle.

Sunset behind Tennessee hills.
Sunset behind Tennessee hills.

Ok, so it might be slightly unfair to compare price between Cave City and Nashville, but Hotwire called this a downtown hotel, which was neither accurate nor fair.

Lessoned learned are the following:

1) Don’t book hotels on Hotwire.

2) I should lower my expectations of Ramada.

3) Guitar-shaped pools are overrated.

Starbucks Around the World: Lexington, KY

As I entered the door of this Lexington, KY Starbucks, I glanced at a decorative film on the door reading “Rediscover why we’re best friends.”  I rediscovered this a few hours earlier….. after picking up coffee on our way out of Louisville from *another coffee shop*.  We’re best friends because you, Starbucks, make good coffee.  I could have used a little TP in the restroom to top off my experience at this makeshift roadside rest on the way to Smoky Mountain National Park for an excellent Thanksgiving getaway, but overall my Cher hair and I give Lexington a big thumb’s up.

Starbucks Around the World: London, KY

Disclaimer: Since Travelpod does not allow you to export blogs, I shall be bringing old entries to you slowly, but surely, through good, old-fashioned (and painstakingly arduous) Cut-and-paste.

August 21, 2009

After an amazing (still-to-be-uploaded-to-Wordpress) adventure in the Smoky’s, nothing brings you back to “civilization” like a roadside rest and a strong drip coffee.  Having little hope for a Starbucks store between the park and Louisville (a 6+ hour drive), we had stopped off in Jalisco, TN for a canned double shot at a gas station before finding this beauty in London, KY.  Bam.  One-stop shopping with a clean place to pee, a drip coffee, and a Steak N Shake next door.

Starbucks Around the World: Louisville, KY

Disclaimer: Since Travelpod does not allow you to export blogs, I shall be bringing old entries to you slowly, but surely, through good, old-fashioned (and painstakingly arduous) Cut-and-paste.

August 8, 2009

Well, if you look real close, there’s little old me at the big old Starbucks.  Louisville was our stop off city on a road trip to Smoky Mountain National Park.  A short walk from the hotel lead us to the Louisville Convention Center and the first hit in the Southern states.  I made it a mocha since it doubled as my breakfast.  Per tradition, I asked the barista if they carried city mugs and he replied with a slight southern tang, “Nope.  Small market.”

Right.

In any case, the Starbucks experience and Southern charm are a very good pair.  Big thumbs up for this little store in the big convention center in this little city in the big South.