You 3 shopped until you almost dropped - glad all went well. Did you try telling the girls what my Brother-dear tells kiddo anytime he takes her shopping? "Shop like a guy". Lol Apparently you did not tell them that - keep in mind for the next venture - not that they'll listen of course but you'll feel better :yadayada: .

That's a shame about the hotel conditions though. I'd file a complaint with Holiday Inn Express.

Shop like a guy??? For Ray it used to mean try on one thing and if it fitted just buy it in three differnt colors!

Glad you got through the shopping spree and came home ok Stu. That was quite a marathon, your womenfolk sure have stamina.

And you being willing to go again is a sign that you are recoverng well. More power to you my friend.

Sue.

wow stu:

I got exhausted just reading your shopping excursion. there should be saying shop like Asha, just go to shop when you really want something, buy that thing & getout. luckily hubby is like me 2, so we are okay just closet full of clothes

Asha

Wow! Stu...your shopping sounded so fun and exhausting, I got tired reading your entry..lol!. And I can imagine how yummy that ateak was..Slurp!I use to work in the Hospitality Industry and a room for $112.00 a night in poor condition is unacceptable. Holiday Inn is a brand name and that is ahameful they still rented a room like that. I would most definately send a complaint to their Corporate Headquarters as well as a letter to the General Manager of that Express. They need to be aware, better yet, call them directly and ask to speak to the General Manager. I once went to San Diego and my sister-in-law booked a place for $116.00 a night. Definately was not worth it and I marched on down to the front desk and told them it was unacceptable. They were over-booked and could not move me to another room so I insisted they bring the rate down and I got it for $69.00. I still thought that was too much but oh well. I didn't want to seperate from the rest of my family that were in other rooms. Another time I was in San Diego, it was hella hot and the air-con was not working in the room and they were no fans available...of course I march on down to the front desk and got the room for $50 a night for a whole week. But I went and bought a fan at a store, couldn't take the heat and bought the fan home Or, if you paid by credit card for the room you can put in a credit card dispute with your bank or credit card company. Tell them your reason is the room was in poor condition and you were not satisfied, describe everything to them. Normal procedure is that they will credit your acount temporarily the amount you are disputing and they will send Holiday Inn Express a Credit Card Claim Inquiry. They have so many days to send back a response and if no response is sent back or it is late, they are fined like 25.00 ++ dollars and if their reply is unsatisactory, they do a chargeback to the Express and your room will be free. They usually want the customers to try and resolve disputes with the Merchant first before going this way but if you get no results then go this way. But anyway, glad you had a blast and what did you get me?...LOL!

Dear Stu--Phoenix is correct. I might add, too: The hotel likes to be given the chance to right the wrong while the guest is still in-house. Perhaps you did this and still got no satisfaction. Holiday Inn Express has a site for people who stayed at their hotels and you can rate the various amenities offered by the hotel, i.e. room condition, utilities, housekeeping, front desk staff, check-in, check-out, etc. This is for each property be it a franchise or a Holiday Inn owned property. These ratings and comments are kept on the internet for other people who read who are planning on staying at that particular property. Filling in and writing about your experience is a must.

Then, as Phoenix suggested, you write to Holiday Inn headquarters but before you do, find out the CEO's name and address your letter expressly (sorry, I couldn't help myself) to him/her.

Doing the above means you are doing a good service to future guests, to the hotel, and to H.I. headquarters. They have a product they offer the public keeping and defining certain standards to the public. If those standards are not met, it besmirches the company's reputation, not to mention lost revenue. Good Luck. Take Care. LK