Although we visit our state's capital quite often (as my sister and parents live in the area), it has been a long time since I've stayed in a downtown Sacramento hotel (as my sister and parents live in the area).
I used to spend a lot of time up here in hotels. Before I quit my last outside-the-home fulltime job, I was the meeting planner for a state trade association, and one of the events I was responsible for planning was an annual legislative meeting here for 1,500 attendees. Back then, I was intimately familiar with the Sacramento Convention Center and all the nearby hotels -- which had a lot to be desired. Sure, the Hyatt next to the CC was lovely, and was used for our "headquarters." But that facility would only give us 400 guest rooms (out of 500) -- not nearly enough for our demanding attendees. The remainder of the inns we used for overflow housing were farther away, lacked a lot of basic amenities, and were a little bit scary. One of the expenses of meeting in Sacramento was to arrange for continuous shuttle service between the Center and all of the remote hotels.
Before I left that job eight years ago, I was watching the efforts of Sacto's Convention and Visitors Bureau to add more quality hotel rooms to the area. I have continued to keep track (professional curiosity?) and was very happy when a beautiful Sheraton was opened right next to the Hyatt... and an Embassy Suites near the river. And I had been looking forward to coming back here as a convention attendee instead of a worker...
...until I tried to book my room at the Hyatt or the Sheraton and discovered they were already filled. OK, I thought. This is what my old attendees had to put up with... at least, there are more hotels in the area. I looked at the list of overflow properties and was dismayed to see the same old tired, unappealing places... plus the Embassy Suites. It's the farthest away from the Center, and it costs $10 more than a room at the Sheraton would (if one had been available). BUT...
... I will be sharing this room with another mom from my school; one I don't know all that well. And an all-suites hotel would offer us the benefit of a little privacy from one another, should we need that. And the price of the room includes a free, cooked-to-order breakfast each morning of your stay -- which is something that would help me stick to my diet while I'm away from home. Finally, the meeting coordinator for our PTA District assured me that there would indeed be shuttle service between all the hotels. So this is where I booked the room. I flew in a day early so I could spend a little time with my mom and dad. My roomie is due later this morning.
A couple of weeks ago, I was told that my roommate had been upset that we were going to miss all the action at the Sheraton (which is the headquarters). I told them that with the Sheraton closed to reservations, this was the best of the remainder (which is true), and that I was sure she would be happy here.
Now I'm not so sure. True, our little suite is spacious and clean. The beds are comfortable, the linens are nice and the bathroom is large enough to hold all the product two women are likely to bring. But it's not perfect.
For one thing, all three elevators are not working today! One was in operation last night, but it's out of commission today. Other guests say they've been told all will be fixed before the day is done. Fortunately, our room is only on the third floor, but I can imagine how guests on the upper levels are feeling right now -- especially the ones who need to check out with some luggage in tow.
But my biggest disappointment came after I'd registered for the convention. I combed through the convention materials to find out when the shuttles would be running and made this upsetting discovery: NO SHUTTLE SERVICE AT ALL -- except for the Saturday night dinner (which I didn't sign up for, as I'd thought I'd be spending that evening with my sister and her family).
I had planned to spend this morning perusing the exhibits at the trade show and had instructed my roommate to call me when she got in and to take the shuttle to meet me at the Center. So now I need to come up with a Plan B.
There's no concierge at the Embassy Suites in Sacramento -- so I asked a woman at the front desk how convention attendees get to their meetings. She told me that the hotel's airport shuttle can take me -- so long as they don't have an airport pickup. I can even call for the shuttle when we are going back -- so long as they don't have an airport pickup.
"What about public transportation?" I asked.
"I don't know," she said. "I don't take public transportation."
Yeah. That was a big help.
It's not that large a downtown and I could always walk (what a concept). But the weather is unseasonably cold and wet (it is usually dry and warm this time of year). Fortunately, my parents called yesterday morning to alert me to this -- otherwise, I would not have packed my jacket and umbrella. But walking a mile in torrential rain is not something I am going to want to do a lot of, especially toting around a bunch of stuff from the exhibit hall.
I'm not even sure how to get there.
One nice thing about this hotel is that the computers in their tiny Business Center are free to guests, and this is where I'm posting this. Yes, I did bring my own notebook with me -- but neglected to bring my AC adapter, so there's not much battery power right now. I'm such an Internet junkie that I've asked Gareth to overnight it to me here, and he understands it so well that he's actually going to do it. So -- anyone sending me email may have to wait a couple of days before I respond.
I'm still selling raffle tickets to support my daughter's gymnastics team. Purchase your $5 ticket here.
Recent Comments