Before we left I called the Courtyard Marriot to make sure my roll in shower with bench room was still reserved for me. I was told yes. Well woo hoo… maybe not. Ten minutes later the hotel’s manager called and said their room was a roll in but had no bench. :-O But… the Residence Inn Marriott had one and would be reserved for me. Well cool beans..
We hit the road for Carlsbad late and finally got to the hotel around 10:30 pm. Check in was nice and easy, the rest… not so much. The first place I looked when we got in the room was the bathroom. Yup, roll in shower, Nope no bench and no places to put shower essentials. Ya know a shelf! Roger went to get some ice from the refrigerator and it seemed clogged. When he opened the ice maker there were two Smirnoff Ice drinks, one broken from freezing. He had to take out the ice maker and empty it to make sure no glass was in the tray/box. NICE! Then in one of the fridge drawers the previous customers also left more drinks. Does no one clean the fridge? By now I’m a wee bit irritated. I ring down to the front desk and ask about the shower. They tell me they have a portable folding shower bench they will bring to me. Really, I could bring my own. The attached benches are much more sturdy and safer. I politely declined their offer. WTF!! You would think if you ask for a roll in shower with bench and they say they have one, that’s what you would/should get. The worst part for me, is when these things happen it’s so in my face that I’m crippled in a wheel-chariot! Guess if your crippled, hotel stays are not for you…
BUT, as always, Hell hotel would not ruin my trip.
The next day we headed out to my uncle’s dentist’s office. I was prepared for bad news per the dentist from my area. Guess what, not nearly as bad as the ‘liar’ said. I had a bit of decay [2 small cavity areas] which Greg filled. Then one, not two root canals were needed. We made the appt. for the nest day. Greg also filed down my two top front teeth as they always jetted out a bit on the bottom. Took two minutes and now my front teeth look so cool! Next I had the best teeth cleaning ever. We headed back to the parents house and my sister Laura and her new adorable puppy [Finley] came over. It was a nice night with great food!
The next morning we got up and Roger washed my hair in the sink and I did a hooker bath. Fun… We then took off to the Endodontist’s office for my root canal. As root canals go, it was fabulous. Not a smidge of pain and fabulous people there. It was great. Then the parents took us to lunch…I had soup. lol Next was the moment I’ve been waiting for for 3 weeks; off to see my nephew Max!! YIPPEE.
This made up for the crappy hotel that we will never occupy again.
Max is just a love and the cutest baby ever. Instant love!! My brother Ed and his beautiful wife Kelly did a good job! If fairy tales are true this family IS The Fairy Tale!
All in all the trip was fabulous. Yes the hotel sucked, but I always make it through. The good, however, outweighed the bad; my teeth rock now and I got to hold my and meet my Nephew Max.
Have a fabulous Sunday peeps!
Making it Through the Rain 
I’m so glad you had fun times with your family and got to spend time with the new crew member – he looks so cute and adorable.
It seems to me that Hilton and Marriot should have you on the payroll for a month and they should just see what it’s like to be disabled etc and if they really upped their game and became really “disabled friendly” which they so are obviously not they would see a massive increase in revenue – as I’m sure if life was more plain sailing with hotels you and the family would travel more and stay in hotels instead of wobbly benches – no proper reservations and crappy service – my thought on reading about the ice etc – was that room not cleaned as frequently due to the fact it was for disabled – if that’s the case double shame on them
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I’d love to design the perfect room for those of us in wheelchairs.
All ‘handicapped’ friendly rooms should have a roll-in shower WITH the built in bench and bars and shelving. Even if you are able to walk using a cane, walker, etc, bath tubs are still hard to get your legs over.
The Paris Hotel in Vegas was perfection!
It’s sad to me the hoops we need to ‘roll’ through just to find a hotel that can accommodate us…
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maybe we should come up with a proposal and send to the CEO of both the Hilton and Marriot and see if they will bite – I think the problem is hotels never see it from your eyes and at your eye level – it’s the difference – plus think of the PR and marketing they would get out of that ………. it would make every disabled person know they are being serious about their care not lip service
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You are the best sport! Really….
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Thank you Tracey. I try to be and try to choose my battles wisely. This will something I will follow up on. Many disabled people feel they have no voice. I will be their voice! 😀
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Glad it all turned out to be a great trip. That is a great photo of you holding your new nephew….he’s a cutie!
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TY Mary, I am so in love! We go back in two weeks and cannot wait to see him again! xx
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@ Vicki, I would love that too. Disabled people make up quite a chunk of the world and we like to be treated with dignity and respect. I did the survey and was polite, but told it like it was.
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hey you have to flex the voice to get it heard – so why not do some digging and then lets send over a proposal – you and Ruby could be the ” dream team ” of hotel inspectors .
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Can you imagine Ruby and me doing this? We’d get it done!
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Beautiful photo! Sorry to hear about your trouble again with hotel rooms. Someday someone will get it right. Hopefully soon!
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The pic of all of you is fantastic! Little Max is adorable!
Your hotel experience really burns me up as I thought Marriott was supposed to be a nice place. Honestly, it seems we pay money and get shoddy accommodations..it is all a racket if you ask me.
Lately, when we travel, we are finding ourselves staying in B&B’s as the quality is better, you get the breakfast included and the owners are nice people..and some of them are handicapped accessible as I read this in the information they provide.
Be the voice!!
xoxo ❤
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No, you’ve as much right as anyone else to stay at a hotel, regardless of disability if they promised to accommodate your needs then they should, I think every hotel etc should have a disabled person inspecting the facility to ensure it meets a standard, after all it’s not the 1940s anymore… as for the fridge that’s disgusting, and the standards of service sound seriously lacking… hopefully next time you’ll have better luck in finding a better place.. glad it didn’t spoil your time with family though.. take care x
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Glad it all turned out OK, MzT. Your teeth look gorgeous!…and that little Max is a doll. When do you get to see him again?
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