IdleRich
IdleRich
I hardly ever get to stay in a hotel and so they hold a strange fascination for me. I think of them as magically romantic places, a bit like railway stations in that respect I guess. And as for motels, even more so as I've never stayed in one, I don't even know if they exist in Europe but I love the idea of sitting on the bed of one with my shirt off and an ashtray on my sweaty chest, chain-smoking and drinking jack from the bottle to try and numb the pain from the wound in my shoulder while flicking through the tv channels to check if the police are on to me yet. Nervously getting up every now and again to peak through the blinds and see if my partner is back with the stuff.
But even without all that, there is something quite special about having this place temporarily of your own. For me they represent adventure. A place where you can mess it up as much as you like every day and someone will clean it up for you. The only problem is the stupidly early check-outs; whenever I do stay somewhere the first thing I do is try and negotiate a late checkout which they almost always refuse by pretending someone is checking in to that room the second I am due to leave. This in turn always ensures that I have a mad scramble to get ready when I leave and possibly some kind of fight with staff when I fail.
Even when I'd sold my flat but had to sort a few things in London so I rented a hotel room round the corner I found myself acting like I was on holiday for a few days - put a serious dent in the money I got from the sale in fact.
When I used to come back from Lisbon to London regularly there was this seedy place in Dalston that I always used to stay at and for some reason, getting fucked up on its horribly worn red carpets while gazing out the window at a brick wall or carpark was always especially enjoyable.
But at the other end of the scale, I would love to stay somewhere posh with 24 hour room service and a mini-bar that I wasn't afraid to raid. I've read a number of books set in the US in the past in which people just lived full time in hotels, to me that sounds like the absolute height of luxury, but maybe it was simply relatively easier or cheaper in those times. I seem to remember he lived in a hotel in Ask The Dust but could hardly afford to eat so I dunno how it works.
Anyway, tell me hotel tales - especially good if you've worked in one, I can well imagine that from the staff side you see some crazy things - or just recommend some interesting hotels, - plus good filmsbookssongs set in them or where they are important. I dunno, I just think hotels are magical, prove me right.
But even without all that, there is something quite special about having this place temporarily of your own. For me they represent adventure. A place where you can mess it up as much as you like every day and someone will clean it up for you. The only problem is the stupidly early check-outs; whenever I do stay somewhere the first thing I do is try and negotiate a late checkout which they almost always refuse by pretending someone is checking in to that room the second I am due to leave. This in turn always ensures that I have a mad scramble to get ready when I leave and possibly some kind of fight with staff when I fail.
Even when I'd sold my flat but had to sort a few things in London so I rented a hotel room round the corner I found myself acting like I was on holiday for a few days - put a serious dent in the money I got from the sale in fact.
When I used to come back from Lisbon to London regularly there was this seedy place in Dalston that I always used to stay at and for some reason, getting fucked up on its horribly worn red carpets while gazing out the window at a brick wall or carpark was always especially enjoyable.
But at the other end of the scale, I would love to stay somewhere posh with 24 hour room service and a mini-bar that I wasn't afraid to raid. I've read a number of books set in the US in the past in which people just lived full time in hotels, to me that sounds like the absolute height of luxury, but maybe it was simply relatively easier or cheaper in those times. I seem to remember he lived in a hotel in Ask The Dust but could hardly afford to eat so I dunno how it works.
Anyway, tell me hotel tales - especially good if you've worked in one, I can well imagine that from the staff side you see some crazy things - or just recommend some interesting hotels, - plus good filmsbookssongs set in them or where they are important. I dunno, I just think hotels are magical, prove me right.