Monday, December 27, 2010

We said: Hotel Dilemma

Something a little different this week, V and I reach out to our readers to help us with a vexing problem. Can you help V and I have a happy new year? I'll turn it over to V to tell you about our dilemma.

On one of our summer picnics, L lay back on his elbows beside the river and pondered a question I ask him every now and then. In an effort to ensure that we are open and honest and communicate with each other, I initiate a talk about 'us' every so often. I first ask if he continues to be happy with our arrangement and is getting out of it all the things we got together for in the first place. Following an affirmative answer, I always then ask him if there anything he's thought of to add to our bucket list - things he'd want to do or try with me that we have not yet touched on. This was the question L pondered and his answer made me laugh.

We've had sex (in some form or other) in the woods, leaned over a desk, in the front seat of a car, in the back seat of a car, in a park, on a chair, in a conservation area, on the floor, in a parking lot, on a desk, leaned over a chair, leaned over a rock.....but never in a bed. L wanted to be with me in a bed. I've mentioned before that we have a great setup at L's workplace and it works fine for us - it really does. The money we save on hotels we can spend having lunches together and doing other activities. As a special treat however, and as our Christmas present to each other, we wanted to book a hotel.

It would be difficult bordering on the impossible for me to get away overnight, so we thought we would book a room and meet up early in the day and spend the entire day together as we please. We researched different hotels in different parts of the city, read reviews, read about the amenities offered (spa packages, jacuzzis, swimming pools, restaurants, etc). We figured if we were going to spring for a hotel as a treat, we wanted to go someplace better than average and do something extra special (and that we've never done before) like a couples massage. I even went and bought a sexy Mrs. Claus outfit and some toys for the occasion!

We found a fabulous option in BC, where the spa offers rooms that can be rented for the afternoon. The room includes a king sized bed, but has an area with dual massage tables. The idea is that you start your time with a couples massage, then are left to your own devices in the private room for the rest of the afternoon. Another option found in Winnipeg had a king sized bed in a room with it's own massive hot tub and a fireplace - again, available by the day as a getaway. Alas, we found no such options in the Toronto area. Although we did find several hotels that were to the standard we had hoped for and that also met some of the amenity expectations we had, we were very disappointed to realize that other factors were going to make this harder than we expected. This is where we are hoping to be able to turn to our readers for assistance and advice. We need some help!

Most hotels we've found offer a 3 pm check in and an 11 am check out. Either way, that allows us very little time together, since we can essentially only be there during office hours or slightly beyond. That timing would allow us only a couple hours one day and then return for a couple hours the next morning at best. Are there no hotels that offer early morning check ins or check outs that are later in the day? Either option would allow us more time together. Also acceptable would be to rent the room by the day with no overnight stay. What has been your experience with hotels and motels in your area? Have you ever arrived early in the morning and been able to get a room for the day? Is it harder at the "better" hotels than it is at the local No Tell motel? Is our dream destined to cost us a two night stay? Has anybody come across any nice "getaway day" locations in the Toronto area? Any tips or advice you have would be greatly appreciated!

2 comments:

  1. You could book for the previous night and then request a late check out or you could ask for an early check in. Call the hotel, talk to the front desk and see what they can do. If you can get an early check in and don't want to tip them off that you just a daytime visitor, leave all the keycards in the room along with a tip. Usually solves it easily.

    I've found that better hotels are typically more accommodating because they usually have a concierge to deal with this stuff and if you are paying a premium to stay there, they try to work with you. Then again, I'm not the best person to ask. I typically only deal with showing up at the appointed time. :)

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  2. In my experience, checkout isn't an issue, it's only checkin, and if it's not a busy time for the hotel, that's not usually a problem either. As long as there is a room available, you'll be fine.

    I typically show up whenever, get a room for one night, and whenever we're finished we simply leave, and leave the keycard(s) in the room. (I don't try to save money by just getting it for the afternoon or anything; it's simpler to just get it for the night, and leave really early.)

    I've never tried the spa deals, though, for me it's usually just a room.

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