How was your stay ?

I have to say that I was VERY impressed with my hotel accommodations on this business trip. I have not traveled much, personally or professionally, so I might not be any sort of expert on this sort of thing, but I have a few specifics that make a big difference ... and I think these are common complaint areas. We stayed two nights at the Holiday Inn and Suites Phoenix Airport. And here are some noteworthy things about the stay:

First, the beds (and pillows) were VERY comfortable. The covers were warm and a little heavy, but not overwhelming (some hotels have sheets and a comforter that make you feel like you can never escape the bed). Most hotels I have stayed at have plenty of pillows and the sheer number of pillows was no different here. But there were multiple choices of firmness with the pillows, which was very nice indeed.

Second, the shower head actually moves some serious water! I hate hotel showers where it feels like you are trying to get wet in a light drizzle. These showers (or at least the one in my room ... I never checked any other rooms!) had really strong water pressure and plenty of hot water.

Third, the towels were SOOOO soft! Unlike towels in most hotels I have been to, these did not seem to have been laundered in cactus and sandpaper. I was very surprised from the moment I reached out the shower and felt the softness of the towel.

Fourth, the breakfast was a FULL breakfast, with different items each morning. And they had BACON !!! That alone would score high marks, but the French toast yesterday and selection of other items was impressive.

There were only two things that were poor. The first was the reliance of the hotel shuttle. It was slow to pick us up at the airport (over 25 minutes) even though it is less than 2 miles round trip from the airport. The second was the lack of available wi-fi last night. Apparently there were too many people logged on last night so I couldn't even get connected. Not the biggest deal, but then I couldn't blog, etc.

All in all I was very happy with this location, even if the locals told us the hotel isn't in the best part of town. Phoenix is so spread out that I'm not sure how you know where the bad or good parts are.

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