We look forward to holidays, and get delighted when we travel. Even if it is a weekend trip somewhere not far away. But traveling can be full of surprises, both pleasant and not so pleasant. Our article has stories like this.<\/p>\n
We went with my husband and daughter out of town for a couple of days. We stayed in a hotel and booked a small and inexpensive room. The hotel seemed to be decent, 4 stars, but I found someone\u2019s hair in the bed. I thought it was probably a hair of a cleaning lady. But it was still unpleasant. I called the reception and complained. The manager apologized 5 times, I think, and offered we move to a suite for the same price. Stepping into the new room felt like a small victory after such a grim start. It was very nice of her.<\/p>\n
I booked a single night at the Hyatt Regency in Miami Brickell before a cruise. Even used a 25% discount code on the booking. Went to check in to the room assigned, and the key card didn\u2019t work. Went back to front desk and modestly asked for a river view for the inconvenience. Basically got a $500-night corner room for $200 on a higher floor. Took lots of pictures of the drawbridge and mega yachts going up and back, marveling at the luck that turned a hiccup into a mini-luxury.<\/p>\n
I was traveling by plane. And then a massive snowstorm hit. A huge blizzard hit the Midwest, and I was stuck in another city. The wind howled outside as the snow piled up. So, the airline put me up for free in a fancy hotel in the center. I had food and drinks delivered to my room, which the airline also paid for. And the next morning, when the weather cleared, they put me in first class because there weren\u2019t enough seats in economy. The unexpected comfort after chaos felt almost surreal.<\/p>\n
My flight failed to take off with engine trouble\u2026 they taxied\u2026 then tried again. It failed to take off again, nearly going off the runway. We needed an airplane tow truck thing to move us back to the gate. They cancelled the flight, couldn\u2019t get me in another plane for 12 hours, and failed to tell me that plane was going in the complete wrong direction, to a 3-hour layover, to then get me on a flight home. They almost killed me, delayed my arrival at home by ~22 hours, spent 9 hours on planes that day instead of the 3 and a half, and they gave me a $6 lunch voucher to compensate me. I still shiver thinking about how close it was to disaster.<\/p>\n
I was scammed by a travel agency. They praised a \u201cgreat\u201d hotel in Turkey, like it was new, 5 stars. I arrived. The area is small, the dining room is in the basement, the choice of food is modest, the room is small. Panic and frustration washed over me. I went to the guide, told him everything and said, \u201cI can\u2019t stay here for 10 days, move me to another hotel.\u201d He remembered one from memory. He said that he has a friend who works there, he will call him. There was a room available, I gave him $100 and $25 for a taxi and went there. The hotel was way better than the previous one. I no longer use travel agencies.<\/p>\n
We went with my son to Egypt. At that time, we had money only for a 3-star hotel. The first morning after check-in, I had a fight with a local Egyptian manager: when I asked him a polite question, he unceremoniously sent me away. I went to the travel agency\u2019s office totally mad. I stormed into the director\u2019s office and complained about the boorish behavior of the hotel employee. They calmed me down, gave me some goodies and asked me to wait a bit. In about 20 minutes, they brought this manager and apologized. They said, \u201cNow they will take you to the hotel, you will pack your things, and we will move you to a 5-star hotel. And this employee will be fired. Are you okay with this compensation? Naturally, everything is at our expense.\u201d Thus, we spent 2 weeks in an excellent hotel for a symbolic price, a dramatic twist that made the trip unforgettable.<\/p>\n
My husband and I went to a countryside hotel for a weekend to unwind. Breakfast was included in the room price. Buffet table was from 8 to 11 in the morning. We were too lazy to get up early, so we came for breakfast at 10:30. We looked at the food and there were remnants of former luxury. We barely found some cold pancakes, and that was all. We went to the manager to sort it out. I asked her why there\u2019s no food. And she replies blatantly, \u201cYou have to come early, then there will be food.\u201d I was stunned. I said, \u201cPardon me, if there\u2019s still 30 minutes till the end of breakfast, there must be food. Let the cook make more if there\u2019s not enough.\u201d And she gave me this disdainful look and said, \u201cMadam, we plan the amount of food, we don\u2019t go beyond the limits. If you are late, it\u2019s your problem.\u201d We left them an angry review and went home hungry, feeling both insulted and incredulous.<\/p>\n
A few years ago, I was in Thailand with a friend. One day we went to rent a scooter. We approached an Indian guy who worked there and he kindly helped us. Turned out to be quite a nice and cute guy. We got to talking to him. I complimented him about India, because I always liked the culture of these people, their traditions. And TV shows! He was very surprised, invited me to dinner, and I agreed. I still remember how we were sitting in one of the places in Thailand and singing together, \u201cJimmy, Jimmy, Aaja, Aaja.\u201d We still keep in touch. We have agreed that in the near future we will go to visit his family in India. A friendship that began in a foreign land feels magical even years later.<\/p>\n
Once I stayed at a big hotel, and as the front desk clerk was checking me in, suddenly she had a bright smile and was like, \u201cAh yes, hello, Mr. Tracuivel! We have your suite ready on the top floor, with window view of the ocean, of course. This badge will also give you free entry to the massage spa and champagne bar. And I\u2019ve already reserved the conference room for your business meeting, as you requested.\u201d \u201cWait, what?\u201d It turned out there were 2 Tracuivels with the same name staying at the same time, and the clerk thought I was the other super important Tracuivel who got Executive Member this and Gold Premium that and so on, but by the time she realized the error, she\u2019d already assigned me the room. And instead of redoing it, she just let me have the ocean view suite for my economy Joe Shmoe room rate, for which I again thanked her. A true princess, she was. I didn\u2019t get to have any of that fancy spa stuff, though, but the unexpected luxury left me stunned.<\/p>\n
My wife dreamed of going to Paris. She doesn\u2019t work. I\u2019ve been secretly saving for years. Finally saved up enough money. I took a holiday at work. I bought plane tickets, booked and paid for a hotel. I thought everything was perfect. And after that, I told my sweetheart about it. And then my wife got offended that I booked a not too nice hotel (she checked online). She said she wouldn\u2019t be able to take nice photos there! At the end of the \u201cconversation,\u201d she called me a cheapskate and left for her mom\u2019s place. I don\u2019t understand what exactly I did wrong. I even gave my beloved wife a lot of money a week before the trip so that she could buy new clothes for the holiday, go to the beauty salon and so on. I tried hard, but she is not happy. The frustration of planning a surprise that backfired left me bewildered.<\/p>\n
Arrived solo in Las Vegas at a well-known large hotel in the wee hours of the morning, after a much-delayed flight. The hotel was fully booked, they wanted to give me a voucher for some place across town, I said, \u201cNo way, I\u2019m not leaving, you gave away my reservation, you find me a place here.\u201d After much deliberation, the manager gives me keys to their best suite which has floors on 3 entrances, a piano, wet bar, and indoor waterfall. I don\u2019t generally like Vegas, but I enjoyed giving my traveling co-workers tours of a life I\u2019d never experienced before. The surreal experience felt like winning a lottery at 3 a.m.<\/p>\n
Flying to Tokyo, the flight is oversold, and we hear the call for volunteers. I convince my partner to walk over to the desk with me since we have some time to spare to find out what they\u2019re offering. They had no other volunteers and were offering compensation plus comped hotel, dinner, and breakfast. Without negotiation, they offered $2400, and we were like, \u201cHell, yeah,\u201d and took the offer, thinking it was $2400 for both of us. Turns out it was $2400 each. Ended up paying for most of the trip and my partner said yes a second time on the trip, so I came home with a fianc\u00e9e too. A twist we never could have predicted, changing our lives forever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We look forward to holidays, and get delighted when we travel. Even if it is a weekend trip somewhere not far away. But traveling can be full of surprises, both pleasant and not so pleasant. Our article has stories like this. We went with my husband and daughter out of town for a couple of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":21771,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tales"],"yoast_head":"\n