Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Hilton Guam Hotel
I just returned from a trip to Guam where I had the unfortunate experience of staying at Hilton, hereby to be referred to as Ghetto Hilton Guam. Before trashing Ghetto Hilton Guam, first let me say that I enjoyed staying at Hilton in Cairns earlier this year. My experience staying at the Hilton in Kuching last year was equally positive. In addition, it must be mentioned that I stayed at Ghetto Hilton Guam as part of a Japanese tour package deal, and I assume Ghetto Hilton Guam does not make much money on each package deal visitor.
The problems started prior to checking in. Over a week before our stay at Ghetto Hilton Guam, I sent an email to the hotel to request a non-smoking room. Since I did not receive a response, I sent a reminder in the morning on the check-in date (approximately 12 hours before checking in). The following day, after having checked in, I received an email saying that my original message had not been received.
Ghetto Hilton Guam is divided into two buildings, the main building and the tower. While the tower is a relatively modern building, the main building resembles a prison. The elevators make squeaky sounds and barely move, while the corridors are so dark that I would recommend bringing a flashlight. One of our pillow covers was so dirty, it seemed like someone had pulled it through mud before bringing it to our room. The television in the room is a big box with a tiny screen, while the bathroom faucet squirts water all over the bathroom. The tiny pillows in the bed room were probably purchased at K-Mart. In sharp contrast, I can still remember the gigantic and comfortable pillows at Hilton in Cairns.
"Breakfast Time is Hilton Time" is one of the many Hilton marketing slogans you get pestered with when staying at the Hilton, and in case of Hilton Kuching, it is absolutely true. However, after tasting the soggy bacon at Ghetto Hilton Guam, just thinking about a Hilton breakfast makes me shiver.
Finally, today when checking out, we asked to be booked on the airport shuttle departing the hotel at 1:30 PM. Our request was made about 10 minutes before the departure, we paid the $10 fee, and were told that we would be able to get on the shuttle. After waiting outside the hotel until 1:50 PM, I went to the reception and asked why the shuttle did not show up. The response was: "Oh, the shuttle did not come? Well, you should be able to get on the 2:00 PM shuttle". After waiting outside until 2:05 PM, still with no shuttle in sight, I went back to the reception to get my money back. Although we had waited outside in the stinking heat for 45 minutes, we got no apology from the receptionists. I was very relieved when our taxi finally took us away from Ghetto Hilton Guam.
If you are still considering staying at the hotel after reading this review of Ghetto Hilton Guam (located in Tumon Bay), you ought to have your head checked.
I just returned from a trip to Guam where I had the unfortunate experience of staying at Hilton, hereby to be referred to as Ghetto Hilton Guam. Before trashing Ghetto Hilton Guam, first let me say that I enjoyed staying at Hilton in Cairns earlier this year. My experience staying at the Hilton in Kuching last year was equally positive. In addition, it must be mentioned that I stayed at Ghetto Hilton Guam as part of a Japanese tour package deal, and I assume Ghetto Hilton Guam does not make much money on each package deal visitor.
The problems started prior to checking in. Over a week before our stay at Ghetto Hilton Guam, I sent an email to the hotel to request a non-smoking room. Since I did not receive a response, I sent a reminder in the morning on the check-in date (approximately 12 hours before checking in). The following day, after having checked in, I received an email saying that my original message had not been received.
Ghetto Hilton Guam is divided into two buildings, the main building and the tower. While the tower is a relatively modern building, the main building resembles a prison. The elevators make squeaky sounds and barely move, while the corridors are so dark that I would recommend bringing a flashlight. One of our pillow covers was so dirty, it seemed like someone had pulled it through mud before bringing it to our room. The television in the room is a big box with a tiny screen, while the bathroom faucet squirts water all over the bathroom. The tiny pillows in the bed room were probably purchased at K-Mart. In sharp contrast, I can still remember the gigantic and comfortable pillows at Hilton in Cairns.
"Breakfast Time is Hilton Time" is one of the many Hilton marketing slogans you get pestered with when staying at the Hilton, and in case of Hilton Kuching, it is absolutely true. However, after tasting the soggy bacon at Ghetto Hilton Guam, just thinking about a Hilton breakfast makes me shiver.
Finally, today when checking out, we asked to be booked on the airport shuttle departing the hotel at 1:30 PM. Our request was made about 10 minutes before the departure, we paid the $10 fee, and were told that we would be able to get on the shuttle. After waiting outside the hotel until 1:50 PM, I went to the reception and asked why the shuttle did not show up. The response was: "Oh, the shuttle did not come? Well, you should be able to get on the 2:00 PM shuttle". After waiting outside until 2:05 PM, still with no shuttle in sight, I went back to the reception to get my money back. Although we had waited outside in the stinking heat for 45 minutes, we got no apology from the receptionists. I was very relieved when our taxi finally took us away from Ghetto Hilton Guam.
If you are still considering staying at the hotel after reading this review of Ghetto Hilton Guam (located in Tumon Bay), you ought to have your head checked.
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Immigrant Polygamy Is a Factor in French Unrest, a Gaullist Says - New York Times
This does not sound like a shocking theory to me. "No official figures are available on polygamy in France, although some women's rights groups estimate the number of polygamous families as high as 30,000". If this is true, I can see why there are some social problems among unemployed African immigrants. According to the article, there are plently of unemployed men living with several wifes. A lot of things can be said about polygamy, but the social welfare state has failed when unemployed losers can afford to take several wives.
This does not sound like a shocking theory to me. "No official figures are available on polygamy in France, although some women's rights groups estimate the number of polygamous families as high as 30,000". If this is true, I can see why there are some social problems among unemployed African immigrants. According to the article, there are plently of unemployed men living with several wifes. A lot of things can be said about polygamy, but the social welfare state has failed when unemployed losers can afford to take several wives.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Trip To Gifu And Shiga Prefectures, Visiting Nagahama And Shirakawa
The pictures from my trip to Gifu and the surrounding area are finally online. I just got back from a trip to Atlanta/NY/Philadelphia, so I am constantly one trip behind.
In other news, Japan experienced some minor earthquakes this morning, conveniently timed just before 7 am to give me a good shake-up. The public television station, NHK, was yelling for a long time about a 50 centimeter high tsunami expected in Hokkaido. I do not really see why 50 centimers is such a big deal, as I know people who can fart bigger waves than that. Anyway, I guess it is good to have something to worry about.
The pictures from my trip to Gifu and the surrounding area are finally online. I just got back from a trip to Atlanta/NY/Philadelphia, so I am constantly one trip behind.
In other news, Japan experienced some minor earthquakes this morning, conveniently timed just before 7 am to give me a good shake-up. The public television station, NHK, was yelling for a long time about a 50 centimeter high tsunami expected in Hokkaido. I do not really see why 50 centimers is such a big deal, as I know people who can fart bigger waves than that. Anyway, I guess it is good to have something to worry about.
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