We landed! Yayy, beats the alternative. I have a reservation with Enterprise. They gave me a Hyundai something or another. Fine. It is a car, you put your bags in it and you drive. At this stage of my life I have driven hundreds of rental cars. The wierd thing about this one is the accelerator, you step on the gas and it either works, or it doesn't and it seems to be 50/50 in each camp.
However, there was not much traffic and so we did OK. After we found the Doubletree, we noticed a HUGE Wal-Mart across the street. I have been blowing through my antacids ( just the plain calcium minty kind, nothing hi-tech) so Kathy was willing to let me take her out of our way to get a replacement player. GOSH, this Wal-Mart was big and there were lots of cars in the parking lot, December 26, 2012 at 8:15 PM on December 26 in Springfield MO. And guess what! This is not the only Wal-Mart in Springfield. Oh do I wish I had not sold my primary equity position in Wal-Mart, but maybe if we fall off the fiscal cliff I can replace it. Got the calcium, off to the DoubleTree. Very, very quiet. We got our room, the room number was a smile and after we check out, if someone reminds me, I will share the coincidence. We asked for a bellman to help with the luggage, there was no bellman, but they did have carts. The room is clean, but the shower/tub does not properly, maybe they can work on that tomorrow.
The location is interesting. Glenstone drive has hotel after hotel. You have heard of restaurant row; this is hotel row. I looked out the window and most of them are mostly empty. I am guessing this is the nicest one, maybe the Ramada gives it a run, but some of them are pretty scary. Not sure what the economic factor driving them is.
The workout facility is excellent, clean and well stocked, much bigger than I first thought it is an L shaped room. The pool and Jacuzzi was great, the hot tub is just a tad hotter than I usually like, but it is easy to cool off in the pool. This is one of those split, inside/outside pools where you can go underwater to move from inside or outside, or you can use the door. I like the non-slippery tile floor around the pool.
For dinner, we went to the on-property restaurant, Houlihans. We ordered a bottle of the Malbec they have on the wine list; quite nice, an Amado Sur from Argentina, it is not pure Malbec, but mostly and the high point of our dinner. The menu is creative with a Southwest influence. We had a good waiter, he did not introduce himself and his name is not on the bill, but he added to the experience and I tried to tip appropriately. However, another waiter ran a noisy vacuum cleaner in a private dining room while we were eating, at the closest table to the dining room for 15 minutes and that was incredibly annoying.
Kathy ordered sides, edamame, mashed potatoes, elote corn. I ordered the pot roast with side salad. Somebody needs to take the chef in charge and smash his/her teeth in. Salt is not the only way to season food. I only ate a fraction of my food ( maybe 1/5), and I feel like I was poisoned; they may even use monosodium glutamate. I have that light head ache and have been through three tall glasses of water and I am still parched.
The bottom line. Someone who knows what a good restaurant needs to be put the menu together and laid out the physical facilities. But they are not managing the details. If you just want a beer and some nachos and chips, I am sure this will be a great experience, If you want to take your significant other out on a date night, this restaurant is a must to avoid.
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