On the Virtues of Predictability
Written: Apr 27 '04 (Updated Apr 12 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A splendid example of the value of utterly predictable lodging.
Cons: Location, in the more global sense.
The Bottom Line: Best lodging option in Bucyrus, Ohio, for whatever that's worth.
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| sundogg99's Full Review: Holiday Inn-Exp Bucyrus |
Business travel destinations can, arguably, be grouped into four handy classes.
1. Locations that everyone enjoys and/or envies and gives you a hard time about visiting (e.g., Paris; Hawaii; Switzerland);
2. More controversial spots that some people love and others loathe (Miami; Djakarta; Mexico City);
3. Those intriguing places which few people have actually visited, but which certainly sound, uh, interesting (Slovakia; Zaire; Malta);
4. And finally, those sad spots which are both unknown and unalluring – if you mention to someone that you’re going to one of these places, their immediate and unfiltered response is one of bewilderment and gentle sympathy.
My business travel includes more than its share of that last category of destinations. For example, I recently spent several days soaking up the pastoral charms of Bucyrus, Ohio: a smallish town located somewhere north of Columbus and south of Cleveland. Ohio itself is located in what I believe is called the Upper Midwest, but I'd have to pull out an atlas to locate it any more precisely than that. Until recently, the only lodging choices in Bucyrus were an appallingly seedy motel or a countrified bed and breakfast operation out in the farmland which offers rooms in a barn.
However, just as the new-fangled modernities of electrification, cable TV service, and Subway have gradually extended to virtually every corner of this great land, the unassuming burg of Bucyrus, Ohio recently got its very first national hotel chain property: a Holiday Inn Express, conveniently located at the north end of town adjacent to a four mile long freeway - the biggest, widest chunk of pavement for many, many miles.
I am relieved... nay, make that ecstatic, about this development. Over the next several months, I and my co-workers will be spending more time than we’d like to admit in Bucyrus, and the prospect of a sterilized, franchised spot to lay my head is an undeniable relief. Seriously, until the Holiday Inn showed up, I had anticipated the hideous chore of asking my team to spend several dozen nights in the barn, unwillingly getting to know their hosts and way more than they ever wanted to about the vicissitudes of growing corn in north central Ohio. I am reprieved.
When I heard that the Holiday Inn had put up a property in Bucyrus, I immediately made nice with the manager by booking four rooms for four nights – a flurry of business activity likely unprecedented in the few months this place has been in operation. I cross my fingers and hope mightily that we can throw enough business at them to keep this place going for the next year or so. I so don’t want to stay in the barn.
The three-story Holiday Inn Express in Bucyrus is, candidly, not a heck of a lot different than any other Holiday Inn Express – but that’s a good thing. In addition to a comfortably affordable room tariff of about $75 per night, the hotel serves up some surprisingly good, fresh chocolate chip cookies every night at around 7:00 – there will likely still be some around by 8:30 or so, but they’re much better fresh out of the oven. In the morning, you’ll find a fairly well-stocked breakfast buffet that includes cereal, do-it-yourself instant oatmeal, toaster waffles and other breads, hardboiled eggs, and some fresh fruit and juices… nothing special, but given your other dining options in Bucyrus, this is probably as good as you’re likely to get.
I stayed in a third floor nonsmoking king room that was totally adequate. The room was spacious and featured a big recliner chair that’s probably mandatory for this part of the Midwest. There was also a work table, dresser/TV cabinet, and dual nightstands. The bathroom and linens were clean, if uninspiring – again, just what I wanted… way better than sleeping under Grandma’s antique hand-crocheted afghan... shudder.
One business-friendly feature that bears particular note: the Holiday Inn Express offers free wireless high speed internet – power up your laptop, surf past the welcome page, and you’re flying. This is a very nice amenity that many higher-end hotels would do well to emulate. The service, to the extent that any of us availed it, was just fine. There was ample free parking. The hotel is located just minutes from any other point of interest in Bucyrus.
For all these features, and in frank acknowledgment of my immense gratitude that this hotel exists, I give it 4 stars – a bit inflated, you might think. But then again, you probably haven’t seen the rest of Bucyrus.
Recommended:
Yes
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