{"id":6737,"date":"2015-01-31T18:45:05","date_gmt":"2015-02-01T02:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/?p=6737"},"modified":"2015-01-31T18:45:05","modified_gmt":"2015-02-01T02:45:05","slug":"surviving-27-night-hotel-stay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/2015\/01\/surviving-27-night-hotel-stay\/","title":{"rendered":"Surviving a 27-Night Hotel Stay"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A badge a day<\/p><\/div>\n

so probably none of y’all noticed i haven’t blogged anything in 20 days — that’s because i’ve been holed up in Manhattan (again, better places to be stuck, so no complaints) on a work project since January 4. i’m flying home now but sadly, it looks like there’s a high probability i will be headed back in a week. (sad because either way i will be canceling my trip to Tbilisi next month after having to cancel a trip to the Philippines this month<\/a> — alas, i knew my ‘work from anywhere’ luck would run out sooner or later.)<\/p>\n

but i don’t think i’ve been away from home for such an extended period of time before — i think three weeks was my previous record, and even then it wasn’t all in one place. this time, it was all one hotel, pretty much sleep work sleep work. i think most people who travel to regularly client sites for work at least get to come home on the weekends, but alas, that was not an option for me, and i haven’t traveled so much for work in well over a decade (and even then, only for a handful of days at a time).<\/p>\n

how did i manage to stay sane?<\/strong> luck, i guess, although i did learn some things along the way. i’d also be glad to take any suggestions and tips, too!<\/p>\n

the hotel<\/h3>\n

i only had about a day to make arrangements before heading out — i’d been to Manhattan many times before but either stayed at a friend’s place or just used HotelTonight<\/a>. and as someone who doesn’t really stay in hotels, i wasn’t sure how to find the best deal (that wasn’t driven solely by price). i knew i wanted somewhere close to the client office (across the street from the Port Authority Bus Terminal) and i wanted somewhere that had kitchen facilities, if i could get it for the right price.<\/p>\n

i settled on the Residence Inn Times Square. there were some cheaper options, but for the price point, i think i did pretty well.<\/p>\n

sidebar: a quick review<\/strong> great location, breakfast on weekends is a hot mess in terms of everyone converging onto the third floor at once (but decent food), nice staff, but rooms showing much wear and in need of a refurbishment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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i don’t know if it was my Marriott Gold Status (which i only have via RewardsPlus<\/a>) or because i was staying so long (“you’re practically moving in!”) — or both — but when i checked in, the front desk manager (lucky she was working that shift?) upgraded me to a corner room on a high floor, which was pretty good because i did appreciate the views and the extra space. also, be sure to take advantage of the services the hotel offers — luckily they explained quite a bit when i checked in. i got a hot plate and laundry hamper delivered, and took them up on their grocery shopping service where you make a list and they do the shopping for you at no extra charge and even put the groceries away.<\/p>\n

sadly, though, despite the great Midtown location, i spent most of my not-at-work time well, at work from the hotel room \ud83d\ude41 — so i was grateful for every little thing that made life easier.<\/p>\n

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Such a nice day out and I'm like in those commercials where you just look forlornly out a window. pic.twitter.com\/Iisa4XsNAy<\/a><\/p>\n

— Jonathan Khoo (@jonk) January 25, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n