I sorry, but I agree with Allen. I failed to see how this related to business travel at all

Thanks for adding so much value to the post, Alan. Anyways I stayed at a Starwood property in Manassas on Sunday night and was upgraded! Wish I had stayed in Alexandria though. Enjoy King St.

My guess about why Mommy Points {who I read daily, by the way} had such a good experience at Elk Grove is because the management is not stupid. They knew they had a bunch of travel bloggers coming in, and so put their best employees on the desk. And made it clear to them that management had better not receive a single complaint.

They assigned them to the best rooms in the place. They did everything they could to get the best possible reviews from people whose reviews could really impact their future business.

Now go there as no one special, on an ordinary day, and see if you get that prime room, and that attentive service. I'm not speculating, I checked this hotel on Trip Advisor, and read the reviews written by ordinary people on random days, and it's not a pretty picture.

Even with the low expectations most people have for an airport hotel, 14 percent rated it "terrible" and another 7 percent "poor". Complaints ranged from check in people who never made eye contact to filthy rooms and terrible shuttle service.

Mommy Points review was highly relevant for anyone looking for a place to hold a travel bloggers convention. It was unintentionally misleading for the average person.

Not a dull story by any means. You Alan, are probably the dull and boring one. ALL stories on this blog give a different perspective on travel and are enjoyable to read.

On to my story, I once had a phd interview in a different city. The older lady sitting next to me struck up a conversation with me and at the end of the day, we exchanged contacts. The following day, the interview ended earlier than I had thought it would and on a whim, I called her up. She showed me around Baton Rouge, treated me to lunch and prayed with me. When I eventually moved down, I got back in touch and we have remained friends since then.

Generally I've had favorable experiences with airline and hotel staff. Treat people with courtesy, respect their job and they will usually go above and beyond for you.
olopami@hotmail.com

@Anon, very true that the hotel was wise to put their best face forward that weekend for sure, and no doubt that could have absolutely played into the level of service that was delivered that weekend. However, since the hotel was packed, and I just picked up someone else's reservation at the last minute, I am pretty certain my room was no better than any other (and as I pointed out in the review there was a fair amount of noise disruption for several hours on one night), but you make a fair point about the service. However, I will forever be grateful to them for finding and returning a piece of jewelry that was pretty special to me. Thanks for reading, by the way.

I stayed at the Westin Alexandria for a week earlier this month and did not have to ask for the Platinum suite upgrade. It was automatic when I checked in. All in all, I had a very nice stay, certainly well above average for the DC area Starwoods where i have stayed. Not perfect, but for a U.S. Starwood, seemed better than most. and the food was quite good as well.