MedAlert,ExpsvHotel,CellFritz,PurseStolen - Anothe Sunny Day in AMS!
Sep 25, 2004, 3:39 pm
#1
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2002
Programs: UALifetimePremierGold, Marriott LifetimeTitanium
Posts: 71,168
MedAlert,ExpsvHotel,CellFritz,PurseStolen - Anothe Sunny Day in AMS!
After spending Labor Day unpacking in my new place (vs going on HKG Labor Day Do run-sigh), I'm at the airport bright-eyed & bushy-tailed for UA946 LAX-IAD-AMS (ok, the bright-eyed part was a lie - I got 2 hours of sleep) the morning after Labor Day. Heading over to IBC trade show, which occurs every September in AMS.
Check-in is quick & efficient at 5:20am (yawn), and head to security. The Registered Traveller person who was in front of me when passing 1st id check, then ended up 5 people behind me in the elite line cuz he stopped for the iris scan (tee-hee).
I have my list of things checked off/learned from my fellow travelers & TSA to avoid secondary:
* Put shoes w/ shanks in tote; put on cute little Luhthansa First slippers to walk through magno but avoid dirty floor - check!
* Wear minimal jewelry - check!
* Wear underwire bra (w/ lace & very few hooks) - check!
Watch person manning the belt/machine move every single person's every single piece of luggage/bins/laptop back/forth back/forth every single time - get dizzy (hmm, didn't plan on that part, but go forth knowing my heart & body is pure).
Go through magno thing - no beep - woo-hoo! Check!
Notice lady in front of me gets secondary - for her laptop (she didn't set off magno thingy). Then they say to me 'is this your laptop' yes - ok, we have to go through secondary. What? Don't you know I'm wearing cute little slippers, hardly any jewelry & an underwire bra that Bart & TSAMgr say won't set off the machine? I did everything right - why do I have secondary? Geesh - I can't win. So off we go to swab the computer; it's clean.
But while I'm waiting for her to do that I watch the line I came through & the next 3 people all got secondary - for their laptops! So 5 out of 5 for secondary for laptop & no magno alarm. The other lines went much faster; I always get the slow line. Also the other lanes didn't check laptops but on the people they were pulling aside did the raise your arms thing.
Head to LAX RCC; ask for drink chits (not going to drink that early, but good to stock up since I'm entitled to them). She's busy but says she'll get them to me. I think yeah right. But she actually did a few minutes later.
Head to plane; seat 9D (but accidently sat in 9F; he didn't care, so we just stayed the way we were). Flight takes off - halfway through, FA comes on - "is there a doctor, EMT or nurse on-board". Few minutes later FA comes on again - 'does anyone have a diabetes strip test'. Other than that, flight uneventful. I read magazines & watch movies (can't remember what they were). Didn't sleep but should have - that's why I hate connecting in US for overseas. Non-stops I just go to sleep right after meal. Flying in daytime going east I rarely do.
Get to IAD. Of course gate come in on is about as far as you can go from where the connecting flight to AMS is! Trudge down & stop at one RCC for a soda. Head down to the other RCC & go in (my timing was good; 5 minutes later the line cuz of the card scan thing is way out the door).
Decide to get a drink. Ask what type of wine they have. Bartenderess speaks English w/ a strong accent basically gives me the red, white, pink response. I ask where from - she says California. Ok, could we be a bit more specific. Vendange or some crap thing. Ok, I'll have an Absolut/tonic. We don't have that. 3 more times to decipher they have Smirnoff. She brings it over - it's straight vodka, no tonic. Yikes. Ok, could I have some tonic too please. Guy next to me orders a beer & goes through similar rigamarole. This RCC is packed w/ I'm guessing mostly folk waiting for overseas flights.
Head to gate & settle into 9H. Sip the crap champagne they serve before take-off. Get asked first for food order. Take off. Food service is uneventful. Food actually decent; they serve the better champagne. Start watching movies & reading magazines (which I always gift to the FAs when I'm done for their layovers). Halfway through the flight FA comes on; 'do we have a doctor, nurse or emt on-board'. Don't know what was wrong w/ this one, but I mention to my FA that we had a medical on the inbound & she mentions it's the same doctor who's helping out. Hope they upgraded him! Rest of flight is uneventful. I did something stoo-pid, which is rare for me. Watched 2 movies instead of sleeping, so really tired. Get off & go to ATM to get some Euros. Head to customs, which is quick & then get luggage.
Take shuttle bus to town (12.50E one way) which drops off next to Ams Marriott, which I've stayed at each year for this show. Great location on the Leidesplain. Rate before & after show is 269E for exec level. 395E during show days charged to your cc 2 weeks in advance - non-refundable. That latter is a new policy.
Arrive 8:45am; room not ready, but key given to lounge. That's ok. Check about 10:30am. Room still not available (person in it), but it's a 'good one'. Ok. Check at noon; person checked out. Ok, can you send housekeeping to clean it right away; I'm quite tired. Well, they're busy & working through the rooms. Yes, but you know I've been waiting since 9:00am, so I'd appreciate it if you would put my room at the head of the queue. Check at 12:45pm; nothing. 1:20pm - nothing.
1:45pm (5 hours later). They come get me (I can barely see I'm so tired) & take me not to 823 which I'm expecting (they told me the room # at 10:30am), but to 323. So room similar but lower & more likely to get the tram noise. I call down - what happened to 823? Well, the person decided to stay? Ok, then why did you tell me they checked out & we were just waiting for housekeeping. Don't know. Great. Ok, what time was 323 ready - oh, we assigned that to you at 10:50am. Well, if it was available at 10:50am why did it take you until 1:45pm to come get me, especially since I spoke w/ you at 12:00, 12:45 & 1:20?!!! Don't know. Grrr. What can we do to make it up to you? Me, not thinking quickly since I'm tired, say nothing at this point. I just need to get to sleep. What I should have said was give me free hi-speed access (it's 19.95E/day) for a day.
And what's REALLY irritating is that one of my clients (who rarely stays at Marriotts) checked in at 10:30am & was given 1023, which I think is the Junior Suite (it has a dining room table in it). Since it was ready I should have been given that room instead of having to wait until 1:45pm to get a room. Don't get me wrong - I'm glad I got one of the xx23s, but really irritated it took as long as it did.
Take a nap & get up to meet journalists. Shower curtain doesn't go all the way across (turns out they didn't line up the holes on the inner & outer curtains). Ok, it covers enough. Turn faucets on & then lift thingy for shower - water shoots out sideways across the toilet & starts flooding the floor! Not good. Ok, guess I'll make it a bath, so push the thing to turn it back to reg faucets. Get in tub - wait, looks like there's some water coming out of the showerhead in addition to the faucet - maybe I can get shower after all. Stick head under showerhead & get scalded because all that's coming out of that is the hot water - and what's coming out of the other faucet is only cold water. Not good. Then, even though the drain thing is not in place, the tub isn't draining, so now the water is almost up to my knees. Not good. Now I'm irritated.
Call & ask for the manager on duty. He apologizes & asks what they can do. I said get engineering up here to get it all fixed while I'm at dinner (they did).
Meet my colleagues in the exec lounge for a quick drink, then we head to my favorite Italian restaurant in AMS which is just a couple of blocks from the Marriott.
Ristorante Fiorentino, Overtoom 125, Tel 020-6183272; hours 18.00-23:00.
They recognize me from prior years. We sit down & have a fab dinner with way too many bottles of wine, sambuccas & lemon drops later! Very expensive dinner, but one of those goes down in the books as well worth it great company, food wine, ambiance (dinner was expensive cuz of wine we whose & amounts we drank; food is reasonable at place). Close down the place & head back to hotel.
Come back from dinner & there's a bottle of wine & cheese/crackers from housekeeping w/ a note saying sorry for the wait.
Wake up early; head to lounge for some juice & then try to go back to sleep for a bit before heading to convention center. When I returned from lounge, there is fresh fruit with a note from the manager. Realize when I get the fruit that even though I completed the Platinum card upon arrival, I didn't receive my Platinum gift. So will ask for that or the $100, which is policy when they forget. BTW turns out each day I got fruit updates 2x/day for the remainder of my stay.
Weather is fab. Cab over there & do trade show type things, then cab back to meet a friend whos also staying at hotel. Meet for drink at lounge & decide to go back to Fiorentino for an early dinner (friend just flew in & tired). Again close the place down, but lots of fun. Back to hotel.
Next day the trade show starts. Do that & then have a few hours free before attending a 100th birthday party (2 folk at show are each turning 50, so they rented a place & invited folk to help come celebrate). Read paper in lounge; head back to room.
Someone (Marriott concierge - Chris?) told the Marriott about my post on Flyertalk, and the person who I called mid-afternoon DOA called me Fri eve when I walked in from lounge to apologize for all the difficulties I experienced (when she/I originally talked shower stuff etc hadn't happened yet). We agreed it was a Murphy's Law kind of day.
Person (Sophie - she's turned out to be fab) felt badly, and did offer me free hi-speed internet to make up for problems (too bad I spent so little time in the room due to trade show & dinners that I barely had time to check email). She also offered the $100 (Euro equivalent) for the Platinum Marriott gift not being delivered immediately, which I accepted.
She also told me to let her know when I was coming in next year & she'd really work hard to make sure everything was taken care of. Hopefully that means another xx23 room next yea!r
After phone call, go to dinner at Wagamamas across the canal. Tram it down to where the party is being held. Its crowded & hot! No a/c. Stay there for an hour or so, and then head over to Hoppa Bar for a quick drink. Someone once told me its the oldest bar in AMS; dont know if thats true. Cab back to hotel.
Next day is trade show again, then back to hotel to change before heading to Hotel Kraznapolsky for a party one of the companies in the industry is hosting. Its at the Winter Garden in the hotel, and the theme is jazz. Nice event, but ends relatively early.
Meet up w/ a biz colleague Im buddies w/ at the party & hes not been to AMS before, so said well you cant go home w/o seeing the Red Light District. So head over that way. Stop off in one of the sex shops. Ok, there were some videos of things I didnt know you could do! We dont buy anything but head over to the Old Sailor Pub, which is in the heart of the RLD. Have a drink there & head out. Turn to the right & see the Banana Bar (famous). Go there. 40Euro set fee, but drinks are free. Ok. We head in. Well, turns out besides the girls behind the bar Im the only woman in the place! I make my friend get the drinks. Lets just say Ill never look at bananas the same way again! If someone wants to know the details they can PM me. Since this is somewhat of a family-type website, Ill not post the details. Have a couple drinks & leave for mutual hotels.
Next day trade show & then back to hotel for drink in exec lounge/read the paper before meeting another company for dinner w/ my colleague (I got invited along since I have to also write an article on the show & the company would like me to say good things about them; theyve flown him over to do a presentation). The company was good, the food ok, the service abysmal. Cant remember the name of the place.
Turns out my colleague/friend is talking to his colleague on the other side, and the other guy is talking about travel. My colleague says oh you should talk to Sharon; shes part of some flyer group called FT (my colleague Brian had been in town 4 months ago & Id dragged him to LAX w/ me to meet some Fters for a quick drink). Well turns out the other guy actually knows FT & is a lurker on the AA & Amtrak forums! Small world.
After dinner go to bathroom/wash hands. Purse falls into sink & fills w/ running water. Grr. Drive everything off. Groupsplits up after dinner & some of us go to Kraznapolsky since its close for a nightcap. Take cab back to Marriott turns out the driver was drunk & nearly got us killed! The 2 who were going on got out w/ me at the Marriott & we had the hotel call them another cab. Charge my cell phone or so I think.
Check-in is quick & efficient at 5:20am (yawn), and head to security. The Registered Traveller person who was in front of me when passing 1st id check, then ended up 5 people behind me in the elite line cuz he stopped for the iris scan (tee-hee).
I have my list of things checked off/learned from my fellow travelers & TSA to avoid secondary:
* Put shoes w/ shanks in tote; put on cute little Luhthansa First slippers to walk through magno but avoid dirty floor - check!
* Wear minimal jewelry - check!
* Wear underwire bra (w/ lace & very few hooks) - check!
Watch person manning the belt/machine move every single person's every single piece of luggage/bins/laptop back/forth back/forth every single time - get dizzy (hmm, didn't plan on that part, but go forth knowing my heart & body is pure).
Go through magno thing - no beep - woo-hoo! Check!
Notice lady in front of me gets secondary - for her laptop (she didn't set off magno thingy). Then they say to me 'is this your laptop' yes - ok, we have to go through secondary. What? Don't you know I'm wearing cute little slippers, hardly any jewelry & an underwire bra that Bart & TSAMgr say won't set off the machine? I did everything right - why do I have secondary? Geesh - I can't win. So off we go to swab the computer; it's clean.
But while I'm waiting for her to do that I watch the line I came through & the next 3 people all got secondary - for their laptops! So 5 out of 5 for secondary for laptop & no magno alarm. The other lines went much faster; I always get the slow line. Also the other lanes didn't check laptops but on the people they were pulling aside did the raise your arms thing.
Head to LAX RCC; ask for drink chits (not going to drink that early, but good to stock up since I'm entitled to them). She's busy but says she'll get them to me. I think yeah right. But she actually did a few minutes later.
Head to plane; seat 9D (but accidently sat in 9F; he didn't care, so we just stayed the way we were). Flight takes off - halfway through, FA comes on - "is there a doctor, EMT or nurse on-board". Few minutes later FA comes on again - 'does anyone have a diabetes strip test'. Other than that, flight uneventful. I read magazines & watch movies (can't remember what they were). Didn't sleep but should have - that's why I hate connecting in US for overseas. Non-stops I just go to sleep right after meal. Flying in daytime going east I rarely do.
Get to IAD. Of course gate come in on is about as far as you can go from where the connecting flight to AMS is! Trudge down & stop at one RCC for a soda. Head down to the other RCC & go in (my timing was good; 5 minutes later the line cuz of the card scan thing is way out the door).
Decide to get a drink. Ask what type of wine they have. Bartenderess speaks English w/ a strong accent basically gives me the red, white, pink response. I ask where from - she says California. Ok, could we be a bit more specific. Vendange or some crap thing. Ok, I'll have an Absolut/tonic. We don't have that. 3 more times to decipher they have Smirnoff. She brings it over - it's straight vodka, no tonic. Yikes. Ok, could I have some tonic too please. Guy next to me orders a beer & goes through similar rigamarole. This RCC is packed w/ I'm guessing mostly folk waiting for overseas flights.
Head to gate & settle into 9H. Sip the crap champagne they serve before take-off. Get asked first for food order. Take off. Food service is uneventful. Food actually decent; they serve the better champagne. Start watching movies & reading magazines (which I always gift to the FAs when I'm done for their layovers). Halfway through the flight FA comes on; 'do we have a doctor, nurse or emt on-board'. Don't know what was wrong w/ this one, but I mention to my FA that we had a medical on the inbound & she mentions it's the same doctor who's helping out. Hope they upgraded him! Rest of flight is uneventful. I did something stoo-pid, which is rare for me. Watched 2 movies instead of sleeping, so really tired. Get off & go to ATM to get some Euros. Head to customs, which is quick & then get luggage.
Take shuttle bus to town (12.50E one way) which drops off next to Ams Marriott, which I've stayed at each year for this show. Great location on the Leidesplain. Rate before & after show is 269E for exec level. 395E during show days charged to your cc 2 weeks in advance - non-refundable. That latter is a new policy.
Arrive 8:45am; room not ready, but key given to lounge. That's ok. Check about 10:30am. Room still not available (person in it), but it's a 'good one'. Ok. Check at noon; person checked out. Ok, can you send housekeeping to clean it right away; I'm quite tired. Well, they're busy & working through the rooms. Yes, but you know I've been waiting since 9:00am, so I'd appreciate it if you would put my room at the head of the queue. Check at 12:45pm; nothing. 1:20pm - nothing.
1:45pm (5 hours later). They come get me (I can barely see I'm so tired) & take me not to 823 which I'm expecting (they told me the room # at 10:30am), but to 323. So room similar but lower & more likely to get the tram noise. I call down - what happened to 823? Well, the person decided to stay? Ok, then why did you tell me they checked out & we were just waiting for housekeeping. Don't know. Great. Ok, what time was 323 ready - oh, we assigned that to you at 10:50am. Well, if it was available at 10:50am why did it take you until 1:45pm to come get me, especially since I spoke w/ you at 12:00, 12:45 & 1:20?!!! Don't know. Grrr. What can we do to make it up to you? Me, not thinking quickly since I'm tired, say nothing at this point. I just need to get to sleep. What I should have said was give me free hi-speed access (it's 19.95E/day) for a day.
And what's REALLY irritating is that one of my clients (who rarely stays at Marriotts) checked in at 10:30am & was given 1023, which I think is the Junior Suite (it has a dining room table in it). Since it was ready I should have been given that room instead of having to wait until 1:45pm to get a room. Don't get me wrong - I'm glad I got one of the xx23s, but really irritated it took as long as it did.
Take a nap & get up to meet journalists. Shower curtain doesn't go all the way across (turns out they didn't line up the holes on the inner & outer curtains). Ok, it covers enough. Turn faucets on & then lift thingy for shower - water shoots out sideways across the toilet & starts flooding the floor! Not good. Ok, guess I'll make it a bath, so push the thing to turn it back to reg faucets. Get in tub - wait, looks like there's some water coming out of the showerhead in addition to the faucet - maybe I can get shower after all. Stick head under showerhead & get scalded because all that's coming out of that is the hot water - and what's coming out of the other faucet is only cold water. Not good. Then, even though the drain thing is not in place, the tub isn't draining, so now the water is almost up to my knees. Not good. Now I'm irritated.
Call & ask for the manager on duty. He apologizes & asks what they can do. I said get engineering up here to get it all fixed while I'm at dinner (they did).
Meet my colleagues in the exec lounge for a quick drink, then we head to my favorite Italian restaurant in AMS which is just a couple of blocks from the Marriott.
Ristorante Fiorentino, Overtoom 125, Tel 020-6183272; hours 18.00-23:00.
They recognize me from prior years. We sit down & have a fab dinner with way too many bottles of wine, sambuccas & lemon drops later! Very expensive dinner, but one of those goes down in the books as well worth it great company, food wine, ambiance (dinner was expensive cuz of wine we whose & amounts we drank; food is reasonable at place). Close down the place & head back to hotel.
Come back from dinner & there's a bottle of wine & cheese/crackers from housekeeping w/ a note saying sorry for the wait.
Wake up early; head to lounge for some juice & then try to go back to sleep for a bit before heading to convention center. When I returned from lounge, there is fresh fruit with a note from the manager. Realize when I get the fruit that even though I completed the Platinum card upon arrival, I didn't receive my Platinum gift. So will ask for that or the $100, which is policy when they forget. BTW turns out each day I got fruit updates 2x/day for the remainder of my stay.
Weather is fab. Cab over there & do trade show type things, then cab back to meet a friend whos also staying at hotel. Meet for drink at lounge & decide to go back to Fiorentino for an early dinner (friend just flew in & tired). Again close the place down, but lots of fun. Back to hotel.
Next day the trade show starts. Do that & then have a few hours free before attending a 100th birthday party (2 folk at show are each turning 50, so they rented a place & invited folk to help come celebrate). Read paper in lounge; head back to room.
Someone (Marriott concierge - Chris?) told the Marriott about my post on Flyertalk, and the person who I called mid-afternoon DOA called me Fri eve when I walked in from lounge to apologize for all the difficulties I experienced (when she/I originally talked shower stuff etc hadn't happened yet). We agreed it was a Murphy's Law kind of day.
Person (Sophie - she's turned out to be fab) felt badly, and did offer me free hi-speed internet to make up for problems (too bad I spent so little time in the room due to trade show & dinners that I barely had time to check email). She also offered the $100 (Euro equivalent) for the Platinum Marriott gift not being delivered immediately, which I accepted.
She also told me to let her know when I was coming in next year & she'd really work hard to make sure everything was taken care of. Hopefully that means another xx23 room next yea!r
After phone call, go to dinner at Wagamamas across the canal. Tram it down to where the party is being held. Its crowded & hot! No a/c. Stay there for an hour or so, and then head over to Hoppa Bar for a quick drink. Someone once told me its the oldest bar in AMS; dont know if thats true. Cab back to hotel.
Next day is trade show again, then back to hotel to change before heading to Hotel Kraznapolsky for a party one of the companies in the industry is hosting. Its at the Winter Garden in the hotel, and the theme is jazz. Nice event, but ends relatively early.
Meet up w/ a biz colleague Im buddies w/ at the party & hes not been to AMS before, so said well you cant go home w/o seeing the Red Light District. So head over that way. Stop off in one of the sex shops. Ok, there were some videos of things I didnt know you could do! We dont buy anything but head over to the Old Sailor Pub, which is in the heart of the RLD. Have a drink there & head out. Turn to the right & see the Banana Bar (famous). Go there. 40Euro set fee, but drinks are free. Ok. We head in. Well, turns out besides the girls behind the bar Im the only woman in the place! I make my friend get the drinks. Lets just say Ill never look at bananas the same way again! If someone wants to know the details they can PM me. Since this is somewhat of a family-type website, Ill not post the details. Have a couple drinks & leave for mutual hotels.
Next day trade show & then back to hotel for drink in exec lounge/read the paper before meeting another company for dinner w/ my colleague (I got invited along since I have to also write an article on the show & the company would like me to say good things about them; theyve flown him over to do a presentation). The company was good, the food ok, the service abysmal. Cant remember the name of the place.
Turns out my colleague/friend is talking to his colleague on the other side, and the other guy is talking about travel. My colleague says oh you should talk to Sharon; shes part of some flyer group called FT (my colleague Brian had been in town 4 months ago & Id dragged him to LAX w/ me to meet some Fters for a quick drink). Well turns out the other guy actually knows FT & is a lurker on the AA & Amtrak forums! Small world.
After dinner go to bathroom/wash hands. Purse falls into sink & fills w/ running water. Grr. Drive everything off. Groupsplits up after dinner & some of us go to Kraznapolsky since its close for a nightcap. Take cab back to Marriott turns out the driver was drunk & nearly got us killed! The 2 who were going on got out w/ me at the Marriott & we had the hotel call them another cab. Charge my cell phone or so I think.
Sep 25, 2004, 3:40 pm
#2
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2002
Programs: UALifetimePremierGold, Marriott LifetimeTitanium
Posts: 71,168
AMS Continued - Part 2
Next day trade show where I discover the phone isnt charged. One of my clients has a charger in the booth doesnt take the charge. Phone is fritzed. Yikes Ive got 7 clients at the show & I need to be able to reach them. This sucks. Someone get through the day. Head back to hotel, go to lounge for drink before dinner. Leave phone torn apart in hopes of getting parts dried off. Tired, & just decide to do Fiortino again w/ another friend of mine. As always, fun & it turns out its the owners birthday so a few too many celebratory drinks.
Next day is the last day of the trade show. It goes until 4pm, but my last meeting is at noon, so I head over to the Van Gogh museum to see the Manet at the Sea exhibit. When I returned from the Van Gogh Museum, there was a bottle of wine & cashews waiting for me w/ a note from the bellman (Marcel) who had taken my luggage to room DOA.
When I was 'discussing' w/ the front desk room check-in/room switch, I was pretty upset/practically in tears because I was so tired. He got me a glass of water. I thanked him & jokingly said a bottle of wine to drown my sorrows would be better.
He remembered that I liked red wine & sent it w/ the cashews w/ a lovely note saying he hoped the rest of my stay was going better. So Marriott will certainly get a letter from me re: him & some of the other employees who helped turn this around saying nice things.
Met some colleagues in exec lounge for drink. Decide to eat at Manchurian (Chinese) restaurant, which is good. It's near Leidesplain, 5 minute walk from hotel.
Next day is a free day for me before meeting clients for dinner. Sleep in (finally), do some work & go to health club, then head up to exec lounge for glass of wine & drink before dinner.
So there I am in the exec lounge having a glass of wine & reading paper, sitting at table next to window overlooking Leidesplain. Lounge full, mostly people I've seen all week. One guy there (looking All-American reading a paperback) glances at me a few times; don't think much of it. First time I've seen him.
I-terminal opens up, so I move to it leaving my purse, shawl, glasses, wine & paper behind cuz they're only 10ft away & in view (yeah, if you're not looking at a computer screen).
On computer for 15 minutes, and people in/out. Don't ask me why I looked up when a person (this guy) goes out the door (i-terminal near lounge door), but I do & think wait, that's weird, looks like my purse under his arm next to book. He exits, I leave terminal, head to table - no purse! I grab the attendant, do you know that guy, I think he stole my purse. We head out the lounge in his direction (his mistake was turning towards rooms rather than elevator) & literally run into him.
He's got a 'bulky' Financial Times under his arm & I move towards him & say, is that my purse? He says (obviously fast thinker) - oh is it yours? I was taking it to lost & found. I was so upset/shaken that I wasn't thinking fast, because who takes a purse to L&F wrapped up & also doesn't check w/ folk in lounge or the attendant? So we let him (dumbly) go.
We go back to lounge & call security & they came up w/in 2 minutes (total elapsed time at this point only 5 minutes). If we had told them he was headed down they could have nabbed him when elevator went to ground floor, but neither attendant nor I were that fast thinking. We later found the newspaper stuffed behind plant on sidetable near elevator.
Security took a report, the attendant went to watch surveillance tape, and I walked w/ security through the bar & restaurants. But obviously the guy skipped the hotel.
The hotel staff & security were quite good/nice & wanted to know if they could help me in any way, but obviously nothing could be done at that point. I was just lucky we got it back so fast & all was intact. Meet clients in lobby & head to dinner at Gauchos steakhouse in the Leidesplain.
When I got back to the hotel post dinner, more chocolates in the room - I think they're running out of things to give me!
Stayed up until 2am working, doing emails & packing. 4:15am wake-up call to catch flight. Wake up myself at 4:10; figure wait for call. A couple of minutes later fan stops. I look at clock - no clock lit. No lights. The electricity has gone off (evidently for a city block).
How am I going to get ready if I can't even see my hand in front of my face? Since my room faces the Leidesplain open up the curtains & get a bit of light that way. Wake-up call comes. They'll try to find me a flashlight (none available I find out) & that's about all they can do, as they're dependent upon the city to get the lights back on (literally).
Realize lights are on in the hallway though, and also figure no one else is up at 4:15am, so prop open the door to let hallway light into room & try to get ready (taking a shower in the dark is rather interesting). So while things were dim I was able to get dressed/finalize luggage (glad I packed the night before).
They send folk up to help me take luggage down. The elevator actually worked which surprised me, but they had to manually open/close the doors. The lobby was lit. There was a small error on the bill, but obviously the computer system was down, so I just told them to correct it when the electricity came on. Felt sorry for the front desk; phone was ringing quite a bit & explanations of we want it to come back on quickly too were being said. They have a cab waiting for me.
At 5am we make it to the airport in about 10 minutes zip traffic. I check in at BMI, and ask where lounge is. Turn right after you go through security. Ok, go through & turn right. Where there are signs saying airline lounges in each terminal w/ arrows, but not really pointing out which one is which. I wander around for about 30 minutes getting quite irritated. Finally see in the main area 2 signs that Im thinking are Euro airlines Im not familiar w/, but figure what the heck. Take elevator up & the names are actually private clubs & its when you get to their DOORS that theres a list of airlines theyre the club for. Go in (its deserted) & have some sparkling water while waiting for flight. Stop by shop & buy some paperbacks for flight back to LA (paperbacks are expensive in AMS). Im in economy on BMI, although C & F on UA back to LA. Am tired from only having 2 hours of sleep, and since Im lucky enough to have gotten a row to myself, curl up across the 3 seats for the flight to LA. Dont bother w/ whatever the bkfst was.
Get to London & head for London Lounge (which is much nicer than UA RCC LHR), and do email there until time for flight. Get to gate & am told theyve moved my seat from 8B (because it doesnt recline) to 15B. At least Im still in C, but I like the smaller cabin of C. Oh well. Read most of flight to SFO.
Get off & wait for luggage. Head to customs w/ INSPass. Machines out of order so I stand in line & gave pass to customs guy along w/ passport. The Customs guy tosses the pass back & said the program was discontinued; 'it was too easy for terrorists to get into it'. I jokingly said, wait, you all developed it; why would you create one that would be easy to get into, & didn't we have to go through some kind of check?'
He didn't say anything, but did mark my card to reward me - Customs penalty box w/ thorough search! Since I'm not a terrorist, wasn't smuggling in anything, had time to get to my connecting flight, I knew my heart was pure & so I didn't make a fuss. The 2ndary guy was nice (5-10 minutes of typing & then a quick search of luggage). Actually, the fact that I read a paperback while they did all that kind of gave them a clue I wasn't on their most wanted list. Lesson - never joke w/ customs.
Head out of customs & go to where you re-check your bags for continuing flights. Have to have the guy staple my tags back on cuz they were pulled apart when bags opened (not the customs guys fault; its the way the tags were looped through the handles by the BMI agent).
Head to SFO RCC & check email, and then to plane. Am in F on this segment. Just before take-off, lot of commotion turns out we have ANOTHER medical (3 out of 5 flights!), but they take the woman off before we take off. Flight to LA uneventful. Get luggage & head home. The cell phone is now working but only w/ the headset, so give it up & go buy a new one (the 70-page manual will be my reading tomorrow!).
Sure hope next years trip is less eventful! Cheers. Sharon
Next day is the last day of the trade show. It goes until 4pm, but my last meeting is at noon, so I head over to the Van Gogh museum to see the Manet at the Sea exhibit. When I returned from the Van Gogh Museum, there was a bottle of wine & cashews waiting for me w/ a note from the bellman (Marcel) who had taken my luggage to room DOA.
When I was 'discussing' w/ the front desk room check-in/room switch, I was pretty upset/practically in tears because I was so tired. He got me a glass of water. I thanked him & jokingly said a bottle of wine to drown my sorrows would be better.
He remembered that I liked red wine & sent it w/ the cashews w/ a lovely note saying he hoped the rest of my stay was going better. So Marriott will certainly get a letter from me re: him & some of the other employees who helped turn this around saying nice things.
Met some colleagues in exec lounge for drink. Decide to eat at Manchurian (Chinese) restaurant, which is good. It's near Leidesplain, 5 minute walk from hotel.
Next day is a free day for me before meeting clients for dinner. Sleep in (finally), do some work & go to health club, then head up to exec lounge for glass of wine & drink before dinner.
So there I am in the exec lounge having a glass of wine & reading paper, sitting at table next to window overlooking Leidesplain. Lounge full, mostly people I've seen all week. One guy there (looking All-American reading a paperback) glances at me a few times; don't think much of it. First time I've seen him.
I-terminal opens up, so I move to it leaving my purse, shawl, glasses, wine & paper behind cuz they're only 10ft away & in view (yeah, if you're not looking at a computer screen).
On computer for 15 minutes, and people in/out. Don't ask me why I looked up when a person (this guy) goes out the door (i-terminal near lounge door), but I do & think wait, that's weird, looks like my purse under his arm next to book. He exits, I leave terminal, head to table - no purse! I grab the attendant, do you know that guy, I think he stole my purse. We head out the lounge in his direction (his mistake was turning towards rooms rather than elevator) & literally run into him.
He's got a 'bulky' Financial Times under his arm & I move towards him & say, is that my purse? He says (obviously fast thinker) - oh is it yours? I was taking it to lost & found. I was so upset/shaken that I wasn't thinking fast, because who takes a purse to L&F wrapped up & also doesn't check w/ folk in lounge or the attendant? So we let him (dumbly) go.
We go back to lounge & call security & they came up w/in 2 minutes (total elapsed time at this point only 5 minutes). If we had told them he was headed down they could have nabbed him when elevator went to ground floor, but neither attendant nor I were that fast thinking. We later found the newspaper stuffed behind plant on sidetable near elevator.
Security took a report, the attendant went to watch surveillance tape, and I walked w/ security through the bar & restaurants. But obviously the guy skipped the hotel.
The hotel staff & security were quite good/nice & wanted to know if they could help me in any way, but obviously nothing could be done at that point. I was just lucky we got it back so fast & all was intact. Meet clients in lobby & head to dinner at Gauchos steakhouse in the Leidesplain.
When I got back to the hotel post dinner, more chocolates in the room - I think they're running out of things to give me!
Stayed up until 2am working, doing emails & packing. 4:15am wake-up call to catch flight. Wake up myself at 4:10; figure wait for call. A couple of minutes later fan stops. I look at clock - no clock lit. No lights. The electricity has gone off (evidently for a city block).
How am I going to get ready if I can't even see my hand in front of my face? Since my room faces the Leidesplain open up the curtains & get a bit of light that way. Wake-up call comes. They'll try to find me a flashlight (none available I find out) & that's about all they can do, as they're dependent upon the city to get the lights back on (literally).
Realize lights are on in the hallway though, and also figure no one else is up at 4:15am, so prop open the door to let hallway light into room & try to get ready (taking a shower in the dark is rather interesting). So while things were dim I was able to get dressed/finalize luggage (glad I packed the night before).
They send folk up to help me take luggage down. The elevator actually worked which surprised me, but they had to manually open/close the doors. The lobby was lit. There was a small error on the bill, but obviously the computer system was down, so I just told them to correct it when the electricity came on. Felt sorry for the front desk; phone was ringing quite a bit & explanations of we want it to come back on quickly too were being said. They have a cab waiting for me.
At 5am we make it to the airport in about 10 minutes zip traffic. I check in at BMI, and ask where lounge is. Turn right after you go through security. Ok, go through & turn right. Where there are signs saying airline lounges in each terminal w/ arrows, but not really pointing out which one is which. I wander around for about 30 minutes getting quite irritated. Finally see in the main area 2 signs that Im thinking are Euro airlines Im not familiar w/, but figure what the heck. Take elevator up & the names are actually private clubs & its when you get to their DOORS that theres a list of airlines theyre the club for. Go in (its deserted) & have some sparkling water while waiting for flight. Stop by shop & buy some paperbacks for flight back to LA (paperbacks are expensive in AMS). Im in economy on BMI, although C & F on UA back to LA. Am tired from only having 2 hours of sleep, and since Im lucky enough to have gotten a row to myself, curl up across the 3 seats for the flight to LA. Dont bother w/ whatever the bkfst was.
Get to London & head for London Lounge (which is much nicer than UA RCC LHR), and do email there until time for flight. Get to gate & am told theyve moved my seat from 8B (because it doesnt recline) to 15B. At least Im still in C, but I like the smaller cabin of C. Oh well. Read most of flight to SFO.
Get off & wait for luggage. Head to customs w/ INSPass. Machines out of order so I stand in line & gave pass to customs guy along w/ passport. The Customs guy tosses the pass back & said the program was discontinued; 'it was too easy for terrorists to get into it'. I jokingly said, wait, you all developed it; why would you create one that would be easy to get into, & didn't we have to go through some kind of check?'
He didn't say anything, but did mark my card to reward me - Customs penalty box w/ thorough search! Since I'm not a terrorist, wasn't smuggling in anything, had time to get to my connecting flight, I knew my heart was pure & so I didn't make a fuss. The 2ndary guy was nice (5-10 minutes of typing & then a quick search of luggage). Actually, the fact that I read a paperback while they did all that kind of gave them a clue I wasn't on their most wanted list. Lesson - never joke w/ customs.
Head out of customs & go to where you re-check your bags for continuing flights. Have to have the guy staple my tags back on cuz they were pulled apart when bags opened (not the customs guys fault; its the way the tags were looped through the handles by the BMI agent).
Head to SFO RCC & check email, and then to plane. Am in F on this segment. Just before take-off, lot of commotion turns out we have ANOTHER medical (3 out of 5 flights!), but they take the woman off before we take off. Flight to LA uneventful. Get luggage & head home. The cell phone is now working but only w/ the headset, so give it up & go buy a new one (the 70-page manual will be my reading tomorrow!).
Sure hope next years trip is less eventful! Cheers. Sharon
Sep 29, 2004, 6:54 am
#4
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: T82
Programs: AA Gold, HH Gold
Posts: 2,845
Good report, Sharon. Wow, I got exhausted just reading of all your adventures...so I can imagine how you felt at the time. Regarding sleeping, have you seen this thread?:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...referrerid=225
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...referrerid=225
Sep 30, 2004, 10:58 am
#7
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2002
Programs: UALifetimePremierGold, Marriott LifetimeTitanium
Posts: 71,168
nanook, thanks for the link. I don't do drugs for sleeping though. And usually I'm fine w/ sleeping on a plane; just stoo-pid on my part to do the movies instead of sleeping on the flights ove, especially since I knew w/ IAD connection there wouldn't be as much sleeptime as a LAX-LHR connection (on that flight I get easily 6-7 hours of sleep).
hsmythe, what is great about xx23 at AMS Marriott is a couple of things. One, it directly faces the Leidesplain so great view. Two, it's HUGE; more like the size of 2 rooms.
Cheers. Sharon
hsmythe, what is great about xx23 at AMS Marriott is a couple of things. One, it directly faces the Leidesplain so great view. Two, it's HUGE; more like the size of 2 rooms.
Cheers. Sharon