More nickel and diming at the Hilton—I was reading their information about checking out of the hotel, and if you want to extend your check out time, they charge you $30 extra if you want to stay until 3pm (regular check out is noon), and $60 if you want to stay until 6pm. Most hotels, at least ones I’ve stayed out, often will let you check out a few hours later free of charge, provided the room hasn’t been booked yet. This hotel takes the grand prize for chintzy behavior. It is astounding, that customers are squeezed for anything possible.

Plus, everyone I’ve spoken to says that the wireless doesn’t work in the rooms, nor do the Ethernet cables. So they charge you $12 a day for a service that can only be used in the lobby. The little ad sitting in your room shows a guy relaxing on his bed, grinning, and playing with his laptop and cell phone. It says that this service is reliable and easy to use. Doesn’t mention, thought, that you can’t access it in your room. I spoke to IT at length about it, and they acted like it was something unusual, that it didn’t work in my room.

Oh well. Aside from their penny pinching, the stay was pleasant. The hotel is nice, very clean, very good service and friendly people. And since their was a little dog racing down my hallway, they apparently permit pets. That alone puts a hotel into my good graces.

However, I still am going to write to the Hilton and tell them how the wireless doesn’t work in the rooms, and they shouldn’t be offering it as such. The ethernet cables don’t work either. So people are paying $12 a day to sit in the lobby and play with their laptops. Better than nothing, I suppose, although there were very few places to plug in a laptop if you needed juice.