On Saturday, October 9, after four round trips of moving things to our new place of residence, we finally checked out of the hotel room – where we had stayed since March 30. The quiet environment that is this neighborhood is in direct contrast to the crazy world to which we were exposed at the hotel for nearly seven months.
Since we did not know how long it would take us to find an appropriate place to buy and move in, we needed to choose an affordable place for an interim stay. As they say, “you get what you pay for.” It was like a re-introduction into the world from which I had escaped decades ago. I had forgotten how difficult life could be, especially for children who are stuck in their violent family environment.
Sometimes, loud conversations and/or music woke us up between 1 and 3 a.m. Other times, we heard some women screaming and yelling at the top of their lungs for a half-hour straight, and for multiple days in a row. Some arguments were accompanied by clear cases of violence. The first few times, I notified the front desk but the staff did nothing about it; it was as if these occurrences were nothing new to them. I heard some children scream and cry in desperation, in tones and manners that I’ve never heard before. Theirs was a cry for help. At one point, I couldn’t take it anymore and called the police.
Of course, the loud ones are those that we notice. While it may seem as if the entire hotel was made up of such clientele, perhaps most of them were just like us – all we wanted were peace and quiet.
Disturbances from other rooms were also a reminder that it is up to each of us to create our own peaceful environment. It reminded me of how I had made a vow to myself as a child that, once grown up, I would never put up with anyone who gives me even a hint of grief in my everyday life.
Putting aside the people issues, the worst part was that the weekly hotel rate kept going up. We started out at slightly below $50/night. By the time we left, it was close to $70/night. That is a whopping 40% increase within seven months!? The room service was provided once every 2-3 weeks, and only after we reminded them of it. The lack of service, it was explained, was due to Covid-19. During the first cleaning, the maid stole some of our items – very annoying albeit replaceable. This was perhaps a good lesson to learn early on in that we always took the most valuable items with us whenever we vacated the room.
If I knew what an extended stay in a hotel room could be like, I would have chosen to rent a regular house – with the usual amenities, such as kitchen appliances, washer/dryer, etc. included – on a month-to-month basis. The overall cost would have been less. Even if it were about the same, it would probably have been much more pleasant without all the human drama.
Then again, we were perhaps meant to experience life in a hotel room so that we would appreciate the new place of residence even more than we already do.
