COMFORT INN, HERSHEY, PA - Comfort at a Price (Hotels in Pennsylvania in general)

Member Name: mattygroves10

Product:	Hotels in Pennsylvania in general
Date:	29/09/05 (133 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Big beds, located near Hershey Park, Pennsylvania

Disadvantages: VERY, VERY, VERY overpriced

THE DAY BEGINS - Background
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DATELINE - August, last year. . For a couple of weeks last August, my husband my daughter and myself had been on holiday in the Philadelphia area of the USA. Looking on the map for something to do, we spotted Hershey Park - a chocolate themed...well...theme park. It looked to be about two hours away by car. Three hours later (ever present roadworks on the Pennsylvania Turnpike), we arrive at the park, and spend an enjoyable few hours on coasters (OK, I just watched that bit), on water rides, and in queues. Stupidly, we left the water rides until last. Soaking wet, we do the little 'ridette' showing us how they make chocolate, have some dinner, and shivering, leave the park at around 9.30 for the drive home.

We drive out of the park, and find things a bit odd - for one, the air conditioning in the car doesn't work - no real problem, as we're all soaking wet. But people in other cars are shouting at us - we look over - it seems we have no headlights. This is bad.

Clearly, we cannot drive home on unlit highways with no lights - not only is it dangerous, but we'd surely be stopped by the police (especially as the Pennsylvania Turnpike is a toll road). So we find ourselves having to stop at the first hotel we can - and that hotel was the COMFORT INN on Mae Street in Hummelstown Pennsylvania - just two miles from the park.

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THE NIGHT BEGINS - First Impressions
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The car park is a good size - we have no problems parking. This is a relief. Now we just hope fervently that they have a room available - remember, this is the height of the holiday season.

Large glass doors, situated under a covered walkway open for us (well...that's an exaggeration. Husband opened them.) I note that if you are a guest returning after 11.00, you need your room card to enter the building. We find ourselves in a fairly dark (remember, this is night) and smallish reception. To the left is the front desk, 'womanned' by two smiling, uniformed young women.

"Do you have a room that will sleep the three of us for tonight," we pleaded. "We haven't booked". Tap tap tap goes the receptionist (whose initials are KF, according to the bill).

"Oh yes, we have one more room - it's a non-smoking room with two queen beds." We sighed in relief. "We'll take it."

"Right," says KF, "do you belong to the AAA?" We explained that we did not belong to the American Automotive Association, given that we do not live in the US. "OK," says she, smiling (I think I spotted dollar signs in her eyes), "the room will be $215.96."

"WHAT?!" But we had no choice. KF explained further, "plus $12.96 occupancy tax." We reeled. "And not forgetting the $6.48 county hotel tax." And here I thought the US under George W was practically a tax haven.

We sighed in resignation, and handed over the credit card. I look around, and noticed ALL the payphones (well, the two I spotted) had out of order signs on them. "How much," I asked, "will a phone call to Philadelphia be?" She tells me that from the room it'll be over a dollar a minute. More ouch.

Still, as I explained, we had no choice. I still smoked at this point. Knowing we had a non-smoking room, I cast my eyes around the reception lounge. I spot what appears to be a bar. Sadly, the 'bar' was missing certain essentials - namely, bar staff, drinks, ashtrays, and any signs of life. I then noticed the sign reading "No alcoholic beverages to be consumed on the premises." This was not a good sign. Nor was the sign reading "No smoking in any public areas."

I did, however, spot through a window on the left a small swimming pool. Not that I wanted to use it - we had no clean clothes with us - and I certainly didn't have a bathing costume. Still, I looked - the pool is VERY small, and there are no lifeguards. The deepest end is five feet deep, so no diving escapades from the guests. It was empty, dark, and indeed shut for the night.

Yet again I sighed, popped outside for a cigarette before proceeding to our room on the 6th floor. Things were not looking good.

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UP THE WOODEN HILL - The Room
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The lifts were a reasonable size, and had a sign explaining that the pool was on the 1st floor (remember, the Americans don't use the ground floor - you start at one and go up), and that towels could be found at the poolside (so you didn't have to bring your room towels). A sign in the lift also gave suggestions for local eateries. However, we didn't pay much attention to that sign, given our wet, frustrated condition (besides, we'd already eaten at Hershey).

We find the room - like many modern hotels, the room key is actually a card you slot in to a slot (obviously). After one failed attempt, we gained access to the room. The room was FREEZING. Clearly the air-conditioning had been turned up to full, frigid, arctic blast.

The first challenge was figuring out where the light switches for the room itself were - we found the switches for the little entry corridor and the bathroom/sink area (the sink was separate from the bathroom), but couldn't find the main room lights. They were well in the room.

Finally, we find the lights. From the door, there was a small area for hanging your clothes (with those really annoying hangers that don't come completely off the rail - as if I'm going to steal the hangers). Next to the rail was an iron and ironing board (which came in REALLY handy the next day...) and below the rail was a small safe. Extra pillows were on a shelf above the rail.

Moving further into the room, again on the left past the wardrobe area was a sink and mirror. Hanging on the wall was a hairdryer, and on the counter on the left corner was a coffee pot (drip coffee maker). On the right of the sink was a small plastic display of one small bottle of 'conditioning shampoo', one small bar of 'facial soap' and one small bar of 'deodorant soap.' The labels proclaimed that they were made for the hotel; they carried no famous label - nothing to covet (and nothing worth swiping).

On the right, a door led into a small toilet and shower room. It was not especially big, but it was fully tiled (no window, which again is typical in hotels) and it was clean. There were a couple of bath towels, a couple of hand towels and a couple of face cloths; all white.

Moving further into the room, to the left were two small chests of drawers, between which sat the telly. Saz got excited when she spotted the Playstation control, but her hopes were quickly crushed when we spotted the note that explained that the Playstation and the movie channels were subject to a premium charge. Sadly, I investigated those charges no further - I was too tired and fed up.

There was a desk and chair - on the desk was the customary hotel stationary, along with a bound book. The book contained details of phone charges, laundry room location (4th floor - open from 10.00 am to 8.00 pm. That was a bummer, as remember, we are still in wet clothes), ice machine locations (every other floor), and local attractions (ummm...Hershey Park, really - they run a shuttle bus to and from the park). On the desk is a phone, which I used for exactly three minutes, at 10.11pm, to let my mum know that we weren't coming home that night.

Straight in front of you as you come in are large windows, with typical hotel curtains in front of them. In front of the windows is the air-conditioner. This was a first port of call - we opened the flap (which initially came off in my hand) and turned it from Arctic blasts to simply fridge conditions. I lay my soaking wet denim shorts and cotton tee shirt over the top (thankfully, both hubby and I had bought souvenir tee shirts at Hershey Park, so at least we had dry shirts).

To the right were the two queen sized beds. And they ARE big. They had a fairly nasty in a kind of innocuous hotel way bedspread on them. Under that was a light blanket, followed by an undersheet and of course, the fitted sheet. The pillows were actually reasonably soft and comfortable - I think they may well have been feather/down - or possibly a quality foam filling.

Saz took one bed, hubby and I the other. We watched a bit of telly (there were around 30 free channels to choose from - we chose The Learning Network and watched Junkyard Wars - EXACTLY the same programme we get in the UK called Scrapheap Challenge, I think - not an adaptation, but the same show). Then...we slept. Well...hubby and Saz did. I didn't especially well. The bed WAS comfortable, but I was missing my stuffed polar bear (who would have been right at home in that room), and I always struggle to sleep in a strange bed.

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A NEW DAY DAWNS - Waking Up
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Early in the new day, I creep off to the loo. Or I try to. The room is pitch dark (the curtains are indeed effective), so I have to turn on the bathroom light, which floods a good deal of the room in the light. Quickly shutting the door, I do what I need to.

"Right," I think, "I'll make coffee". In a basket by the coffee maker are the coffee and other bits. There were two pouches of coffee - one regular and one decaf. You simply open the plastic, and put the whole pouch (which resembles a giant tea bag) into the filter area, fill the coffee maker with water and wait. And wait. I open the other bits - there is one pack per person (assuming of course, that there are only two of you) - in each pack is one sachet of sugar, one sachet of sweetener, and one sachet of powdered non-dairy creamer. Not really enough, I feel.

The coffee was...drinkable, though not great. I made the second pot of decaf, and had to ration the sugar and 'creamer.' Hmmm...I'm thinking that this is a bit cheap for a room that cost me over $200 a night.

Having drunk the coffee, I decided I needed a shower. After first checking to make sure no-one needed the loo before I showered, I investigated the shower. Why oh why are so many hotel showers so difficult to fathom? After a minute or two, I figured it out. Typically, the shower curtain attacked me - this always happens. The shower had good pressure and stayed hot. The conditioning shampoo got my hair clean, but didn't really condition, and the bar of soap kept trying to escape my clutches, as it was so small.

Having showered, I reached for a towel. 'Jees,' I think. 'these towels are dinky'. The towels were thin, and though big enough to wrap around my ample middle, were not as luxurious as I'd hoped for the price. I carefully exit the by-now-steamed-up bathroom, holding the towel tightly around me (remember, Saz is with us).

Now...the real challenge begins.

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WET AND WILD - Adventures in Dressing
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I check the air-conditioner. My shorts are still SOAKED - not a bit damp, mind you, but soaked. I took the shorts to the hairdryer, hang them on a hanger (the kind of hanger with grippy bits to hang trousers from). The power of the hairdryer seemed adequate for air...but not really for wet denim.

Plan B - I pull the full sized ironing board out, and plug in the iron. Husband and I spend an entertaining half an hour getting our clothes as dry as reasonably possible - the iron was actually quite effective - it was a steam iron...but clearly, we were producing our own steam (from the clothes), and didn't need to use that feature.

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CHOW TIME
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After so many unwelcome surprises of the previous day, and that morning, one welcome surprise greeted us as we arrived downstairs - we discovered a 'continental breakfast' was included in the price. Yes, it was a cold buffet, but I'm not sure from which continent this breakfast originated.

Going behind the 'bar' (fake bar), there was a little room with most of the breakfast choices. The sign as you entered tickled me. "Take what you want, but eat what you take" - it's like being back at school. There was also a sign above the coffee urn warning you that the contents may be hot...urm.

Three cereals were on offer, all sweetened (Rice Krispees, Fruit Loops and Cheerios. Fruit Loops is truly the food of the devil. It's a colourful cereal. Think about it). Bread, English Muffins (sort of like crumpets, but not really), bagels and various sweet pastries (fruit Danishes, raisin Danishes, cheese Danishes, muffins, croissants) seemed to be the bulk of the offering, along with coffee, tea, milk, chocolate milk (there were bottles of Hershey's syrup next to the milk...hmmm...I wonder how THAT came about), orange juice and apple juice.

Leaving the little room and going into the bar revealed a toaster and more hot and cold drinks (same selection, just different location). On the bar were apples and bananas.

The food was OK - too sweet for my breakfast tastes, but still, it meant we didn't have to stop for breakfast. Whilst hubby and Saz were finishing their breakfasts, I had a look around. The pool was now bathed in bright sunshine, as there were many windows in the pool room, both to the outside and into a corridor just off the lobby. I would think an adult swimmer would feel as if he were an exhibit in a zoo. The pool is TINY. There was one child in it at that time of the morning (around 8.30am), and no-one else. I can see why. If you just wanted to get cool, great. If you wanted a real workout...well...you'd be making a lot of u-turns. Literally, as the pool was u-shaped.

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I'M A CIALEBRETY, GET ME OUTTA HERE!
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Finally, we check out. Another friendly young woman with the initials ND (according to the bill) checked us out quickly and efficiently. We find we've been charged $4.10 for my three minute phone call. Between that, the room rate and the taxes, we leave with our Visa card lighter by a grand total of $239.50. Urp. Still, at least it was now daylight, so the lack of headlights wouldn't be a major problem. As it was early, the lack of air-conditioning should be tolerable.

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SUMMARY - The good, the bad, the ugly, and the ridiculously expensive
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The Comfort Inn was...well...comfortable. The décor in the rooms was typical hotel bland - flowery curtains and bedspread; slightly dodgy prints on the walls, wood effect furniture.

The bathroom was nothing to write home about, but adequate. The beds were large (as one would expect in an American chain hotel room), and the room of an adequate size to hold them.

If I had to sum up the hotel in one word, it would be 'adequate...' but the price I was charged was ruinous.

We were between a rock and a hard place - we had no choice but to stay there. I checked on the internet, and found that were I booking the room at the same price, I'd pay the equivalent of £133.67 - that’s POUNDS, folks (the website helpfully converts into whatever currency you request - it tells me that the price quoted is based on an exchange rate of 0.55811), plus taxes of 9%. Even if I were booking for tomorrow (the off-season at theme parks), it would cost me over £100 a night to stay there, plus tax.

Would I recommend the Comfort Inn in Hershey, Pennsylvania? If you can get a good deal through Priceline or some other cheap clearing house, yes; I would. I'd happily pay, say, $100 per room per night to stay there. But at $239.50 (including a phone call)? I could get, if I shopped carefully, a fine hotel in New York for that.

Keep in mind also that Hershey Pennsylvania is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It's near Harrisburg, which is the State capital, but not the biggest city, and it's near Hershey. And really...that's it. There are a lot of corn fields and dairies, if that's your cup of milky tea.

Unless, therefore, the prices plummet, I cannot recommend the Comfort Inn at Hershey.

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THE BORING BITS - Address, contact details, yadda yadda
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The Comfort Inn at Hershey can be found at 1200 Mae Street, Hummelstown, PA, 17036. You can call them on (707) 566 2050 (add 001 if calling from the UK), and you can have a look at their website at www.hershey-comfortinn.com. On their website you can find pictures of the building (thrilling), pictures of rooms, pictures of reception and a picture of the pool. You can also check price and availability, and book a room should you wish.

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EPILOGUE
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Around 20 miles into our journey home, everything in the car starts working - the aircon, the headlights...everything. Bloody typical. The car is being fixed today (whilst Saz and family are whooping it up at Six Flags Great Adventure - another theme park), and it seems there is an electrical fault, which affected lights, air-con and the ABS brakes.

Sods' bloody law.

Summary: Adequate. Overpriced though, for a hotel that is merely adequate.