Displaced weekend

So my place got painted over the weekend, and I thought I could manage to stay there while they worked - until I walked in and saw everything I own wrapped in plastic, with 6 inches of old paint chips on the floors and a haze of dust floating in the air - so I decided to go to a hotel.

Although I wanted desperately wanted to stay at one of the really swanky hotels that allow pets (W, Peninsula, Grafton, Beverly Wilshire), since there was the possibility of my having to stay more than one night, I figured I'd better go for something more affordable - that, and my cat is not a good traveler (she hates the carrier and screams bloody murder the whole time she's in there), so I decided to stay at the Best Western Hollywood Hills, which is close to the house and fairly reasonably priced.

It's also party central for the "star maps and rental car" set - for some reason, management has decided that it's a good idea to blast frat-party rock and roll into the pool area until about 11 pm (I had a poolside room, of course), and the hotel is mid-remodel so there's construction during the day. Not surprisingly, kitty stayed under the bed most of the time due to the noise. She came out very briefly the first night, stared horrified at the door for a few minutes (I'm guessing she doesn't like Motley Crue), shot me a dirty look and then crawled right back under the bed, where she remained between brief forays to the food bowl.

I had a hell of a time getting her out from under there when it was time to go.

While not as fab as the W, it wasn't that bad. There was basic cable, spotty wireless (it faded in and out, so no quality internet time for me), and the room was Spartan, but clean. The cafe, however, was disappointing (huevos rancheros is pretty much a tasty breakfast order anywhere in Los Angeles - when a place makes bad version, run far, far away), but it did the trick.

Checkout time was 1 pm, so I had to stay the second night since the painters didn't finish until almost 5 pm Sunday - and then I had to move all the furniture back, scrub the overspray off all the surfaces (how does paint dust get under the plastic?), and air the place out.

We came back home yesterday afternoon, and I spent today cleaning (and I still haven't gotten all the dust - it's everywhere), so I've not been looking for work - I'll call and put myself "on the books" tomorrow and make some phone calls.

Enjoy a photo:



"Best Western: The Final Frontier"