Red Flag Galore Hotel

The most tedious yet fun thing I get to do when organizing travel plans is to book a hotel. For my Virginia Beach trip, I booked a hotel room at the Four Points by Sheraton Virginia Beach Oceanfront hotel. A King Bed, Oceanfront View, Traditional Guest Room with a balcony to view the beach. Perfect for sunrise pictures and videos. Located in front of the beach and sits next to restaurants, entertainment, and the pier. Perfect, right? Well...…..

Upon arriving at the hotel, parking in the parking garage was weird. The parking garage is part of the hotel and is built next to the floors of the rooms. But to get to the parking garage, you have to drive up a steep path that doesn't even have enough space for two lanes. Every time I drove up and down, it felt like I was going to crash into another car. Anyways, after I checked in and opened the door to my room, my nose was punched with the most nauseating smell.

FIRST RED FLAG: Weed. Pot. Mary Jane. Yeah, that. I hate the smell of weed because it smells like broccoli. It's the weirdest reason, but bare with me. After assuming a group of college students smoked in the room, I got past it. Weed is a pretty hard scent to get rid of, but at least it was faint in the room.

SECOND RED FLAG: I opened the refrigerator and, I kid you not, the room was colder than the fridge. Some fridges allow you to change the temperature, so I figured it was that. After inspecting every inch of it, I couldn't find the thermostat. After a couple of minutes, I gave up and moved on to the next red flag.

THIRD RED FLAG: Walking to the balcony window, a white plastic chair and table sat by it's door. The table and chair were so dirty and full of crumbs, it was hard to believe that the cleaning service accidentally overlooked them. But this red flag seemed like an easy fix. Put them on the balcony and avoid seeing it. In comes the next red flag.

FOURTH RED FLAG: I opened the curtain to the balcony and oversaw a cloudy skied beach. I "unlocked" the balcony door and attempted to open it, but it wouldn't open. I turned the lock the other way. Locked. Turned it in the other direction. Locked. I turned it at every possible angle like it was a puzzle, and it was still locked. I finally gave up and planned to call the front desk. Here comes the next red flag.

FIFTH RED FLAG: I turned on one of the nightstands but it didn't light up. Following the cord to behind the table, down to the floor, then behind the bed made me groan. No way I'm moving a heavy bed to turn on a light. I finally called the front desk to tell them everything and they said they'll send maintenance to my room. At this point, I'm tired, hungry, and a little worried about the room I paid for. I turned on the TV (Thank God that worked!) and started watching Sister Act 2, one of my favorite 90s movies. Then, the last red flag that broke my will to stay also broke my back.

SIXTH RED FLAG: The bed is the determining factor above all else. Your body naturally recharges by sleeping. So if the bed isn't talking sweetly to your back, there's going to be some issues. I jump above it, expecting to embrace a mattress as gentle as still water, blankets thicker and warmer than a wool coat, and soft pillows that could replace the clouds. Upon impact, my body embraced a concrete sidewalk, with blankets as thin as laundry sheets, and the pillows.....Oh, the pillows deceived me the most. The pillows looked so thick and stuffed, but once my head hit it, it deflated like a balloon.

At this point, I'm trying to look on the bright side and not seem ungrateful. Then I remembered the room price (without the fees they include after your stay) and determined it was not worth it. With only three minutes left to spare within the first hour, the room was cancelled without any charges. In the parking garage, as I walked back to my car, there was a woman sitting in her vehicle. When I passed her, the smell of burning broccoli ambushed my nostrils. Instantly I thought, "So you were the one who stunk up my room!"

Thank God there was another hotel with an available room for the stay, and it was able to check all the boxes of my requirements. Although I had to sacrifice the view and my sunrise photo/video ideas, I knew another opportunity would come in the future. At that moment, my back was happy to feel loved by a mattress, and my nose was satisfied with the smell of lemons instead of reefer.

Another smell that made my night even better was some Honey Cajun Salmon! Check out my foodie hit review of Lil Bit Nola here!

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