A week ago, I was talking to our projects team about a trip to New York City. I volunteered to go on the training portion of the trip. Then I found out the TV station we’ll be working at isn’t in Manhatten, it’s in Flushing, NY. Flushing. All I can think of when I hear the city Flushing, NY is the TV show The Nanny.
Now all I can hear is Fran Drescher laughing.
Anyways, the station is called SinoVision. From their website (the English portion) it is described as, “the place where the Chinese community tunes in to keep informed of what has happened in the community and the world.” While I wasn’t too excited about the fact that this station was located smack in the middle of Flushing, NY instead of midtown Manhatten, I was excited to hear that Flushing = Chinatown. I have serious love for Chinese food and can’t wait to try all of the deliciousness that will be around me while I’m there.
One thing I will have to get over is my nervousness about being in a different city and worried about trying new things. While I like to put on the front that I’m a big girl, have traveled a lot and been a lot of places, I’m really just a shy, nervous girl inside wondering if I’m doing something that will offend someone. I like having a partner in crime with me when trying new things. It makes it much easier. I have been looking at Yelp to see what restaurants around the area have received the best reviews. Most of the really good ones state, “waiters do not speak English” or “menus are not in English.” Huh. That should be interesting. I guess I’ll pray for pretty pictures and point? Or can someone tell me the Chinese symbol for vegetable, chicken and dumpling?
The good news is I have already made plans to meet up with a cousin and one of my friends while I’m in town. Both live in Queens, so they are easily accessible from where I’ll be staying. I just hope my training sessions are during the day and not on some obscure overnight hours.
Before any of this can happen, the eating that is, I need to book a hotel. I am a hotel snob. I stay at Hilton chains. Anywhere I travel to, I can normally find a Hilton or Hampton Inn. I know a few things will be certain if I stay at one of these chains:
- I will get a clean room, a comfortable bed and toiletries that I recognize – even if I don’t use them
- IF the room is not clean, comfortable and there are not the usuals in the room, I can complain and the problem will be taken care of immediately.
- I will get breakfast in the morning. It might be free or it might cost me money but either way, there will be breakfast downstairs if I need it.
- Most importantly – I will add to my point total.
When I was working for the AP, I traveled a lot – 2-3 weeks a month. I built up a pretty little point balance that, ever since moving to NC and not traveling so much anymore, has been whittling away slowly. The AP was where I learned to be a hotel snob. Scratch that, The AP is what kept my hotel snobbery going. When we were kids, my Dad had a gazillion points through the Marriott, so he really started it all by never making us stay at a dumpy hotel.
I guess I should qualify this snobbery thing a little bit. I am calling myself a hotel snob for the reasons stated above. I do realize there are much snobbier ways to look at hotels. Perhaps I should just say I am someone who expects the same type of service I would give to a guest if I owned the hotel? Meh, that was much too long for my post title.
I guess I should qualify this snobbery thing a little bit. I am calling myself a hotel snob for the reasons stated above. I do realize there are much snobbier ways to look at hotels. Perhaps I should just say I am someone who expects the same type of service I would give to a guest if I owned the hotel? Meh, that was much too long for my post title.
Imagine my disappointment when these were my options when searching Flushing:
A. Sheraton – 3 stars
B. Comfort Inn – 2 Stars
C. Howard Johnson - 2 Stars
D. Best Western - 2 Stars
E. Flushing Grand - 2 Stars
Ouch.
I picked the best of the worst and decided to give it a go. 3 stars isn’t bad in New York City, I’ll hope for the same in Flushing. My co-worker is going out the week before me, so he will be able to pass some pointers on to me and let me know what to expect with the hotel. While he isn't as picky as I am, he has started to enjoy the perks of Diamond Hilton status and I know it hurts him just a little bit not to be staying at a Hilton chain.
I picked the best of the worst and decided to give it a go. 3 stars isn’t bad in New York City, I’ll hope for the same in Flushing. My co-worker is going out the week before me, so he will be able to pass some pointers on to me and let me know what to expect with the hotel. While he isn't as picky as I am, he has started to enjoy the perks of Diamond Hilton status and I know it hurts him just a little bit not to be staying at a Hilton chain.
So, have any of you been to Flushing recently? Have you eaten anywhere fantastic that I need to try?
1 comments:
Sheatons are usually fine. Better than Best Western or Hojos....
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