Coffee, Remodels and Being Time-Warped to the Fifties

Wednesday, February 9, 2011
So here I am at the Tropicana in Las Vegas for this conference. Last night was the "Welcome Reception," where I manned the booth for my company, and met a variety of people I'd only corresponded with. So that was worthwhile. And the buffet reception had four vegetable choices and full size plates! If you've ever spent any time at one of these things, you'd know how rocking that turn of events was.

This morning, I got up at 6:15 a.m., put on my work out clothes and went down to get some coffee. Except they don't open the coffee kiosk until 7:00 a.m. Now, I understand why Vegas rooms don't have coffee pots in them. I don't like it, but I understand it - it's not to the casino's benefit to have you holed up in your room, drinking coffee and not gambling. But really - a coffee kiosk, next to a convention center, that opens at 7:00 a.m.? Bogus, dude.

The Tropicana is also in the middle of a major remodel. All of the rooms in the "Island Tower," where my room is, have already been done. So why, if you're spending the money on a remodel, would you design a room to have a work area and then purchase the most uncomfortable chairs on the planet for business travelers? The longer I sit here, the more stove up I'm getting. Oh, THAT's right. Must discourage people from being holed up in their rooms, not gambling.

Sad '50's Rooms are Sad. And Empty.
One of the things they're doing from a remodel perspective is working on modernizing the joint. The old portion of the hotel, the wing that's only three stories and is painted those god-awful "tropical" colors? That wing is all fenced off, and there's heavy construction equipment there. I suspect it may not be long for this world, which is kind of a bummer. It's so kitschy and ugly it really is an eye sore, but it's also so uniquely LAS VEGAS it would almost be too bad if it was torn down. I keep expecting Desi Arnaz to appear and shout, "Luuuuu-cy! What have you been up to?" Which would be incredibly and mind-bendingly cool. Especially since he's dead and all.

In an effort to keep this place from sucking the life right out of me, I actually got off my butt and went to the hotel gym this morning to exercise. I know, right? Clearly I've been taken over by the Body Snatchers, or a health conscious malevolent spirit, or something even more sinister.* My schedule looks like I'll be be able to exercise most of the days I'm here, too, which differentiates this conference from the others I've been to, where I'm scheduled from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. daily. The fact that I'm a guest at this one and not an attendee probably has something to do with that.

Happy Wednesday, Hot Chicks and Smart Men.


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*Adulthood

1 comments:

Anne C. said...

When I read "... or something even more sinister.*" and my eyes flicked down to read the annotation, I heard the standard musical cue for danger -- Dun Dun Duuuuuunnnnn!

Glad you're finding ways to survive! :)