Chapter 1: Beds
As a bigger person with a history of back problems, beds that are 1.comfortable and 2. the correct size are definitely a big part of the travel experience for me; in 30 + years of travel in the US( and a little bit outside of the US), I have encountered some great ones and some terrible ones. Before I get into that more, here are my musts for hotel beds.
#1. MATTRESS
From the hotel bed that was one step from a waterbed in Cleveland to the bed in South Carolina that felt like a wooden pallet, it is rare to encounter a bed that is just right. The Marriott in San Diego and a hotel I cannot remember the name of in Toronto are two examples of a mattress I wish I could've brought with me to every hotel I've ever stayed in. A+.
2. PILLOWS
Why are there either two or five pillows that are all the same size on every hotel bed and none of them are comfortable?
3. SHEETS
If a hotel does not have white sheets and pillowcases, I am not staying there. Not only does it let you see exactly how much they wash the sheets, but it's also a great indicator whether or not bedbugs are sharing the room with you(which is like a top five fear for my girlfriend, we will get into traveling with her later).
4. COMFORTER
Thanks to seeing the news footage of black lights and hotel comforters as a younger person, I now immediately remove it unless it's winter and I don't have a choice.
Now, let's get into the story of the worst bed I ever slept on. It was July 27th, 2003 in San Diego, California. We'd been at the zoo for most of the day and checked into a hotel that night as we were flying out the next morning from a trip to Catalina Island. When we checked in to the mildly sketchy hotel, I put my bag down and as I always do, immediately sat on the bed to test it out, and popped up like a shot because I thought I had broken my tailbone. This bed was like a concrete slab, and the pillows were not much better. We went for dinner at a local sports bar, and then back to the room to watch the forgotten Brendan Fraser movie Blast From The Past, when a sudden roaring came over our heads. Turned out we were right next to a military base and planes were taking off and landing for what seemed like most of the night. Did I mention it was my 16th birthday? Bad times.
