Bent Corner

On our final night on vacation, we stayed in a hotel close to the Burbank airport. Our flight back to the Dulles airport was at 8am. That meant we had to be at at airport no later then 6am. We figured it would be a lot easier to simply stay in a hotel near the airport, preferably one with a shuttle service to the airport.

We thought we had one when we reserved a room at the Holiday Inn Burbank-Media Center. We were wrong.

We checked in at around 4pm. We decided to go up to our room and drop off our luggage and then go return the rental car. When we went back downstairs to the parking lot, we found out that we had to pay $5 when leaving the “free” parking lot. Even though it states on the website for the Holiday Inn Burbank-Media Center is free, it’s not.

We dropped off the rental car and then took the car rental shuttle to the airport. From there we rode the Holiday Inn shuttle back to the hotel. When we got back to the room, I started to notice how dumpy the room was.

Take a look at the art that was screwed down to the wall over the bed. That’s not just some kind of fancy artwork. It’s mold.

What a dump.

Even though the hotel is advertised as having a free shuttle to the airport, it doesn’t make it’s first run until 6:30am. Since we had to be at the airport no latter then 6am, we had to take a cab. Parked in front of the hotel were a few taxis. When I told the driver of the first taxi where we wanted to go, he told me he would take us if we agreed to pay a flat-fee of $20. The Burbank airport is only a three mile ride from the hotel. It’s not like I had much of a choice. Since the Holiday Inn chooses not to start the shuttle service until 6:30am, the taxi operators know that they have people over a barrel. I guess I should be glad he didn’t demand $50.

You think that when you go online and look for a hotel near the Burbank airport and the first result you get is a Holiday Inn that claims it has free parking and a free shuttle service to the airport, it will in fact have those things.

Do yourself a favor and avoid the Holiday Inn Burbank-Media Center.

Sheri and I are driving down to Dulles this morning to catch a flight out to southern California to visit my family. It’s been far too long since I’ve been home. We will be out there for a week.

We are flying on jetBlue. I’ve never flown them, but I’ve heard nice things about them. They have a TV built into the back of each seat. Not only do they show movies, they offer Direct TV along with XM satellite radio. An added plus is that they fly into Burbank Bob Hope airport and not Los Angeles International (LAX). (more…)