CALLAWAY GARDENS-A ROSE WITH THORNS

Hello all! It has been awhile since I have posted but we have been on the road again. A lot!! But I have to get this particular issue out of my system now so I can let go of it.

My better half had wanted to visit Callaway Gardens in Georgia for a very long time. So since I had to burn a vacation day before August 1st, the decision was made to take last Friday off and travel south. I booked a two night stay at the Mountain Creek Inn, the least expensive accomodations onsite at Callaway. Still, with taxes, the total for two nights was almost three hundred dollars. I used the official website of Callaway Gardens and selcted my garden package of a standard kingsize bed. You had the choice of picking a kingsize bed or two doubles and since my spouse is 6'3", 'nuff said.

We arrived at Calloway before 3:30 in the afternoon and politely waited in line to be checked in. The young woman behind the counter cracked not one smile at us. I handed her the internet printout with our confirmation number and was told there were no more more kingsize beds available. Thereby insued a conversation about the fact that I had booked a kingsize bed over two months prior. I was then informed that room types were "requests" not guarenteed. I explained that I had been given the choice on the web site and had selcted the king. The only answer I got was that there were "no king beds available".

At this point, the spouse got involved by asking what could they upgrade us to. The answer he received was "Two beds.". Hubby literally stepped back from the counter because he knew what was coming.

I informed the young woman behind the counter that this was totally unacceptable and she would be refunding the almost $ 150.00 I had already paid for one night on my Visa. She then disappeard into the back only to return with a manager who seemed just as personable as the desk clerk. She did, however, refund the deposit I had paid in advance.

The upshot of it all....I should have read the reviews before I booked this hotel. I did read them the day before we left. Among other things, the unfriendliness of the desk staff and the fact that the "free wireless access" was only available in the lobby-to have it in your room was about $10.00 per 24 hour period. Also, there were multiple comments about there were nothing special about these rooms, nice enough but just standard hotels rooms.

We decided to drive over to LaGrange, GA, to see if we could find a place to stay. What we found was a delightful little main street with restaurants, antique shops and a fairly new Regal cinema. The Corvette C5 was slotted in a shady parking slot and the first shop was investigated. I snagged a beautiful pair of white greyhound statues. (I promise I will get pix in the next posting!) The store clerk was very friendly and helpful when I asked for any hotels in the area. Turns out there was a mall less than five minutes away with all the surrounding chain hotels and restaurants you expect to see.

We checked into a Comfort Inn, got the AARP rate, and were given a nice kingsize suite with free in-room wireless, a fridge and microwave (I forgot to mention that a fridge was extra at the Mountain Creek Inn), with taxes was almost half the price of the Callaway hotel). When suppertime arrived, we went back to Main Str. in LaGrange and were seated at an intimate Italian restaurant called Venucci's. The wait staff were very personable and everyone greeted us as we were shown to our table. The food was fabulous and the whole experience helped to purge the bad taste left in our mouths by the staff at the Mountain Creek Inn at Callaway Gardens.

We paid for Gardens admission the next day ($30 for two) which added with Comfort Inn bill was still one third less than one night at the Callaway hotels. We very much enjoyed touring the gardens (I will have pix ready soon). After we had seen all we wanted to see, we had lunch at the Country Store restaurant at Callaway, then turned the C5's towards home.

Final thoughts on this destination are.....stay offsite unless you just have to have the snob appeal of staying onsite at Callaway. The gardens are worth the admission but unless you are into hiking, biking, or golfing, you can see everything in one day. The food was very good at the Country Store resturant but some onsite fooderies were pricey and had dress codes.

I think we can safely say, been there, done that. But if we travel that far south on I-85 again, I definitely want to visit downtown LaGrange, Georgia, again!