So if you’ve known me for, oh say, an hour or so you will know how I feel about the beds they have at the Doubletree hotels.
We started staying regularly at the Doubletree when I started directing the Mrs. Oklahoma International pageant. The Mrs. International Pageant is held every July at the Northshore Performing Arts Center in Skokie and the host hotel is the Skokie Doubletree.
A couple of years ago, we got a new bed. We decided on memory foam because David and I had done a mystery shop on the Sleep Number bed and had the same sleep number. So that didn’t seem like the bed we should get. I was so looking forward to the memory foam.
That lasted for one night sleeping on it. It hurt me. Seriously, it’s like sleeping on a brick in my opinion. I feel bruised (on my collarbone!) some mornings when I wake up. David likes it and can’t see what I’m complaining about.
Shortly after we got the memory foam bed, it was pageant time. I got to Chicago, slept one night on the Sweet Dreams® bed at the Doubletree. I called David the next day and told him it was SO heavenly. He wrote it off to the fact that we had just driven 12 hours to get to Chicago and I was extra tired. I told him he was wrong.
I was waxing rhapsodic about the bed the next day and the bellman, John, said, “You know you can buy one for your house?” Oh! I can????? He gave me the web address and I looked at it and began my campaign for the Doubletree mattress of my own.
David’s argument was that we had just spent quite a bit of money on the memory foam mattress that was a mere 30 days old.
I added a second pillow top to the existing pillow top.
Another year went by, I went to Chicago, and asked David for the Doubletree bed with renewed ferver.
David reminded me that the memory foam was only a year old.
I added a feather bed.
There was now so much stuff on top of the mattress to try and make it soft that I could barely get the sheets down over the corners. I felt like the Princess and the Pea.
David was out of the country for six months. He recently came back and had meetings in Little Rock. Although they had arranged a hotel for him, we decided that if we could get Boo Boo into Doc Davis’ Doggy Sleep Away Camp a day early, we’d go over and stay a night at the Doubletree.
We got Boo in and I made my reservation, using my Hilton Honors points. I requested an Executive Queen room and prepared for our trip. I was ridiculously excited to go and be just David and me in Little Rock, a place I’d never been before. The highlight, of course, sleeping on the fabu Doubletree bed.
I tweeted about it as I tweet about everything. I couldn’t contain my excitement about the visit to the Doubletree in Little Rock. In a little bit, I started receiving tweets from @doubletreelr. I didn’t even know they had a twitter account.
She asked if I wanted a city or river view. I didn’t even care. As long as there was a bed in the room, I was going to be happy. Then she asked and offered eating and sightseeing recommendations. Wowza! Seriously, I was beyond impressed. On any visit to the Doubletree, I’m just so happy to sleep on the bed that the free cookie seems like the max in great customer service.
We got to Little Rock after dark.
When we opened the door to our room, I saw a staircase. What?!?!
I had seen this room online when I was choosing which room we wanted to book and I knew it was a double story suite. Holy moly!
It was amazing. There was a gift basket on the table. David said, well this room comes with a gift basket. He went to look at it and was surprised that the gift basket had my name on it.
As we explored the gorgeous suite, David said, “Wow, I think I need to travel with you more often.” That made me smile. 🙂
The suite overlooked the river which was awesome. As you know, the one thing I miss about living in Florida or Chicago is the water.
But the highlight of the room was most certainly the awesome Doubletree bed!
We wandered down the street for dinner because the hotel restaurant had a 45 minute wait. Â I loved the downtown at night. Everything was dressed up for Christmas.
The next morning, we had breakfast in the hotel. I had some fabu pancakes because you know, no road trip is complete without pancakes!
We then wandered around the downtown again, visiting the Old State House Museum before leaving for the next hotel, also a Hilton Hotel but not the Doubletree.
Many, many thanks to Mary Speed, Guest Services Manager for this amazing surprise and fabulous experience. I talked to the staff at the hotel and they love Mary. So, as well as having amazing beds, it’s clear that the Doubletree Little Rock is a great place to work.
I can’t wait for the next time we can go to Little Rock and stay in the Doubletree. If they were pet friendly, we’d be there every time!
P.S. As soon as I know we are going to be here long enough to receive it, I’m getting my own Doubletree bed for our house! I finally convinced David! 🙂
It made me mad. To my way of thinking, that non-smoking hotel should be more concerned about the woman on the first floor who had taken her screen out of the window and was sitting in it smoking. Or emptying the many overflowing garbage cans (click the word disgusting above for photos) throughout the property.  Or maybe even about the other dogs that were barking endlessly. But Boo Boo? Boo was the least of her concerns.
