The time is fast approaching when we will be parting company with The Carlyle. As most of you know, change is very difficult for the male of the species.
I am no exception to that rule.
Somehow our contractor, Maher (Mike) Safa, fell under the spell of Jane and is way ahead of schedule. While it is too fast for me, I fear it is moving at a snail's pace for Jane. More about Mike in another blog, so let's return to The Carlyle.
One thing in particular has baffled and bothered us since the very first day. That is the riddle of the missing toilet paper. Keeping in mind that this is a delicate subject, I hope that this does not upset or offend anyone.
No roll of toilet paper EVER approaches the end! Most of us were brought up in a world where the rules of science prevailed:
- "What goes up must come down."
- "Every roll comes to and end."
One of the joys of life here at the hotel is the number of people whose sole purpose in life seems to make us feel welcome. They do that job to perfection. When you step out of your apartment (yes, in this world we occupy an apartment), you encounter the elevator operator (with white gloves) who welcomes you, asks how you are, and announces that you have arrived at the lobby. A lot of information and chatter going down from the fifth floor. Of course when you exit, you are wished a "good day."
The trip from the elevator through the lobby and out the revolving doors requires responding to greetings from other staff and executive members of the "Carlyle Team." By the time you pass through the revolving doors, you are in a Carlyle Frame of Mind and ready to face the outer world.
I have found out that The Team is a large one consisting of 325 members and 75 Executives for a total of 400 folks dedicated to making life easier for the guests. The average years of service is 15. The number of guests fluctuates, but there are 187 rooms and 52 private residences. The latter comprises people who use The Carlyle as their primary residence or secondary (or more) home.
So far in our short time here, I feel like we have gone from the guest category to being a private resident. That will be short lived when we transition back to life away from The Carlyle.
I have found two major areas where The Carlyle has not stepped into the 21st Century. One deals with a reliable WiFi connection to the Internet and the second with cable TV.
When we first arrived, the WiFi connection only measured two bars. Before we really had a chance to complain, two workmen appeared at our door to announce that they were in the process of installing new wires to improve the WiFi reception. Improve it they did, but solve it completely they didn't. A major problem still remains. Trying to download a video or view a program results in a continuous process of buffering. This makes it impossible to view anything.
The problem with cable TV seems to be familiar to all of us who use this service. The provider is slow to react and has no sense of urgency to find a solution to the problem. Living in this city, we chose to go with RCN a smaller and hungrier competitor to Time Warner. Yes, we have run into problems with them, but their response time is faster than we are experiencing at The Carlyle. It has been days since the problem with the "on-demand" services was reported and still no service.
I am sure that the hotel will solve these problems quickly as they want to remain competitive with other hotels of similar stature. As a matter of fact there is another hotel across the street that was recently renovated and has all the electronics that even a "Geek" would want. When we were doing our research to select a hotel, I was salivating when shown all the electronic gadgetry. When it came to a vote, my one vote lost to Jane's 1 1/2 votes.
I am glad that I lost!
With the holidays coming up and our daughter and Granddaughter coming to share the Carlyle experience with us this week, there will be a delay in the next chapter of our adventures. So please hang in there as I will be cluttering up your inbox before you know it.
The trip from the elevator through the lobby and out the revolving doors requires responding to greetings from other staff and executive members of the "Carlyle Team." By the time you pass through the revolving doors, you are in a Carlyle Frame of Mind and ready to face the outer world.
I have found out that The Team is a large one consisting of 325 members and 75 Executives for a total of 400 folks dedicated to making life easier for the guests. The average years of service is 15. The number of guests fluctuates, but there are 187 rooms and 52 private residences. The latter comprises people who use The Carlyle as their primary residence or secondary (or more) home.
So far in our short time here, I feel like we have gone from the guest category to being a private resident. That will be short lived when we transition back to life away from The Carlyle.
I have found two major areas where The Carlyle has not stepped into the 21st Century. One deals with a reliable WiFi connection to the Internet and the second with cable TV.
When we first arrived, the WiFi connection only measured two bars. Before we really had a chance to complain, two workmen appeared at our door to announce that they were in the process of installing new wires to improve the WiFi reception. Improve it they did, but solve it completely they didn't. A major problem still remains. Trying to download a video or view a program results in a continuous process of buffering. This makes it impossible to view anything.
The problem with cable TV seems to be familiar to all of us who use this service. The provider is slow to react and has no sense of urgency to find a solution to the problem. Living in this city, we chose to go with RCN a smaller and hungrier competitor to Time Warner. Yes, we have run into problems with them, but their response time is faster than we are experiencing at The Carlyle. It has been days since the problem with the "on-demand" services was reported and still no service.
I am sure that the hotel will solve these problems quickly as they want to remain competitive with other hotels of similar stature. As a matter of fact there is another hotel across the street that was recently renovated and has all the electronics that even a "Geek" would want. When we were doing our research to select a hotel, I was salivating when shown all the electronic gadgetry. When it came to a vote, my one vote lost to Jane's 1 1/2 votes.
I am glad that I lost!
With the holidays coming up and our daughter and Granddaughter coming to share the Carlyle experience with us this week, there will be a delay in the next chapter of our adventures. So please hang in there as I will be cluttering up your inbox before you know it.
Larry: I love the saga of the Riddle of the Missing Toilet Paper which is destined to remain shrouded in mystery forever as one of the great . mysteries of life akin to the age old Riddle of the Sphinx.
ReplyDeleteRemember, a woman's charm like Jane's can launch a thousand ships so why shouldn't one mere contractor fall under her spell. Remember she can cast 1-1/2 votes in a family of two.
So, it is with sadness that you bid farewell to the lovely isle of Caryle to return in your dreams.
Great blog entry!!!!!! How about more after you come home. I vote affirmative.
I'm sure it is mostly due to the way I dress but the elevator men didn't make me feel all that welcome. It felt like they looked down at me. The rest of the team were great.
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