Minimum Security Hotels

C.S. Lewis once compared life on earth to a building which some residents believe is a hotel, and the rest believe is a prison. The first group thinks the place is awful, the second thinks it's not so bad, considering what it is.

Some Trip Advisor reviews remind me of this. And it always seems to be the staff that thinks the place is a prison.

This, for example. Read how a guest asks the hotelier where his dinner is -- it's been an hour and a half since he ordered. And the gracious host tells him he's "not at McDonald's."

Guest cancels his order, other people who've been waiting start clapping. Landlady throws them all out of the dining room and locks the door, screams at them to go to their rooms and not talk to anyone. Hotelier threatens to call the police.

Okay . . .

Oh, and the guest gets charged for the meal he canceled.

This is mild compared to that:

The lady who answered the room service actually recommended I order a pizza from a small place in town. Strange recommendation from someone running room service, but I was appreciative of the honesty.