Exciting times in Nottingham

Went to Nottingham yesterday to talk for 45 minutes at a seminar at the LSRI (Learning Sciences Research Institute). Presentation went well, which was a relief. The facilities were great and the feedback really helpful. Went to a local pub for dinner afterwards which was also very pleasant - things are so much nicer now there is no smoking in any pubs.

It was only after navigating my way to my hotel that the problems started. I was really pleased to have the TomTom navigation system with me. Without it I'd have been lost in all senses of the word as my hotel was right in the middle of Nottingham which has a one-way system.

Still "Jane" of the TomTom successfully got me to Goldsmiths road where the Premier inn is located. I arrived outside the hotel with no problems at about 8:15pm. However its city centre location means there are lots of double-yellow lines. Still, I left my car outside and popped in to find out how to get to the car park. It was a bit disconcerting as there were little gangs of youths hanging around - presumably revellers but hard to tell. The hotel gave me directions to the car park which were quite complex (2nd left at the lights, 1st left up the hill then into the Talbot St multistorey). I got back to the the car and headed off up the hill, finding the car park without problems (thanks in part to the fact that I remembered the directions, but also to the fact that I programmed the GPS to take me to Talbot street and good ole' Jane came up trumps again.

However at that time of night the Talbot Street car park was full. The hotel have an arrangement where you get a discount on the car park for staying in the hotel, and as I don't know the area I didn't feel like heading for another car park as I wasn't sure I'd even find the hotel again on foot.

After queueing for 30 minutes I eventually got into the car park. I followed the instructions to get out and reach the hotel. The pedestrian exit is onto (I think) Chaucer street which, at 9pm at night, was deserted and dark. You then have locate and descend several narrow, unlit flights of stairs between two tall buildings to emerge alongside the Premier hotel. As I was carrying a laptop and a handbag full of gadgets (GPS, mobile, iPod) and in the context of one of my hosts at Nottingham Uni describing being mugged the previous week (it had come up in conversation over dinner) I felt something of a mugger-magnet. However I made it to the hotel without incident. Obviously my lucky night.

But not quite.

When I got to the desk and gave my name, the receptionist said that there was no record of a booking for me and asked me for a reference number. I didn't have one, but said that the room had been paid for etc etc. She re-iterated that there was no booking for me and said that as they were fully-booked would I like her to book me a room in another hotel. As this would entail heading back up the dark steps to the car park I wasn't keen.

To cut a long story short, I hung around and suggested that she look under different names (the secretary who booked it, the head of the institute), under Nottingham University. I then asked if it was possible that somebody else could have checked in under my name. She suddenly looked thoughtful and went to an intray at the back of the reception area where she took a sheaf of papers.

What appears to have happened is that they have an express checkin service for people who have, say, faxed their details or paid in advance. All the details are filled in and they are pre-checked in. Unfortunately, this appears to mean that their details are removed from the registration system.

Anyway, half an hour of persistence paid off and I eventually got my room which was very nice.
Having arrived outside the hotel at 8:15pm, I eventually walked into my room at 9:30pm.
The staff at the hotel were very friendly and the room was fine. However the route between the carpark and the hotel feels very unsafe, and the check-in procedures seem very error prone.

I think in future I'll book my own hotels and just charge it back.