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LA QUINTA
INN AND SUITES JACKSON, AIRPORT Pearl, Mississippi Reviewed by Patrick Killough review
title: La
Quinta Inns and Suites appeal
by aohcapablanca,
Feb 07 '12more and more to my wife and me Review text: It was Saturday February 4th, 2012 not long past 5:00 p.m. After over 500 miles daytime driving from our mountains in Western North Carolina, at times through vigorous rain showers, my wife and I had met our goal of reaching Jackson, Mississippi in broad daylight. We do not happily drive long distances after dark. In passing: I was born in Jackson in 1935 but have not lived there since age one. I always go down memory lane (drawing on old photo albums) whenever passing through. From among four hotels/motels listed for Pearl in a discount pamphlet that we picked up from the security booth at a Mississippi rest area, my wife and I chose La Quinta. Pearl is an eastern suburb of state capital Jackson and plays host to the Jackson airport. This coupon in hand, for $59 we spent one night at the Airport La Quinta, one in a motel chain whose value has just risen with us by a quantum leap. If she said it once, my wife said it eight or nine times from the time we stepped into the lobby until we went to bed a few hours later: "This place looks brand new!" She added: "There is not a scuff mark anywhere, the rugs look virtually unused." When we asked the tall friendly, basketball-playing young woman on evening duty at the reception desk, we learned that the La Quinta Inn and Suites at Jackson Airport had been built in 2000 and renovated in 2006. The staffer added: "They keep this place in really good shape." Indeed they do. For a fact. The topic of basketball had come up when we asked for suggestions of a place to eat and the statuesque, physically fit staffer suggested nearby Los Parrilleros tex mex grill. She had celebrated there the night before after her sister's team victory in basketball. Later in comparing notes with our hostess for the night, all three of us agreed that the food was good, the service less so, because, inter alia, of the enthusiastic but weak-in-English wait staff. I learned that la parrilla is Spanish or maybe just Argentinean for a barbecue grill. I am always happy to learn new words. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Our discounted $59 rented us for the night smoke-free, ground level Room 120. That was an easy stroll from La Quinta's front door whence we hauled in a few bags, pillows and other traveling impedimenta on a very durable but the lightest weight and most maneuverable baggage cart that I can recall. Awaiting us we found a king size bed with firm mattress top sitting nearly a yard above the checkered beige rug. Hurrah, say I, for Room 120's good firm mattress and for pillows not so big as to make me reach for my mini that I had brought from home. I set up my MAC laptop computer on the kidney-shaped work table with easy, intuitive access to Wi-Fi. Our picture window looked out across ten feet of still green grass at the seasonally deserted outdoor swimming pool. My wife commandeered for reading one end of a comfortable couch that shared a bedtable lamp with her spot on the bed -- a large but not a sleep-- couch that can seat three adults. In front of it was a low table atop which I spread my overnight bag. The four handsome art deco/neo-Swedish table lamps spread their three switchable degrees of light evenly enough around the room. The 27 inch flat screen TV worked well. We had no need of the four drawers for storing clothes. The wall-penetrating A/C-Heating unit looked, as did everything else, brand new. It proved quiet, effective and easily tuned. The ample closet with iron and ironing board was just left of the A/C unit. Have I made the living area of Room 120 sound LARGE? Well, it is. We had space to do our yoga, tai chi and other exercises without bumping into each other. Large tub with showerhead and toilet were in a tiled bathroom. A warning sign on the outside of the door said: "Watch your step on floor and bathtub.
Soft water here."
And soft that water was! You come out feeling downright sleek -- or is le mot juste plain old "slick?" Curiously, I was invited to shave outside and across the room's entry hall from the bathroom. I was standing on the rug without even a bath mat! I dared myself not to splash. The built-in metal stopper worked well, not always the case in American motels. ==-=-=-=-=-= At 6:00 a.m. next morning my wife and I went for breakfast just off the lobby. We were the first guests there. Ambience was bright and cheery. There were eight well spaced and arranged comfortable tables: four for four eaters and four for only two. I can imagine that room becoming ultra-crowded should all guests arrive at once. My wife enthused over availability of fresh apples and bananas, cold hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, DIY Belgian waffles and four kinds of eat-in-the-box dry cereals, also apple juice and orange juice, to hit the highlights. The daytime woman staffer on duty behind the reception desk also did double duty in the breakfast room. The two reception desk staffers were the only employees that we ever laid eyes on. There did not appear to be many guests. But if there were ever so many as 60 or 70 guests at La Quinta on the same night, that size staff would not not be enough, I fear. We were mildly surprised that our bill was not slipped under our door during the evening. Nonetheless checking in and checking out went quickly, though we were not the only people checking in. At 7:15 a. m. we set off refreshed for our final 400 - plus miles to north Dallas, Texas and a few days visit to our enrepreneurial younger son, his wife and their two young daughters. Thank you, La Quinta in Pearl, Mississippi! We shall return. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Final thoughts: During my seven decades of travels I have
been vaguely aware of La Quinta Inns for thirty years and more. I think
I first noticed the arresting La Quinta logo in Oklahoma. The
standardized building designs also stay in my memory. But seldom have
I, either alone or with my wife, chosen to stay at La Quintas. We
thought, no doubt erroneously, that La Quintas were not as
bourgeois as they might be. My wife of going on five decades collects
frequent user, loyalty,
financial discount (or whatever you call them) cards at every place we
stay in our travels. And when she dug out her La Quinta card, our
listed address was eight years out of date! So, it has been a while,
dear La Quinta!
For some reason the La Quinta Inn and Suites in Pearl, home of Jackson, Mississippi's airport, stood out among the four listings for Pearl in a discount booklet at the border. Two offerings went for $59, two for $49. What struck me about La Quinta Inn was that it was on the other side of I-20 from the airport. In addition, the advertised outdoor pool meant that we would hear no noise in February from frolicking, merrily splashing youngsters -- although it turned out to be a warm (70 degrees F) evening when we arrived. But I digress. My point is that something clicked in my aged brain and imagination about this particular La Quinta, starting with my wife's obvious and never waning enthusiasm for its seeming newness. Mentally, I have, therefore, advanced the La Quinta brand right up to the top of my preferred motel list. Next time we need an overnight resting place, we shall first look for a La Quinta. -OOO- Pros: Perfect bed. Spic and span throughout, everything like new. Quiet. Ample free breakfast Cons: Understaffed? Only eight tables and 24 tables in breakast dining room. The Bottom Line: Spending time in or near Jackson, Mississippi? Then suburban Pearl's La Quinta Inn will give you everything you want: quiet location just off I-20. Large clean rooms. Grand breakfast. Overall Product Rating: * * * * * recommended: yes. http://www.epinions.com/reviews/pr-Hotels_Resorts-La_Quinta_Inn_And_Suites _Jackson_Airport_Pearl/skp_~1/search_string_~la%2520quinta%2520inn%2520 -%2520pearl%252C%2520mississippi htttp://www.patrickkillough.com/ethics/laquinta_pearl.html |