I’ve been doing a bit of traveling lately, and last night I decided to end my day in beautiful Baton Rouge, Louisiana. After having travelled through the garden spot of Port Arthur, Baton Rouge looked like heaven, even considering the traffic jam on the rickety bridge across the Mississippi.

I picked one of my go-to hotel chains and found an affordable room at the Courtyard Marriott. Here are my thoughts on the hotel:

1. When choosing where to put a hotel, you would think that either convenient access from the interstate that runs directly behind the hotel or easy access to great food and entertainment would be considered. Honestly, in the best of worlds, you’d have both. In this case, I got neither. It took 15 minutes of slight right turns and roundabouts to get to the parking lot after I left the interstate. This parking lot is deceptively easy to miss, as it adjoins a neighboring Residence Inn and a mysterious building with neon lighting but no signage, but has no connection to them. After checking in (more on that to come), I cleaned up and searched for local cuisine to enjoy. To my disappointment, I could either walk over to the Texas Roadhouse (a fine establishment with good food, but I was hoping for something I couldn’t get in Louisville) or a drive to the nearby mall to sample their wares. I stretched my legs and got a chicken Caesar salad at the Texas Roadhouse.
2. If the location isn’t perfect, at least the staff should be friendly and helpful. The best I can say about the ladies at the front desk last night was that they were present. When they noticed that my driver’s license was from Kentucky, they asked about how cold it was up there, why I wasn’t there now, and what I was doing in Louisiana. I remarked that I was just passing through, it was 20 degrees colder in San Antonio that morning, and it was just beautiful and 75 degrees here in Baton Rouge. After being informed that “Sir, this is the South”, I was given a keycard to the room furthest from both the lobby and elevator in this half-full hotel.
3. After a long day on the road, I thought a shower would be good before getting dinner. As expected in a hotel, the water in the tub went from ‘Lapland’ to ‘Hades’, with little room in the middle for ‘survivable’. I found something on the hot side of survivable, cleaned up, and then made my way out through the fog bank that had built up because the bathroom fan was inoperative.
4. After schlepping up to my room, cleaning up, and going out for dinner, I returned to my room and prepared for bed. Being unconscious was the highlight of my stay. The mattress had lumps in just the right places for me to stretch out and get a few hours of sleep.
5. That sleep, however, was interrupted when I woke up at 4 AM to a chill and a large amount of noise. Checking the window, I found a half inch gap in the window, allowing in the cool Louisiana air and the sound of semi’s making their way down I-10. This was accentuated by the sound of wind coming from the miniature refrigerator, which I am not ashamed to say I was not brave enough to investigate. I’m having enough of an adventure, thank you very much, and I don’t need to be swept into white-trash Narnia through the dorm fridge.
6. After a couple of hours of trying to get back to sleep, I decided to just get on the road. My morning shower was, at best, tepid, as apparently all of the hot water in Louisiana had been used already. During my hose down with weak tea water, I noticed that the vinyl shower enclosure was in need of either replacement or a good scrubbing with detergent normally used to clean up crime scenes. I’m guessing housekeeping can’t use anything too harsh, as the old toothpaste used to caulk the seams would probably let go and injure someone. At least the towels were scratchy.

Overall, if you’re looking for somewhere to stay in Baton Rouge, might I suggest Alabama?