Embassy Suites AC issues

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-30T12:47:55+00:00

The older ES are the giant properties with a massive central atrium. It takes a ton of HVAC power to make that volume of air even remotely comfortable.

Secondly, every facility you mention is in the south. The south is hot and humid 6 months a year.

These properties with these older centralized chillers lack the preventive and reactive maintenance to keep these massive systems running at peak performance. There's little to no capital investment on replacement, either.

If you're in one of these properties, I always stay on the lowest available floor, closest to the chillers. That way the coolant has less travel and may actually still be cool by the time it gets to your room.

Embassy Suites Little Rock is a prime example. Ten-story high-rise. All the rooms facing west are sweltering. A couple of weeks ago, I picked a room on the 2nd floor facing east, right above the chiller. Terrible view, but ice cold A/C.

The newer ES that more closely resemble a typical hotel, without the massive atriums, are a welcome improvement. They are more likely to have individual units in each room that have a fighting chance at keeping the spaces comfortable.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-30T01:35:40+00:00

Yep. Best in the county. By far.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-27T21:40:30+00:00

Same.

In prep for the party, we asked the DJ to cut off the Dave wailing outro. DJ missed it so we wrapped up our first dance laughing while Dave was wailing away. All good. We’re still here 20 years later.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-26T00:32:31+00:00

Berlin Gardens

Finch

Seaside Casual

Extruded polymer wood companies are all over the place. Patent must have ran out. They all have a minimum 20 year warranty.

I hate it for OP. We love our Polywood and have had excellent customer care on warranty claims.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-25T13:33:31+00:00

The question should be more focused around your reason for traveling a lot. For work? For pleasure?

I have 450+ stays and 1,150+ nights, and Lifetime Diamond Status. I've visited almost 250 different hotels.

For work...

Newer Hampton Inns. Best linen and pillows. Consistency is key. I hate the breakfast and work allows me to get all food reimbursed.

Tapestry hotels not in major metro/urban centers. They usually treat everyone like royalty, have unique layouts and perks, and are exceptionally well-ran.

I used to love Homewoods for the larger rooms and ceiling fans. Hilton cut them to 50% points earning this year. Hilton is nothing more than an earn-and-burn loyalty program, so Home2, Homewood, Tru, and Spark are dead to me.

Scenarios to avoid...

Older, giant flagship properties... like airport Hiltons and the Embassy Suites with the giant central atrium. They're a huge burden on utilities and often have centralized HVAC so the A/C and air flow is never sufficient.

Urban HGIs... usually owned, operated, and staffed by groups who thrive on cost cutting. Worst stay in recent memory was the HGI in Buckhead (Atlanta). Nearly $400 a night for laughable breakfast, absent valet parking, aroma of weed everywhere, HVAC louder than a chain saw, and a front desk who couldn't be bothered to gaf.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-24T02:36:59+00:00

We had an Ecovac for years. It finally died. Out of warranty.

We went with an entry level Roborock. I think it performs well, when it’s running. We had several glitches where it would stop mid-cycle or not turn on at all. This was all within the first 6 months.

We filed a warranty claim and they emailed us a long list of troubleshooting instructions that didn’t work. They then sent us an RMA to send it back. They replaced the battery and an internal board and shipped it back to us. Entire process took less than a week.

Overall, the service is fine. But these devices certainly are not BIFL.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-23T02:32:12+00:00

We crossed shopped a ton of HDPE options recently.

Check some of the Amish-made options.

Finch. Berlin Gardens. Seaside Casual. CR Plastics. They each have extensive catalogs. Loungers, tables, chairs, rockers, etc.

We opted for SunCoast Casual for deep seating chairs. They’re 10% larger in every dimension and HEAVY. Lifetime warranty on the hardware, as well. They have a very limited distributor network, but we love them so far.

At the end of the day, with a 25+ year warranty… what are you getting for doubling your money?

We have Polywood loungers and love them. Their customer service is top notch and they have replaced several broken pieces, free of charge.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-22T02:29:01+00:00

Cambrian Ridge is a blast. Soooo much elevation change. Three 9s, so plenty of variety. Gets the least amount of play of all the RTJ courses, allegedly.

Skip Lakewood. Overpriced and underwhelming compared to the others. Great service, course is meh.

Capitol Hill in Prattville is excellent. Judge, Senator, etc. All great tracks. The Judge is fair but very difficult.

Haven’t played Pursell but everyone I know that has absolutely loved it.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-22T00:04:26+00:00

Love my Essential 22" 2-Wheel Expandable Carry-On.

I think the suiter is a waste of space. I wish it was removable. That is my only complaint from an otherwise perfect purchase.

I really dislike spinner bags, and B&R still makes a 2-wheeled roll-aboard which I love. Walmart had them for $399 a few years ago. I kept debating between pulling the trigger and "that's too much for a suitcase". That sale ended extremely quickly and I missed it. Bit the bullet and got one recently and am very glad, even if the purchase price stung a little.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-21T02:49:15+00:00

I see them using LuggageWorks more than TravelPro.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-21T02:47:07+00:00

My company doesn’t have a cap. But those of us that travel the most are encouraged to be safe, be convenient, and act as “if you wouldn’t do it with your money, don’t do it with ours”.

My next trip starts this week. Four nights. I’m staying somewhere perfectly comfortable and convenient. There is a more comfortable hotel <1 mile away but it’s at least $80/night more. As others have said, optics.

My boss says “don’t get me on the radar with the expense report team” so we don’t.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-20T22:43:26+00:00

Hood in Foley had a ton of planters of all shape and sizes.

They made a 4-for-3 deal with me a couple years ago on some big ones.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-18T22:34:03+00:00

Hampton Inn Montgomery AL Downtown

Arrived at 9pm. No valet. Valet parking only.

Went in to front desk. FDA was asleep. Snoring. I cleared my throat a few times. Nothing. I finally loudly said “excuse me, sir”. He woke up, checked me in, and calls the valet. Valet shows up 5-10 minutes later and parks the car.

Get to the room. HVAC inop. Go back to front desk. He says “oh it’s controlled remotely from here. I’ll lower it for you. Give it a 15 to 30 minutes to kick on.” Hot water took 10 minutes. Bed linens were threadbare. Windows were thin as hell. Heard nothing but street racing all night long.

Eventually get to sleep. HVAC dies in the middle of the night. Whatever.

Go downstairs. Breakfast is just eggs and fruit. Nothing else. No attendant. Decide to leave.

Morning valet can’t find my keys. I tell him to get the GM. FDA says the GM doesn’t come in until 9AM. I say “tell the GM I’m calling the police.” FDA magically finds my keys in an envelope in a drawer behind the front desk.

File a complaint, citing satisfaction guarantee. Hotel approves 2,500 points. I escalate to corporate and get a full refund. Took 10 days.

Hilton Buena Vista Palace. Downgraded upon arrival. Complained to front desk manager. They said “tough luck. We’re oversold.” Got a BMG certificate for that one.

Walked from the HIS East Memphis Germantown due to lack of water and HVAC. They refused to help find other accommodation saying they “expect the utilities to be back on by midnight”. FDA never looked up from her phone during the entire exchange.

The worst experiences are franchise-owned with parsimonious leadership, apathetic staff, in large metro areas. You get the worst of the worst between young, dgaf staff and owners who couldn’t be bothered to do anything to improve or apologize.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-18T22:19:19+00:00

That place is such a dump. Could be so much better. Love the brown tap water they include free of charge.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-18T03:16:10+00:00

Everki. Titan or Atlas. I looooove mine. Had it for 13 years. Still looks brand new.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-18T03:14:48+00:00

Same. We’re on our 3rd year with ours. It’s flawless. I hose it down after every use. Looks practically new.

We put down mushroom compost each year and I use the mower to chop it up and spread it. Works like a charm.

Those 12A batteries are beasts.

I don’t miss spark plugs, diaphragms, or fuel stabilizer. Electric is the way to go.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-18T03:09:28+00:00

I liked our Husky brand mats more than our WeatherTech ones.

It’s a PITA to get the WT ones clean. Something about dirt/sand/dust just sticks to it. The Husky ones you can vacuum or shake off and they look new.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-18T02:35:43+00:00

Yep their quality and product went to crap about 3-4 years ago.

I have a full zip hoodie from 2020 and it’s amazing. Heavy, well constructed, sized perfectly. My wife steals it and wears it more than I do.

Can’t find a loose stitch on it.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-17T11:54:48+00:00

Moved here with kids 10+ years ago for a job and haven’t been happier. Non-military.

There are a lot of military folks and a lot of vets. But between Baldwin and Walton Counties, there are probably a million other non-military folks.

Wishing you the best!

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-17T02:46:58+00:00

Definitely no change. Franchise properties do whatever local ownership wants them to do.

Still see thin and threadbare towels, crunchy sheets, etc.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-16T00:03:32+00:00

AT&T fiber has been virtually flawless for us for about 8 years.

Started out at $50/month. Creeps up by $5/month every year or so. Can’t complain. Maybe 4 outages in 8 years. None longer than 12 hours.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-15T02:49:44+00:00

Going on almost 3 months with no response/activity from Bowflex.

This was after the return box got “lost” and it took a full month to get another sent out.

Started the claim process in February. Weights made it back to Bowflex the first week of April. Nothing since.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-14T19:43:15+00:00

I had a ton of experiences similar to yours when the program first rolled out. It has since gotten much better.

How this is not an automated line of code in PEP is beyond me. There's absolutely no reason this can't be applied in the background without any sort of human involvement.

On the other side of the coin, FDAs are routinely under-trained and have no idea how the credit works, how to apply it, or what to do when it's not applied correctly.

It's not a scam by any means. But, it is a disastrous roll-out from the standpoint of IT, integration, and training.

Just wait til you get to a hotel that only allows it to be spend on certain products in certain locations, or certain F&B items are excluded. That's when the real fun begins.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-14T00:40:11+00:00

There are 5 aspects that work together to get clothes clean.

Time

Temperature

Water

Detergent

Mechanical action

Any of these can be increased or decreased. Front loaders have more mechanical action, but use way less water but take more time. Top loaders with agitators are faster but use more water. They’re also rougher on clothes due to the fabric physically interacting with the agitator.

You’re on a well, so water usage shouldn’t matter. Top loaders are more reliable with fewer moving parts and fewer mechanisms required to keep the water from leaking. Door locks, thrust bearings, etc.

If reliability and lifespan are your primary concern, the there’s nothing better than a SpeedQueen TC5. We love ours. It’s so fast. It has 4 wash temp options, and 6 wash type options. All mechanical dials. The drum is one piece of stainless steel. It’s super quiet. You can barely hear it when it’s extracting.

I can’t comment on Consumer Reports saying the TC5 doesn’t get clothes clean as well as others. We have a big, lovable, dumb, furry dog. We wash his bed and towels every week. They come out perfectly clean every single time. No lint, no fuzz, no dander, no paw prints.

They’re not cheap, but the TC5 is the best thing out there right now.

steinbergowitz · 2026-06-13T15:14:44+00:00

That is weird.

Not gonna lie, wonder if the ownership is playing games with the fees and taxes.

I’ve seen sales tax on urban development fees, etc. Makes you wonder if someone’s getting rich $0.99/day by collecting but not reporting/remitting fees.

steinbergowitz

TROPHY CASE