Omaha Bound
In early April I took a trip to Omaha for work. I don’t mind travelling to Omaha, it is a pretty decent place and it’s not a bad drive up I-29 from Kansas City. I stayed at the Holiday Inn at the Ameristar Casino across the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, IA. The reason I stayed there is two-fold. I stay there because if the weather is bad I can have a decent meal in the evening without having to go outside. Also, I can accumulate IHG points while staying well within company policy on room rates.
Check-in was courteous and professional. They had already upgraded my room for being a Platinum member. They gave me the usual choice of points or amenities so I took the 500 bonus points. My room upgrade was to a room and a half. Almost like a mini-suite. A full sized hotel room with a bedroom on the side. Unfortunately my phone freaked out and I lost the pictures with the full effect. Meander #1: For some reason my phone has started locking up while taking pictures. It will go black after snapping a pic. The only way to get it working again is to take out the battery for a few seconds and then put it back in and power the phone up. Unfortunately this time it cost me a few pics that I didn’t notice until creating this post. Notice the cover for the phone laying on the coffee table.
Here are a couple salvaged room pics from the phone. Here’s the blandly decorated living area with a screen shot of the Royal’s home opener that they lost.
And here is a pic from the room overlooking the Missouri River looking towards downtown Omaha. It’s hard to see but there is a pretty decent sized homeless camp across the river from the hotel.
Room Review
The Good: The bed, the towels and the water pressure were all great. An upgraded room was also a nice touch considering the hit and miss of upgrades. I’ve found that asking if there are any upgrades available is definitely worth the time to ask the question. I’ve heard anywhere from I don’t think so to end up in a large suite once they looked. I don’t watch much TV while traveling for work but I do look to see how many channels are available. There are a ton of options in this room.
The not-so good: The lighting in the bathroom is horrible. It is so dim that you’re kind of guessing about what you are seeing in the mirror. This is the only flaw in this hotel, and I am not one that spends that much time in front of a mirror. Also, one of the two elevators in the hotel was out of service both of the nights that I was there. I’m not sure what was going on but lots of people were either working or watching what was going on with that elevator. I was on the second floor so I used the very reliable stairs to get to my room. Also the shower leaked onto the floor a little bit. Not too bad but still noticeable.
Dinner and drinks: Not too bad at the Amerisports between the hotel and the casino. They have a decent menu and beer and booze selection. I had the Sideline Salad with grilled chicken and a couple IPA’s. Not an exciting dinner but there was nothing wrong with it.
Summary
TV: There were plenty of stations to choose from on the decent size flat screens in the living and bedroom area.
Bed: The bed was very comfortable and I slept great both nights. No signs of bed bugs.
AC: Exactly what I’m looking for. Quiet and capable of making it cold in the room while I’m trying to sleep.
Shower: It leaked a little around the door but the water pressure was great and the water was hot. A good morning shower is vital in the morning for me and this one definitely passed the test.
Breakfast: Grabbed a banana and a yogurt first day and cereal w/ milk the second. Everything was fresh and made for a nice quick start to the day.
Check-out: I had a bill under my door on the first night which was a mistake. Otherwise all was OK, dropped key cards on the front desk on the way out.
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