Talk about bad decision making! I made a surprise visit to this establishment after being told (rather forcefully) by someone I met, following a night of mild drinking, that I just "had to go there." Boy, if I could take that night back...
When I got there, I was met by a very rude, and abrupt staff who made it immediately clear that they were not happy to see me. After their curious, yet thorough check-in procedure, I was told to trade my shoes for their "house shoes," which turned out to be the ugliest pair of bright orange foam rubber sandals I've ever seen. This was presumably to protect their floors, though I'm not sure why as they were in fairly bad condition.
Once this was done, I was escorted to one of their waiting rooms. It must have been a slow night, as there were only a few other guests in the room. Honestly though, I was a little relieved about this, as the room was small, cold and furnished only with a few rows of hard plastic benches.
The other guests seemed like they weren't enjoying themselves, though two of them were peacefully snoring away on the floor. How they managed this, I'll never know. The one guest who was awake was friendly, though he seemed to have a bit too much energy, and was preoccupied with providing me disheartening descriptions of what I could expect from my stay there. I could have done without that part. Fortunately, there was a TV in the room, though it was on a station I never knew existed, and the programming was pretty awful.
Anyway, after several hours in there, I was taken to see the person in charge of deciding who gets to stay or go. Clearly by this point, I was uninterested in staying, and through a representative provided by the establishment, informed them I wished to leave.
By this time, I was absolutely famished. I hadn't eaten anything since the night before, and it was already approaching noon, so I could have devoured just about anything. What they gave me though, defies reason. I was handed a crumpled paper bag by another very rude staff member, and inside was a handful of stale tortilla chips, two of what I can only guess were meant to be ham salad sandwiches but failed miserably, and an orange. Thank God for that orange.
I was taken back to the waiting room, which had begun to fill up as they got their afternoon rush. Unlike the guests there when I first arrived, these ones were vibrant - albeit unpleasantly - and I spent the next three hours trying desperately not to overhear the details of a life of habitual drug use. Strangely, these guests seemed familiar and at ease, and even expressed a kind of excitement at being taken to the long term guest quarters.
Anyway, after the the longest twelve hours of my life, I was finally able to leave. Suffice it to say, I will not be returning to this establishment, and I cannot recommend it for others. Well, maybe some others... read more