Excellent hotel with an even better pool.
When I travel, my primary concern is the pool. I don’t book a hotel, I book a pool that happens to have a place for me to sleep. What I want most is a clean, quiet pool that allows my giant floaties. Everything else is secondary. I could care less about the room, the other amenities, or even the town I’m staying in. For me, nine times out of ten, the pool is the vacation.
After the pool, about the only other thing I consider is whether breakfast includes one of those make-your-own waffle stations with the flippity-doo-dah waffle machine and golden malted batter. This one did.
Floating is something very special to me. I find it deeply therapeutic and relaxing. It can also feel vulnerable. These delicate beasts tend to attract attention. Most people love them, but the few who don’t can sometimes try to make trouble for me or get me kicked out. Like, “Oh no, this guy is zonked out on a giant pink sea dragon listening to Matchbox Twenty or something with headphones. Is he allowed to do that?” Yes, I’m allowed to do that. Please just leave me alone.
So for me, the golden goose of the hotel world is simple: a cool pool that allows my toys, staff who are kind to me, and a fancy waffle maker. This hotel met all of that criteria and more.
The room I slept in was very nice, clean, quiet, and well maintained. Heather at the front desk was so sweet and helpful. I truly felt safe being my weird self there. Not only did the staff not give me a hard time about the toys, Heather was actively complimenting them and talking about how cool they were, which meant a lot to me.
Before booking, I had messaged the Best Western Facebook page asking if this location allowed pool toys. Their corporate office actually called the location to confirm it for me.
What I’m really trying to say is that Best Western went above and beyond at literally every chance they had. The experience I had there was better than I could have asked for. I felt safe, relaxed, cared for, and welcome the whole time.
And believe me, it was needed.
I did not want to be in Wisconsin. I was only there because a friend of mine died young, and it’s been hard. Really hard. Best Western made it easier. Because of them, I was able to get my float therapy in and make a peaceful one-night road trip out of a bad situation.
Thank you for your kindness and compassion. It means more to me than you know.