Mar 22 2008
Good Wireless
I just love a hotel with good wireless Internet! I am currently lying on my hotel bed at the SpringHill Suites in Knoxville, Tennessee. The nice thing - other than the good food and Borders Books nearby, is that I have full a full strength wireless connection. Most of the time, even in very high end hotels, I either have to sit at the cramped little desk and plug into an Ethernet connection or I have to do some strange gyration to get a wireless signal. You know those odd body positions that hearken back to the days of trying to get a signal with the old rabbit ears on the TV? One time I finally had to give up and sit in the lobby of the hotel to do my work. Another time I totally gave up and used the hotel’s public station. I really hate that for security reasons.
But the hotel I am at this evening is wonderful. Full and fast access from anywhere in the room. And yes, I even tested it in the bathroom - not that I am going to take the laptop in the tub or anything!
I really wish more hotels would come up to speed like this. I would gladly sacrifice the television with 60 channels of absolute junk for a good Internet connection. These days I think most of the business people who travel would think about the same thing. Of course with kids around the television is a necessary evil, but as they are getting older even they want a good connection in the room.
Had any good or bad experiences with trying to get an Internet connection while traveling? I would love to hear them. Did you end up in the local library or Starbucks? Does this type of thing figure into the picture when you are planning where to stay?
I loove good wireless while traveling! I spent a few days in Atlantic City at one of the big casino/hotels and internet access was $10 a day! Completely outrageous, but my bf and I broke down and paid for it because we had to check bank balances, ebay auctions, etc (aka, we can’t live without the internet). It was funny because while driving to the hotel, we saw smaller hotels and motels that didn’t have casinos, but were within walking distance of the big casinos, that offered free wi-fi. Next time around, we’ll be taking that route!
On our last big trip, we went to the Dominican Republic and the resort we stayed at (simply amazing, we’re going back this summer) offered free wifi in the lobby (which was beautiful, open air, etc), and even had two fully loaded Dell laptops for use for those who didn’t bring laptops. We brought one of our laptops, but it was nice to be able to both check our email at the same time, not having to wait for the other was done. If I am correct, the resort had plans to offer free wifi to the rooms as well.
I’m with you, I’d give up the stupid TV for internet access, most of the channels suck either way! While in AC, we hardly turned on the tv, instead opting for Netflix “Watch Instantly.”
I prefer hotels that have wired ethernet near the desk or someplace. I travel with my own wireless accesspoint that I like to hook into their ethernet. Then I can better secure the wireless signal. It also means I can use more than one notebook without having to pay an extra fee.
Cromely’s last blog post..IPS
@Chickpea - Totally agree. The Netflix thing sounds cool though I rarely watch movies when I travel. If I am flying for a long time I will copy movies to my iPod for the trip.
@Cromely - What type of AP are you traveling with? I have thought about doing that. The best thing about that hotel though was that it had both wired and wireless. Life is good!
Now about this very cold weather and snow flurries in Nashville . . . ugh!
Me too. Usually I have to drop in to the local Starbucks - which is ok.
The Starbucks are usually a nice place to spend a few hours.
WiFi is going to be particularly important for me if I am going to be completely off the grid ! -