Christopher L.
Yelp
I made my first visit to the Nittany Lion yesterday. It will be my last. If I land the client I was in town to meet with, I will be staying elsewhere on those trips.
First, the good: Most of the staff there is tremendous. From the young men working the front door to the check-in staff and most other staff I encountered, they were super friendly and helpful. The accommodations were beautiful and spacious. Five stars there, too. I got a king suite with a living room, which gave me all the space I needed to rest, relax, read, and prepare for this morning's business meeting ten minutes away. The location is likely perfect for 99.99 percent of the people who stay there but, in retrospect, I don't really want to be on a college campus. I have no connection to the university and don't really need to be caught up in the middle of it. That mistake was mine. I thought it might be neat to see the historic school but realized I didn't have the time or interest.
Now, the not so good: Finding my room or the restaurants or anything else wasn't easy as the place is laid out in sort of a blue-hazed labyrinth. I get the college colors but it was the equivalent of getting snow-blinded. Second, the service was not exactly super warm and friendly at Triplett's, the casual dining restaurant inside the hotel. The staff actually working in the bar was disinterested in providing service -- and the bar was largely populated by other employees talking shop about their jobs. One or two were eating at the bar, the others were just standing around talking to them. I had no interest in that. They should go somewhere else and talk. Next, I found that the large and lovely bathroom was very low on the soap and shampoo dispensers, and I had to pump like a farmer at a water well to get anything out of the bottles. The biggest irritant to me, though, and the true deal breaker, is the lack of the kind of breakfast every other hotel I've ever stayed in my life provides. Instead of providing a normal breakfast service where guests can go down and immediately grab their own bacon, eggs, waffles, and other goodies from a buffet (or at least sit down at a table and get waited on), the only option is the pathetic Dear Joe. Get rid of Dear Joe immediately. Close it today. I woke up extra early to make sure I had time to fuel up before my meeting. Unfortunately, the line at Dear Joe -- everyone lining up to order from one guy at one register -- was already 15 people deep, and, after ten minutes, it hasn't moved an inch. I can only guess that the food would have taken a long time to prepare even after finally reaching the ordering counter. When I'm traveling, I don't have time to stand in a stupid line -- let alone for the limited options at Dear's Joes. I want to go down, eat a solid breakfast, and move on with my day. I watched many other people come in behind me and, like me, shake their heads in frustration, and leave. I finally had to do the same, forcing me to find somewhere else to eat breakfast -- and nearly be late to my meeting with a potential client.
