the reservation

I think it’s crazy but I do understand— the difficulty in getting, for example,  a reservation at some hot new restaurant.  Take Carbone.  An Italian restaurant in the West Village. You need to make a reservation one month in advance, and even then, try getting through.  Impossible.

A few years ago at the Horace Mann annual benefit, someone paid $500 for a reservation to Rao’s in Harlem.  That was $500 for the reservation, not the dinner.

But a mediocre, 3-star hotel?  One year in advance? With a room charge of  $500/night (before taxes) with a three-night minimum?  And a recent YELP review that read:

I was overly (sic) charged for my room and also found disgusting stains on the sheets.  The front desk attendants were rude and the GM took weeks to respond about the issue with me (sic) being over charged.

Ridiculous.

I am trying to find a hotel room in a place that is nowhere near anything exotic or luxurious or historical.  Just some gorges and lakes.  Yup.  I’m trying to make a reservation in Ithaca for Alexander’s graduation (still hard to believe) from Cornell next May.

Being compulsively organized, I even put together an excel spreadsheet to keep track of my conversations and teary conversations.  “What do you mean the lottery (yes, lottery) is already over? It’s more than a year out!” 

When Alexander was a freshman, I thought I’d call early and stay at the Statler, the beautiful on campus hotel for his graduation.  So this March I call.  That's when I'm told that the hotel takes no reservations for graduation.  All its rooms are promised to the President, dignitaries, the Board, and other important people.  I am not one of these important people.

That leaves only six hotels anywhere near campus.  Two of these four I can eliminate as both have been booked for months (maybe years).  So now I'm down to four.  I call this morning and add my name to two hotel lotteries.  In June, I can call the remaining two hotels and try for those lotteries.   And if I don’t win any lotteries, I hear there are some nice parks in Ithaca.

So here’s my advice.  Book a hotel for your child’s graduation, as soon as they begin freshman classes. And then, keep your fingers crossed that your reservation is held.