Christmas Market Recaps: Part 1- Not So Ritz. The Vienna Stay That Made Us Run

****This episode was originally recorded as one long story, but it ended up being too wild not to split in two. Part one is the nightmare, and part two is the redemption.****

 In this episode of Travel Chat with Ashley and Emily, they share the full, unfiltered story of what led them to sneak out of the Ritz-Carlton Vienna less than 24 hours after checking in. From exhausting travel delays and sky-high expectations to baffling service issues, tense front desk interactions, and a shockingly underwhelming suite, everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong. Ashley and Emily walk through the moments that escalated from minor frustrations to a full-blown hotel breakup, including an unforgettable checkout attempt that turned into a literal escape. This episode sets the stage for the redemption arc to come in part two, when they move to the Almanac Hotel and finally get the Vienna experience they were hoping for.

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Transcript

Emily 0:03

Welcome to Travel Chat with Ashley and Emily. I'm Ashley from Ashley Gets Around. And I'm Emily with Emily Eats and Explores.

Ashley 0:09

We imagine this podcast is a little bit travel channel, a little bit Bravo.

Emily 0:13

So grab your favorite beverage and let's go. Hi everyone. Welcome back to Travel Chat with Ashley and Emily. Uh it's Emily here, and we have the episode that you guys have all been waiting for. Why did we sneak out of the Ritz, Carlton? We uh this is a this isn't a great story, and we're so excited to get into this. Because yeah, we we had a time. We had a time getting to Vienna. Ashley.

Ashley 0:45

Yeah, so uh we I was the one that I booked our hotels for the except for Salzburg. Emily booked that one. And Vienna, I will say we Emily and I are, if you do not know, we are last minute planners. The the fact that we had booked our flight for this in in April is is kind of crazy. Um and I just even for the Olympics, I think I booked three weeks out. I mean, I'd been looking at at hotels before, watching them, but um I just tend to go with the flow when it comes to hotels. Um and I booked this probably like a month in advance, which was pretty, pretty far. And so when I was looking at places, you know, what came up was like the writs, the writs, the writs, the writs. And the writs ended up being a lot cheaper when I booked than the Park Hyatt. And Park Hyatt, you it you can't use points the month of December. I mean, I even looked for 2026. They close off the points bookings, uh, which makes sense. It's literally right in front of a Christmas market and they're charging $1,100 a night. Um, and so I just knew originally we were doing two nights. I'm like, okay, we're just gonna have to spend, you know, $600 at night for the Ritz. It just like looking at everything else, it ended up being relatively cheaper than a lot of other places. And it can't kept coming up as like the place to stay. So I was very excited. I love a Ritz-Carlton normally. Um, and we normally normally. And the other thing we should talk about is when we landed in Prague, originally we were supposed to fly from the um from Philadelphia with a quick stop in Frankfurt and then Prague directly. And it was gonna, I think we our original time of landing in Prague was like 10 a.m. or something. It was a very quick trip. Well, a few months ago, they changed our flight. We had to rebook, and the only option was a three-flight trip. You could not get it. I even called Luftanza um who issued our tickets, and they basically were like, no dice, like you can't take a one-stop itinerary. So we had to fly from Philly to Canada, from Canada to Germany. Then we have this like weird long layover, and then we flew to Prague. And so we didn't get to Prague till like 2 p.m. or 1 p.m. So it was kind of late. And basically at that point, the only train that we could take from Prague to Vienna at that time of day was the four-something to make sure we could make it from landing to customs to getting to the train station. And so that left us with like a three-hour wait, and then it was a three-hour train. Basically, we wouldn't have gotten into Vienna until like 10 o'clock. And I was like, this is wasting an entire day. So we ended up taking a car service, and that ended up being great. They picked us up at the airport. We got we ended up getting into Vienna before dinner. It was great. So we roll up to this Ritz-Carlton.

Emily 3:46

And this is my first Ritz-Carlton, guys. I'm so excited. I like can't contain my excitement.

Ashley 3:51

Emily's like, I'm never going to a Ritz-Carlton ever again. Say when St. Retis, I'm like 10 St. Regis ever again. Yeah. So apparently we can only do the four seasons. That's what we've learned. The four seasons is it. So um, we get to this rit, and one thing to know about me is I get really annoyed if nobody comes and gets my luggage out of the car. Emily doesn't care. It bothers me. It bothers me to be getting my own bags as a woman at a very expensive hotel. And I see your bag men, your bellman, in there having a conversation while I'm just schlepping my own luggage. Like, this isn't a holiday and express. Like, come get my bag. I'll get my bag. Um, so they, we were getting the the our lovely driver, who was just fantastic, um was like getting our bags out of the car and we're like standing there. And then all of a sudden, these like men come out. I guess when they realize that we're staying there, I don't know why, like, because why else would you be unloading your stuff out of a Ritz Carlton? Like, oh, this is just we're actually staying at the hostel down the street. This is just where he's dropping us off. Like, makes no sense, whatever. So they come out and they're like aggressively taking our bags. And I'm like, hi, no, like I need that bag or I can't check in because I didn't it like my purse was in like one of my laptop back or whatever. And so I was like, hi, no, no, like I need this bag or I can't check in. And the guy's like, oh, and like takes it and basically tosses it on a chair and it just sets me off. I'm like, absolutely fucking not. Like I had my laptop in there, I had my eye, like I just was not having it. And so I'm like, also that's the heaviest bag I had because it had all my chargers in it, my headphones, my laptop, my iPad, like had all my crap in it. So I'm like, no, I don't want to carry this bag. Like, I just want you to like give me two seconds to get my purse out of the bag. And the guy just like was kind of aggressive about it and it just pissed me off. And I was like, okay, well, now I just have to carry this bag around. And he was like, Well, you wanted the bag. And I'm like, I wanted to get my part. Like, it just was like, why are we having this conversation in a Ritz Carlton? Like, this is not the level of like, this is not service.

Emily 6:03

Like, and I wasn't here for any of this. I like went to the ATM inside, she was gone driver. I was like gone. I was like, I had no idea what was going on until I got into the lobby and Ashley was yelling at the manager, which is hilarious.

Ashley 6:16

Yeah. So I'm like, no, like I like I want to give you. And the guy goes, Well, which is it? Do you want the bag or do you not want the bag? And I was like, absolutely fucking not. Like, you're I like I've been in this hotel four fucking minutes. Like, no. And we were, I was exhausted. I was hungry. I was like, I was like, I'm not dealing with this today. Like this, like we're in a Ritz, Carlton, like, absolutely not. And so I was like, you know what? Just give me, if you're not gonna take back the super heavy bag, give me my rolling bag so at least I can like put it on my carry-on. Well, then the thing to know about this Ritz is there are stairs in the lobby. You can't get down to the check-in without going down a flight of stairs. So then that pissed me off. So I'm carrying my shit down a fucking flight of stairs. I'm so mad at this point. Then, so then we get to the check-in and there's a line. They have like one, maybe two people checking people in. There's a huge long line. And the guy from the front was like, Yeah, you can just stay in this line. I'm like, I'm standing in line at a Ritz. Like, what? What is going on right now? And I was like, okay, I'm titanium. And the thing to know is at most hotels, they have a separate line for status. Um, if you if you check into Ahia and you're a globalist, you can actually check in at the club lounge. Most of the time they will escort you to the club lounge so you can check in there. So I was like, I'm not having this. Like, this is ridiculous. Also, they could have just had us sit down and been like, here's a glass of wine, like, we're sorry. Like it just wasn't handled correctly. So then I go to the concierge who was the loveliest man ever. He was fantastic. And I said, Hi, I'm so sorry. Can I see a manager? Like, I want to see a manager. So this woman, Madeline, comes out, and yes, we're naming her Madeline, my nightmare. Dun dunes comes out. And again, if you've ever said it to Ritz Carlton, the level of service, they have an internal thing where, like, if a customer has a problem, they can spend up to two grand per stay to fix that problem. Like, there's a reason people stay there. And they get people who complain about everything. Like, you know, they'll have people that are like, my ice was too cold. Like that, you know what I mean? Like, it's just anyway. So this woman comes out. I'm fully expecting her to start with, I'm so sorry. Like, what's like what's the problem? She started off the conversation aggressively. And I was like, Well, I'm definitely not having this. And I basically was like, you know, we had a like we've been here six minutes, and this is like, I'm starting to get really pissed off. Like, you know, your baggage people are like very aggressive. They didn't even, like, it, they didn't even at first ask our last name. Like, I was like, how do you know whose bags these are? It was like a whole thing. She did not understand why I was upset, which made me more upset. So she's like, Well, if you don't want to wait, like I can just check you in. I'm like, oh, okay, but like I just confused why you, why you and seven other, because when she opened the door, Emily was still at the ATM. There was like 10 people in the back office. I'm like, why why are you coming out to check me in when I'm complaining? Like, shouldn't you be getting rid of this line? Like, this is a ritz. Like, people want to go to dinner. Like, nobody wants to stay in line to check out. There was a there was a line literally the whole time that we were there. The whole time. The whole time we were there, there was a line. I'm like, I've never seen that at any other no any other place. Like when we went to the St. When Emily and I went to the St. Regis, they have you sit to check in. Like it's just, it's just, it was so weird that I was like, this is the weirdest ritz I've ever been to in my life. Like I've never in my life, like, anyway, whatever. So she's checking me in and she's like not being very nice. Meanwhile, the people next to us are getting free champagne and like whatever. And I'm like, what the actual fuck is going on? So I even said to her, I can start saying, like, yeah, so like, what's the you like, is this a level of service like we're gonna get for the next three nights? Because like, I'm gonna leave. Like, I'm not like this is, and so I was like fully expecting this woman to be like, I'm so sorry, like, let me see what I could do. This woman never apologized. She finally said to me, because we were sitting there checking in and we're not saying anything to each other at this point. We're just, I'm just silently waiting for her to check me in. And I make a comment that, like, you know, like the service, like this just isn't really like this Ritz Carlton standard, and I'm just very confused. Like, I wasn't aggressive. I just said it just like that. Like, I'm just very confused. Like, I don't understand. And she was like, Well, I can't apologize for something I didn't do. And so that set me off.

Emily 10:47

And something she doesn't, she did, she wanted you to explain. I I want you to apologize. Oh, I can't apologize for something for um no, what was it she said? It was weird. It was weird, but it's I can't apologize if I don't know what I'm apologizing for. It was something like that.

Ashley 11:07

It was so like, oh shit. And so Emily, at this point, I can feel Emily being like, I gotta go because Ashley's gonna like lose her shit. And so I did lose my shit. I literally looked at this woman and I said, You can't apologize for bad service at a fucking Ritz fucking Carlton. And I said it very loudly, like very loudly. And like the people next to me turned around. Oh, yeah. Everybody was staring at us at this point. Everybody was staring at this at this point because I was like, Are you fucking kidding me? Like, this isn't brand standard. This is not like and I had been by the way, before this happened, I had been very nice. I was just trying to, I was trying to get good service. I was like, hi, like I'm just like there's a disconnect with service, like, you know, I say it a lot of Ritz Carlton's. You can see that on my account. I'm titanium. Like, I clearly say it a lot of hotels, like you can't get titanium if you don't stay 75 nights in a year, which is like a lot of nights. And so I just felt like like when we were at the four seasons, we missed the shuttle to get to Disney. And this man ran. The man ran to see if the shuttle was still and we missed it. It wasn't his fault. It was it was Emily's fault, actually. But it wasn't, it was our fault that we missed the shuttle. We like went down at four. The shuttle was four o'clock. This man made a run for it with a walkie-talkie, okay.

Emily 12:30

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Ashley 12:39

Was it his fault that we couldn't tell the time? No, it was our fault. Then this man is profusely apologizing that we missed the shuttle. It was our fault, okay? To be clear. Apollo- Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. This is such an inconvenience for you. And we're like, we'll just wait for the next one. And he goes, absolutely not, puts us in a car service and tells us not to pay for it, that it will charge the $60, $60, you guys. $60. It was a Catalan escolet. Yeah. It was a Tahoe they have sitting out front. They're like, charge it to the room. We will take it off your bill. Okay. That's the level of service I'm expecting out of Ritz Carlton. I do not expect someone, because here's the thing. Like, you have people complaining about all sorts of shit. Whatever. It doesn't matter. The response should have been like, I'm so sorry you're having bad service. Like, I've never had a manager be like, well, I can't apologize for something I didn't do. Like, I'm sorry, what? You're a manager. This is a Ritz Carlton. Like, this isn't a McDonald's. Like, what the fuck's going on? So yeah, so I like lost my shit. And I think Madeline was a little, because I have been pretty calm like the entire time. And I was just like trying to be like, hey, like, what's going on? Like, should I just call corporate? Like, I don't know. And she just like refused to apologize, whatever. And then um, she's like, then finally, after I say that, she's like, Would you like a glass of champagne? And I'm like, no, I don't want a glass of champagne. Like, I'm good. And like she at no point apologizes. So we get to the room. This room, you guys, was trash. I use suite upgrade certificates to upgrade us to this two-level suite. Okay. The rooms in Europe are small. Okay. However, this was, I don't even know how to explain it. The bathroom was very lovely, but very tight. There was no closet. Basically, our suitcases just laid in front of the door, like the little hallway. Um, and the downstairs area was the size of my walk-in closet. It had a it had a uh like a couch shoved. I mean, there was no space between the couch and the walls. It just fit in there perfectly with a little chair and a TV down there. It was very tight. And then upstairs, first of all, the stairs, I'm surprised neither of us fell down them. They were like the winding. It had no tread on them. Yeah. And then it was like glass. At one point, I got up to pee in the middle of the night. I'm surprised I didn't fall over the balcony because I thought it was like a walkway because you couldn't see that there was a wall. It was glass. And it was just a very tight bedroom upstairs. Like there was like a bed and two tiny side tables and like a little chair.

Emily 15:26

Like it just it didn't feel it reminded me of my apartment in college. Yeah, yes. And I'm the one, I'm not picky at all. I feel everything is amazing, everything's great. The bathroom was beautiful. Ashley's beautiful to take a bath, but it was, I was like, I do feel like I'm in my college apartment, but smaller. It was probably like half the size. I mean, it was definitely tiny tiny.

Ashley 15:53

Yeah, I mean, it just was really you would think that it was big because of two levels. Like, I think it was actually a downgrade from a normal room. And so the other thing is, even though I used a suite upgrade, they that was a normal suite for them. So like I could have still been given a better room. And I should, I don't, whatever. Anyway, so I was in there being like, we're leaving. Like, we're out of here. Like, I'm not staying here. Like for the amount of money we're spending, like I just am not.

Emily 16:27

She was like, Do you, I mean, do you guys still want to check in? And I think I was like, at this point, I was like, we need to just stay because we're both like we've been up for like 23 hours. So I was like, Yes, we need to check in.

Ashley 16:38

Oh, also, I was at the front desk saying, I don't even think I should stay here. And she said that they would still charge us for one night. Oh, yeah, yeah. Because she goes, Well, that's our cancellation policy. And I said, Not for service, it isn't. Like, I could walk into any, like, that's absolutely unhinged. Like, and so I basically was like, Oh, yeah, go ahead and charge my American Express for that. And I'm gonna immediately call them. Like, good luck. Like, this is, you know, like, you know, whatever. Um, so anyway, so then we get to the room and I'm basically like, we gotta go. Like, I don't wanna stay here. This room's trash for the amount we're spending. Like, I just don't like the vibe. And that's the thing to know about me is like if I get to a hotel and we have a really shitty experience, it's gonna take me a lot to turn that around. I would rather just leave. Like, I'd rather just go somewhere else. You know what I mean? Yeah. And so I start looking at hotels. Emily goes to the lobby and tells her that we want to check out the next day. And then the Madeline's apologizing to Emily because you know, she's apologizing to her, but not apologizing to me, who's the one that checked in, who's the one titanium. Like, she just didn't want to apologize to me. I don't know. So then we did go. I will say, a lot of people like this Ritz Vienna because it's very decorated. So there was like a dolce and cabana tree in the lobby. Okay, that was pretty. And I will say we did go upstairs to the bar on the roof. Lovely. Lovely. This man came out. Okay, I'm in a sweatshirt. Okay, it is actually kind of cold. We go up there because we're staying in the hotel. They have these gondolas that you can rent and they're kind of expensive, which is why we didn't, we ended up not doing it, which I feel like maybe we should have just done it because I think with me complaining, I thought you were 250. No, you can't.

Emily 18:27

Oh, like I can do four people.

Ashley 18:29

No, you had to spend a minimum of 250 euros, which is why I was like, uh I'm like, we're not gonna spend that much money for a photo. And so anyway, but you can go up and have a drink up there with the gondolas. So that's what we did, which was ended up being fine. And we get up there, and this little man, well, he's not even little old, he was probably six, six, two. He comes over with a blanket and is trying to wrap me in a blanket because I didn't have a coat.

Emily 18:54

He was very concerned, and he was so it was so cute. He was in this cute little like ski shell where we could get warm drinks, so we got like hot cedars or something. Yeah, it was so adorable. And then he comes out with his blanket and is like, oh, you cold. I mean, there was like heaters and stuff up there, but it was so adorable.

Ashley 19:10

It was so cute. He just like had a blanket. And I literally told Emily, I was like, this is the level, like this is the Ritz Carlton service. Like, this is what I was expecting downstairs. And he just like could not understand that I, because I was probably still pissed off. So I was like hot. I was good. I didn't need a goat. Um, but he was just so sweet and he was like, here's a blanket. And I'm like, no, no, I'm actually like okay, we're like, we're not gonna be up here that long or whatever. And um, I will say we didn't pay for those drinks. They didn't, they didn't end up showing up on my bill. So they did comp those, but um, or they just were like, get this lady out of here. Um, but the drinks up there were beautiful, they were served in like little Ritz Carlton mugs that said Ritz Carlton Vienna, and they did have heaters up there, and you had a beautiful view of the city and a um of an ice skating rink of one of the markets on one side. That was gorgeous, and they all the guys up there. We're so nice. Um, both guys we talked to were super sweet. Um, and you know, the drinks were kind of expensive. I think it was like 12 euros or something for like the the well, actually, that's probably not bad. It was just more expensive than if you went to the market, but I think for Vienna it probably wasn't that expensive.

Emily 20:16

So for like a rooftop bar, yeah.

Ashley 20:18

Yeah. And so they were so nice up there. So highly recommend if you and you can honestly just like go up there. You could just like go in the back entrance of the Ritz and go up to that floor. Like, you don't need a key card. So you don't need to stay there to go there. Um, and then so anyway, so then the next, so then the middle of the night, I don't know what I ate. I was up sick the entire night. Like, could not leave the bathroom. And the next day, I was like, we had already booked another hotel. We booked um, what hotel was it? Almanac Palace. Ugh, love it. It was amazing. Highly recommend. Highly recommend. Um, it was on Amex Fine Hotels. It was outrageously expensive. I don't want to tell you guys how much it was, but it was expensive.

Emily 21:05

Very unique hotel.

Ashley 21:07

Very unique.

Emily 21:08

Still beautiful, but like a little bit with like artsy and twist, artsy. Yeah. Felt like a cute little um, I mean, our room was gorgeous. Bathroom room. Oh the doors. I don't know why I love the doors so much.

Ashley 21:24

I I they had we'll get to it. We have to finish. We have to put it on. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We have to finish it.

Emily 21:29

We'll get to it. Don't worry, guys.

Ashley 21:30

I'm so I'm in the bathroom. I can't leave the bathroom. Like every time I leave, I have to go back. Okay. So the next day Emily leaves and meets up with PJ, and I'm like, I got we we can't leave. I was worried, even though we did book the other hotel with fine hotels and resorts, I didn't know because it's high season, everybody is in banana for Christmas. If we would be able to check in at 12, it says upon availability. I wasn't sure. So I was like, we need to do the late checkout at the Ritz, which by the way, I'm entitled to as a guaranteed benefit of my status. It is a guaranteed benefit of 4 p.m. checkout. If they don't give me 4 p.m. checkout at a non-resort hotel, they have to pay me. So I was fully expecting that it wasn't be a problem. So I call down there at like 11 a.m. and I'm like, hi, we need like I figured at least 2 p.m. Like if we make it to 2 p.m., like we could walk across the street and it would be fine. But like when you have stomach issues, you don't want to have to be depending on a lobby bathroom. Okay. I want to be in a room. Okay. So I called down there and the first woman I talked to, she was like, Well, I don't know if we can give you a late checkout. Like, and this was like 11:30. Like, we're I'm not packed. Emily's not here. Like, we can't even leave at noon. There's no way. And so the woman, so I said to Lady, I said, I'm really sorry, but like I'm titanium. Like, this is gonna be a problem. Like, I can't even leave this room by noon. So you're gonna have to figure something out. But in a nice, but in a nicer way. And so then I'm back in the bathroom. There happens to be a phone in the toilet. So I'm literally in the bathroom. This phone rings and I'm like, I'm gonna lose my mind. I don't answer it. They call back. So then I answer it and I'm annoyed because I'm literally sitting on a toilet being sick. And it was Madeline or somebody. And it was a manager. And she was like, hi, like, you know, basically they've done me a service and they've like, oh, oh, to be nice, they've given me like the 3 p.m. checkout or whatever else. And I'd had it. Like she made it sound like I don't how know how she phrased it, but it was made to sound like they were making an exception. If you're looking to fly in business class for the price of economy, you can join my free email list by clicking the link below or visiting AshleyGetsaround.com. And so I'm probably very dehydrated and sleep deprived and annoyed. And so I literally said to this woman, I said horrified. Horrified. Horrified. I said, first of all, I'm titanium. This is a guaranteed benefit. And second of all, sure, I can leave this hotel. I haven't been able to leave the toilet for the past 12 hours from something I've eaten in this hotel. But sure, if you'd like me to come to the lobby, oh, because that was other things. She was like, you have to come to the lobby. We can't bring you the keys. She's like, we can't bring you the keys. And I said, I basically told her that I was like having diarrhea. She did. She did say that. I said that. I said, okay, well, I currently am like pooping myself and I can't really stop. So like you can either bring these keys. You can either bring these keys to the room or sure I'll come down the lobby and just, I guess, shit myself in your lobby. Like that's cool. Like that's and I basically was like, that's why I need a late checkout, is because I'm sick. And I something the only thing I ate was here. So I don't know what to tell you. And it was probably because I was pissed off. But like anyway, so then the woman like immediately changes her tune and she's like, Oh my God, I'm so sorry. Like, is there anything I can do? And I was like, Yeah, bring the keys, slide them under the door. Do not knock on the door. If I if you expect me to get off this toilet, I'm gonna be pissed off. Like, do not even think about it. So, like Emily's not even here at this point. And I'm like, Oh, Emily's gonna come back and be like, we have to leave. Like, you fucking go. And so then the lady was like, Are you sure we can't bring you soup or anything else? And I said, if you can find a ginger ale, that would be great. But like, I really can I just get off the phone. Like, I literally don't feel well. I hate this hotel. I'm really not trying to be rude, but like I've had a really bad time, and I'm literally talking to you from the toilet. Like, can I just go? Can you just bring these keys? Like, I don't, like, whatever. And she was like, Yes, ma'am, I'm so sorry, blah, blah, blah. So I just like hang up the phone. And so then Emily comes back, there's like keys slid under the door, and there's a single ginger ale with a cup of ice on a on a on a metal plane on a platter sitting outside the door.

Emily 25:53

And so then I tell Emily, I was like, it's hard to find in Vienna. I went to like three stores to try to find her ginger ale. I cannot find one. So they've like probably had to get that ship somewhere. Like oh, I bet they had it at the bar.

Ashley 26:04

I bet they had it at the bar.

Emily 26:06

Probably.

Ashley 26:07

Um, but yeah, they so anyway, so the gingerelle did show up. And um, like, anyway, so then I told Emily, and Emily was like horrified that I told this woman that I like couldn't leave the toilet. But I was like, what did you want me to tell her? Like, she was like, you have to come downstairs, and I'm like, I I physically can't. And she didn't understand what I meant by it. She was like, but you're in the hotel. And I was like, okay, I guess I need to be. So I even said this to her. I was like, I don't normally talk about my stomach problems or strangers, but since you're not seeming to understand that I don't know why you can't just send a bellman up with two keys and slide them under the door. Like, I don't like, and it just made me be like, This is a rits. Like, I shouldn't even have to ask for this service. Like, I shouldn't have to explain why I don't want to come to the lobby. Like, just send somebody with the keys. It was like a whole thing. So then we were like, we gotta get out of this hotel. And I'm not checking out the front desk. Like we're leaving from the back exit. So we go downstairs, and um, at this point, like I'd taken, I'd just given in and taken something for my stomach. And we're like, okay, let's just go to like a cafe down the street. Cause I was also feeling sick because I hadn't eaten. Like I was like, I gotta eat. Like, I don't know. So we end up going to a cafe down the street. It was lovely. Um, we come back and we realize that there is a back exit in the lobby, that there's two entrances. There's like an exit out the back that nobody's at. Like you, we could just leave. And so I said, Emily, we need just to leave from this back exit. Like, I don't want to deal with Bellman. I don't want to have to, because if not, we would have to carry ourselves up the stairs. And I didn't want to have a conversation with anybody at this hotel. Right.

Emily 27:35

We knew if we were gonna pass the lobby, somebody was probably gonna grab us and like ask who who knows what's gonna happen. But like everybody up this point probably knew exactly what was going on. And it was probably like the redhead and her friend make sure you guys have a conversation before they leave. And we were like, we gotta sneak the F out of here.

Ashley 27:57

Like, I just didn't want to have a conversation with I'm just like, I just let me go. Like, let me like Godspeed. Like, please let me leave. Yeah. So we are like, we had a whole plan. We're like, all right, it's like 2 45. We're gonna go down the elevator, and the back the back door was next to the elevator. I was like, this is perfect. And our hotel was like two and a half blocks, it wasn't far. We could wheel our stuff there. We're like, okay, this is perfect. So we go to the elevator, and this is gonna sound like we made this up. The elevator doors open, and inside this elevator is Madeline and what felt like eight other managers. Yeah. And I said, Oh, we're good, we'll take the next one. Then it became this, no, no, no, no, please get in.

Emily 28:48

We can oh, hello, Miss Peterson. This is what she said when we opened the door. Miss Peterson. And I was just like, we should have taken it. We were like, we were on our way to almost like go in because it was like opening up. And then I was like, oh, Miss Peterson. And then we were like, oh, we kind of like backed off, and you were like, nah, I'm good.

Ashley 29:08

I was like, we'll take the next one. And then she then this became this like dance where she was like, no, no, no, like we can there's room for you. And I said, no, there isn't. Like, we'll take the next one. So then she goes, Well, we'll just get out and let you guys go. And I literally, I don't know why I said this, but I said, No, I insist. Like, I was like, We'll take the next one. I insist. I like, I don't even know who talks like that, an 80-year-old woman. But I just was like, I insist, and I just said it very like insistently, obviously. And so then they just the elevator finally closed, they left, and we got in the next one, and I was like, Oh my god, we should have just taken the stairs. Like, I could have because we were only on the second floor. So I was like, we could have just taken the stairs. So we leave and just literally make a run for it. Like, we literally I've never seen it.

Emily 29:57

We probably looked crazy on the camera because after that we were like just in shock and like laughing, and then we were like literally just trying to run and get out of there once the elevator got.

Ashley 30:07

Yeah, so we got in the elevator and the the back exit was literally near the elevator, and I those doors opened and we literally basically ran. We ran out the back door of a Ritz Carlton. And then we literally didn't because what we needed to do was we actually needed to go in front of the Ritz to cross the street. I mean, we didn't have to, but we purposely went two blocks down so we wouldn't even have to go in front of the Ritz to cross the street. And it just felt like the craziest thing. And like we just literally snuck out of a $700 a night hotel. Yeah. It's yeah. But I was just like, you've got to be, and the thing is, is I'm like, first of all, you already know that we're checking out early because of service. Like, why are you arguing with me over my elite status? And then when you call back, you act like you're doing me a favor. Like, and I even said this one, I was like, I'm sorry. Is it or is it not a guaranteed benefit of my status for 4 p.m. checkout? And she was like, Well, yeah, but uh, and I said, No, no, no, it's a guaranteed benefit. It's not this is not a resort hotel. It isn't like this is her terms and editions of Marriott. Like, I don't give a shit if you want to like follow the rules, but like that is the rule. And like, I'm not leaving till four. I was just like, Okay, well, you can come kick me out of this room, I guess. Like, I'm not leaving. Like, I can't leave the bathroom. So God, good luck. Um, but yeah, I'm sure that the hotel, like, and then I did something that I don't normally do, which is post about the hotel immediately after leaving. Um, and I tagged that their asses. And this person named Nick messaged me and was like, We're so sorry. We'd like to talk about what we can do to fix this problem, sir. What do you mean? I've already left. Like, what? He wanted us to come back over to the hotel. Yeah, and like have coffee and chat about it. And I said, over my dead body. Like, I I'm on vacation. I don't have time for this. And that was like his solution. And I was like, this hotel is so fucked. Like, what where did you guys do your Ritz Carlton training? Because it must have been at a Holiday and Express. Like, I don't, I like literally never in my life. And now I feel like I have to take Emily to like a normal Ritz because it really is like it should be very much like our experience at the four seasons, where everybody's very nice. I will say the Ritz did seem a little bit more pretentious, and so maybe that that was it. I don't know. This Ritz was very like buttoned up.

Emily 32:36

Yeah, you think one in like Southeast Asia or something?

Ashley 32:39

Yeah, but like literally, I just it's just or like the JW. That's like Ritz, honestly, like the same level as Ritz service. Like, you just like you know, a you you order a drink and another one appears. Like they just anticipate your needs. Like, oh, we noticed that you always got a sparkling water, like, here's your sparkling. I don't know. It just like the level of service was just like so trash. And then the room was trash. I was like, this is trash all around. So then we left. We went to the um almanac.

Emily 33:15

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Ashley 33:19

And if you want more of our shenanigans, make sure you follow us both on Instagram. I'm Ashley and Ashley Gets Around, and Emily is at Emily Eats and Explores, and we can't wait to see you next time. Bye.