I'm currently in the process of creating my guestroom notebook. It's up around 45 pages now and I have a lot more do add, including the restaurants and menus.
On each "thing to do here" I'm including a brief description and photo of the destination, giving its phone number and physical address (for GPS users to find it) and including a Google map printout highlighting the best route from my place to the destination.
I'm sure some of these pages will be ripped out, the way people tear a whole page out of a business' phone book rather than jotting a number down on a napkin. So I'll have to put shingled tabs on each page so I can tell at a glance when one needs to be replaced.
In addition to what's mentioned above, give location of a nearby pharmacy and anything else you can think of to answer questions so guests don't have to come to you and ask. Some people, like me, DO read these things, and prefer to find the answer there rather than bothering the management with my questions..
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I'm currently in the process of creating my guestroom notebook. It's up around 45 pages now and I have a lot more do add, including the restaurants and menus."
Just remember my warning, stuff happens, things change, put a disclaimer at the bottom of each page (as well as the file name and date) since you will update it quite a bit when businesses close, change hours, change prices, etc. As soon as I get everything in place one item on the list is completely null and void. Sharpie pens all over it won't look great.
There is a new salon with spa in town - I was going to go in there, and thought, I will give them a month or so first. Opening in the winter, they might not make it. I was planning on getting a GC for a mani-pedi for someone, but can't chance they will still be in business.
BY THE WAY - I am sorry to side track, but I have to. One restaurant that has been here since we moved here and seems to be busy is a fast food fried chicken chain that begins with the letter "BOJ" or as they call it "BO TIME" in their ads. I went the other night and got a tail gate family pack, I cannot BELIEVE THE CRAP they call mashed potatoes. I mean wall paper paste IS A STEP UP! No wonder this is only the second time in 9 years I have eaten there! DISGUSTING FOOD. ALL OF IT. Not just the instant mash (mush). Pretty bad when teenagers won't even eat it!
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I have never, in 8 years, set foot in the burger chain restaurant across the street from me. I've never even taken a picture of it and it's probably the second most photgraphed building in town.
For Ark- limit the info you give. Name of restaurant, address, phone. Once you get into hours and menus and all of that, it's way too much to keep track of. I have the menus in the living room. I point them out and say, 'prices have changed, chefs have changed, please use those merely as a guide to the style of the restaurant.'
Cannot get the restaurants to part with new menus. I would even put them in the old sleeves, just give me the printed page, not the whole leatherette folder!
Like the scenic drives idea. I had 2 big 3 ring binders in the living room with all of that stuff and no one ever looked at it.
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Now our chain which is the same as yours, is locally owned and gives back so much to our community. He even buys all the beef for the burgers locally. But as I had mentioned, highest grossing "this chain" in 4 states.
Next door to that is the "King" and never even has one car in the drive thru. We went there twice, first they had no fries. "Sorry, no fries" second time it was a drive thru breakfast muffin sandwich, they didn't even toast the eng muffin and we nearly choked on it. So that was enough. Twice.
Now our new locally owned and operated BBQ place! HOO RAH! I was so excited! I went in and sat down and asked what was homemade, which sides? The waitress told me "NONE." They had a
large selection of burgers - those have to be pretyt good, then right? They are from frozen patties, she said. I GIVE UP. SYSCO you win....
PS This really does have to do with the welcome books in the rooms, what do you put in there? Every restaurant or only those you recommend? Those who food poison your guests?
I added another "seafood restaurant" and wrote, and I quote on the restaurant list: "It is like a full service restaurant version of Long John Silvers" and people ask me every time, Is it good? Me, "Do you like Long John Silvers?" If you do, then it is good. If you like real food, then it stinks. (Shh! This is why I am anon on this forum so I can say these things!)
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