[scandal] the hampton inn is the new ritz-carlton

Poor Alexandra Penney. First she loses nearly everything by investing with Bernie Madoff. Then she finds an outlet, Tina Brown’s Daily Beast, to write about her post-Madoff existence. Boy does she get slammed for not playing the redemptive victim. Truth be told, she deserves some of the negative feedback. She got off on the wrong foot in her first post by kvetching about having to give up her maid who, among other tasks, ironed her 40 white shirts. And she's not teetering on the precipice of destitution. She's got a house, jewelry, art. Penney doesn’t seem to grasp that yes, despite everything -- her bestselling author status (she penned How To Make Love To a Man), her magazine editor credentials (EIC of SELF), and, of late, her success as an artist -- she is one of us. Some comments are overly harsh, even blaming Penney (aren’t the names in this saga RICH?) for putting all her eggs in one basket.

In her third installment, Penney spends a night in a Hampton Inn as she drives to Florida to sell what she calls her "shack." She doesn’t provide coordinates except to note that she’s 400 miles from her destination, the Palm Beach area. So, that’s probably Georgia. Her dispatch is a hoot.

I can’t believe the Hampton Inn. It’s my new Ritz-Carlton! The room is warm and comfy and inviting, with fluffy white duvet covers. There’s even a board with a pen handily tucked into a slot and you can rest a book or laptop on it.

The sink is real granite (!) and the towels are extra-heavy. The place is immaculate and breakfast is absolutely free! A sweet scent wafts down the hall and someone knocks on the door and offers freshly baked chocolate cookies. Can I be dreaming?

Her delight at the Hampton Inn’s standards reminds me that hotels are like wine. There are a lot of decent inexpensive ones out there. When Penney was flush, she was no hotel spendthrift. She was shocked by the $2,100 a night rates at the Ararat Park Hotel in Moscow when she was there for a work project several months ago. She’s got good check-in instincts: She negotiated down the Hampton Inn’s $89 a night rate by $10.

As for the nasty comments, I hope she isn't taking them to heart. She might be getting the last laugh. Her posts are the Most Read for days after they’re originally published. For her, like for so many of us, blogging well might be the best revenge.

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