Greg Swan

Posts Tagged ‘business chair report’

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Greg in Savannah

In From the Road on April 30, 2009 at 9:43 pm

View from Hilton DeSota room 707
This week I was in Savannah, Georgia. I stayed in the historic district and had a couple free nights to walk around. It was just as gorgeous as people say.
Historic Savannah

I absolutely love traveling to places that have a rich history, even if I only have enough down time to read commemorative plaques and pretend I know history. I’m also a big fan of the prevalent spanish moss that eclipses streetlights and mutes traffic noise in the multitude of centuries-old park squares one encounters every other block.

Historic Savannah

In my three days there, I saw only two groups of people: 1) hipsters hanging out at coffee shops and 2) a couple hundred gray-haired couples getting on and off tour buses, river boats and hotel shuttles. They waddled up and down River Street buying tourist crap and salt water taffy. The lack of children (babies, toddlers, kids under 20) was downright eerie.

Some pics from walking around:
Dean Martin

Swine Flu Graffiti

Oh, and this way to South Carolina…
tosouthcarolina

At Wade Rockett‘s recommendation, we dined at Paula Deen’s The Lady and Sons Restaurant.
The Lady and Sons

My wife is a huge Paula Deen fan and took it upon herself to send me nasty text messages throughout the meal to reinforce how unfair it was I was there and not her. It was justified. I had the Steak and Pie, which includes a tomato pot pie surrounded by steak tips. Really great, actually.

Steak and Tomato Pie

Liz had the Crab Stuffed Shrimp wrapped in bacon (three animals in every bite!), and we split the double deep fat fried friend green tomatoes.
Fried Green Tomatoes

Angie had the signature Chicken Pot Pie, which was made with enough butter that the sauce was separating before she took three bites. Now that’s southern cookin’!
Chicken Pot Pie

My hotel this trip was the Hilton Savannah DeSoto.

Hilton Savannah DeSoto Room 707

The desk chair was boringly functional with little to no adjustments and no lumbar support. However, it had arms and a high back. I give it a C+.
Business Chair, Hilton Savannah DeSoto

And here’s a TP folding report for my pal Ed:
TP Folding Report, Hilton Savannah DeSoto

More pictures here.

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The stars at night are big and bright: Greg in San Antonio

In From the Road on April 23, 2009 at 10:46 am

Before arriving at San Antonio this week, I had no idea there even was a river in SA. Haha. Turns out there is quite the riverwalk, plus we were there during Fiesta:
San Antonio Riverwalk

And here’s the obligatory Alamo photo. Yes, there was a huge gift shop:
Alamo, San Antonio

Here’s the view from my hotel room (1815) at the Grand Hyatt. That’s the Alamo Dome.
Alamo Dome from Hotel

This is the desk and chair:
Desk Chair, Grand Hyatt, San Antonio, TX

The chair had quality lumbar support, height and tilt. Truly an A-…
Desk Chair, Grand Hyatt, San Antonio, TX

Here’s a TP Report for my pal Ed:
TP Report, Grand Hyatt, San Antonio, TX

AND…while visiting Brooke Army Medical Center, I had the chance to see a sweet demo of the “Chung-bot,” a RP-7 remote presence robot used to care for patients remotely by its namesake, Dr. Kevin Chung….

Gregbot 4000

More photos from the trip here.

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Greg in Dallas

In From the Road on April 18, 2009 at 3:21 pm

I stayed at the classy Joule Hotel in downtown Dallas this week. It was my second time at the hotel (this time room 901), and once again, the turn-down service came as early as 5 p.m.

The room artwork showcased giant portraits of kids playing on the famous grassy knoll:
Art at the Joule

When I travel, I spend a lot of time sitting at my hotel room desk and have been chronicling the quality of desk chairs for quite awhile now.

Here’s the desk:
Desk at Joule

And here’s the desk chair:
Desk Chair at Joule

It was entirely aesthetic: no lumbar, no height adjustment, no arm adjustment, etc. I pity the business person who has to sit at this desk and actually work. Straight up F.

And in the spirit of a TP Fold Report for my my pal Ed, I have a follow-up report from my October stay at the Joule….

Better or worse? I report, you decide…

TP Fold in October 2008
TP Fold at Joule Hotel

TP Fold in April 2009
TP Fold at Joule Hotel

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Greg in NY

In From the Road on April 4, 2009 at 10:49 am

NYC, April 2
Was in New York this week, had a great steak at the Capital Grille and stayed at the Grand Hyatt at Grand Central Terminal.
Business Chair, Grand Hyatt, NYC
The Hyatt’s hotel room desk chair was a B-.
Business Chair, Grand Hyatt, NYC
The chair had great lumbar support (my primary measurement of a desk chair), arms and 4-spoke wheels. Premium webbing on the chair back is always a plus.
Grand Hyatt, NYC
Grand Hyatt, NYC
Drawbacks included no height adjustment, no arm adjustment and these ugly rub marks where the chair has scraped on the desk over the years.

And a quick TP report for my pal Ed. I call this the “tuck and roll.”
TP Report, Grand Hyatt, NYC

But here’s the craziest, most backwards way to receive a hotel fax I’ve ever encountered:

  1. I got a voicemail in my hotel room informing me I had a text message.
  2. In order to retrieve this message, I needed to call the operator.
  3. I called the operator and nobody answered.
  4. Upon my automated checkout at the lobby kiosk, the system again informed me I had a text message and printed out this slip of paper.

    5. Text Message for a Fax?

  5. The paper told me that I had a fax and to get it at the front lobby desk.
  6. At the lobby desk, they called the business center to inquire about my fax.
  7. I was told to walk up two floors to the business center to retrieve my fax.

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Greg in Austin, TX: Business Chair and TP Report

In From the Road on March 26, 2009 at 1:29 pm

I had the honor of attending the annual South by Southwest Interactive Conference again last week.

The desk chairs at the downtown Austin Hilton are too wide, don’t have height adjustment nor lumbar support.

Downtown Hilton, Austin, TX

Unfortunately, I did have to conduct quite a lot of business from this chair. Good thing they give you extra pillows to fill in the ocean of space between by back and the chair.

Downtown Hilton, Austin, TX

(see previous business chair reports here)

For my buddy Ed, here’s a TP Report…

Day 1:
Downtown Hilton, Austin, TX

You call that a fold?

Day 2:
Downtown Hilton, Austin, TX

Better, but not great.

(previous reports here)

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Hotel Business Chair Report: Holiday Inn Express, Coralville, IA

In From the Road on January 11, 2009 at 8:41 pm

It figures. The best hotel desk chair I’ve ever experienced in my travels was found in room 508 at Holiday Inn Express in Coralville, IA.
Holiday Inn Express Coralville, Iowa
Why am I so disheartened? Because I wasn’t here for work (note the coloring books on the floor), and only sat in the chair long enough to determine it was completely A-level awesome (incredible lumbar support, 5-spoke wheels, good arm support, tilt and height adjustment).

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Greg in Norfolk

In From the Road on December 11, 2008 at 8:29 pm

Being from Iowa, when someone says Norfolk – I immediately think of Norfolk, Nebraska. Turns out there’s a Virginia version, and it’s much different than Nebraska.

Hilton Norfolk Airport Room 447

I’m staying at the Hilton Norfolk Airport. As part of my new Hotel Desk Chair report series, I would like to give the Hilton Norfolk Airport some props for their faux-leather chair model. It has built-in lumbar support, an ample cupping design, and height adjustment. I give it a B+.

Desk Chair @ Hilton Norfolk Airport

Also, for my pal Ed, I would like you to see the TP Folding job here — just horrendous.

But perhaps a redeeming quality — the seat was up for me when I came in.

Restroom

Perhaps this is a new service for Hilton HHonors members as part of the room set-up?

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Greg & the City

In From the Road on December 2, 2008 at 12:50 am

I’m in NYC for the umpteenth time this year. I suppose I could check Dopplr to see how many times, but it’s been a lot.

Staying at the W New York on Lexington this trip.

The room is the size of a converted laundry room in a one story bungalow.
Room 924 at W NY

Here’s a TP report for my pal Ed:
TP Fold at W NY (Lexington)
Damn clumsy, if you ask me. But he’s the expert. And, I had trouble EVEN FINDING IT!
Where's the TP?

I’m going to start my own series on desk chairs. For business travelers, the chairs provided for travelers are the very most important part of a hotel room. I often go an entire stay without turning on the television, but I’m rarely in a room for more than 10 minutes without powering on my laptop and sitting at the desk for at least 30 minutes — and sometimes for hours and hours at a time.

Desk chair at W NY
The W Hotel NY gets a D+ for their desk chair. As you can see from the photo above, the chair has absolutely zero lumbar support. It’s virtually an “L” shape and although it does have height adjustment (thus the +), after sitting on an airplane for 3+ hours, I’m going to need more than a basic L curve to sit here for more than 5 minutes at one time.

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