Sunday, March 2, 2008

This came with sparkling wine

And an upgrade to a suite -- I am not kidding -- at Budapest's number-one hotel, the Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Sandler,

A very warm welcome to the Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal.

Please allow me to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your wedding. We are very pleased that you are spending your honeymoon in Budapest.

On behalf of the entire management and staff, we wish you every happiness, good health, and success.

Best Regards,

Adrian Ellis
General Manager

OK. Holy cow!

First, a little background: Adam and I were going to get married in Prague and spend the vacation as a honeymoon, but the Jewish moms were not happy and I understood. However, Adam had made sure to tell the hotel ... and when we got in, we got good news.

"You've been upgraded to a suite at no extra charge," the smartly dressed guy at the check-in counter said. After the bellhop (!) departed, we got another knock on the door: the sparkling wine. "I hope you're 21," the guy carrying it said.

"Thank you for asking," I said, and toasted him.

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