Our flight to Orlando has been delayed – so far, just overnight, and we have been sent to the Le Meridien Hotel.
Everything has been arranged surprisingly efficiently, all things considered. It is all credit to the airline that they have moved so fast to get us decent accommodation, and staff at the hotel are waiting at special desks set up in the beautiful atrium to hand us our room keys. There is information about meals, and we have been allotted two rooms. We don’t mind the delay – far better to have an airworthy aeroplane – especially as I have been having premonitions of disaster for some weeks, since seeing a documentary about faulty wiring onf almost every aeroplane flying except for the American Air Force! I have had visions of a sudden flash in the cabin followed by a nose-dive into the Atlantic, somewhere above Gander.
We take the lift up to our rooms which are most comfortable. The children’s room overlooks the central reception area, with its vast atrium, water feature, grand piano, various bars and restaurants, and glass elevators. Our room faces the airport and we can see the ‘planes as they take off and land. We wash and change before making our way downstairs to the conference room where a meal is waiting for us.
We are led into a huge, brightly lit room, set out with dozens of tables sparkling with starched white cloths and silver. There are jugs of orange juice and water on the table, and a delicious looking buffet waiting. To follow there are profiteroles and they bring my son vanilla ice cream when requested. It’s an excellent meal, bearing in mind that there are around 300 of us, and we have been accommodated and fed with the minimum of fuss. But of course, there have to be moaners.
We return to our rooms and decide to walk along to the airport terminal to see if there are any other flights available. Our quest is unsuccessful as it is Bank Holiday, and there are no flights to be had for neither love nor money.
We amble back to the hotel and settle down thankfully for the night. We are all exhausted but not disheartened. We can’t do anything about it, but at least we won’t miss the cruise, which we would have done if we had not done the Orlando bit first!
We wonder what the morning will bring.
Everything has been arranged surprisingly efficiently, all things considered. It is all credit to the airline that they have moved so fast to get us decent accommodation, and staff at the hotel are waiting at special desks set up in the beautiful atrium to hand us our room keys. There is information about meals, and we have been allotted two rooms. We don’t mind the delay – far better to have an airworthy aeroplane – especially as I have been having premonitions of disaster for some weeks, since seeing a documentary about faulty wiring onf almost every aeroplane flying except for the American Air Force! I have had visions of a sudden flash in the cabin followed by a nose-dive into the Atlantic, somewhere above Gander.
We take the lift up to our rooms which are most comfortable. The children’s room overlooks the central reception area, with its vast atrium, water feature, grand piano, various bars and restaurants, and glass elevators. Our room faces the airport and we can see the ‘planes as they take off and land. We wash and change before making our way downstairs to the conference room where a meal is waiting for us.
We are led into a huge, brightly lit room, set out with dozens of tables sparkling with starched white cloths and silver. There are jugs of orange juice and water on the table, and a delicious looking buffet waiting. To follow there are profiteroles and they bring my son vanilla ice cream when requested. It’s an excellent meal, bearing in mind that there are around 300 of us, and we have been accommodated and fed with the minimum of fuss. But of course, there have to be moaners.
We return to our rooms and decide to walk along to the airport terminal to see if there are any other flights available. Our quest is unsuccessful as it is Bank Holiday, and there are no flights to be had for neither love nor money.
We amble back to the hotel and settle down thankfully for the night. We are all exhausted but not disheartened. We can’t do anything about it, but at least we won’t miss the cruise, which we would have done if we had not done the Orlando bit first!
We wonder what the morning will bring.