Battlefield Inn: So sad !
COPY OF LETTER I WROTE TO THE BATTLEFIELD INN.
Sorry to have to say it but you "don't got it all" any more. I've been staying at the Battlefield Inn approximately twice a year for many years. I missed last year so had no idea the Battlefield Inn had changed hands.
Thursday night, October 02, 2008 I drove the dark streets of Mississippi, way past dark and much later then I usually drive before stopping for the night, determined to make it to the Battlefield Inn where I have always felt like I was "coming home" and where I was getting a nice clean room (perhaps a bit outdated but clean) at a reasonable price. The desk clerk always went out of her way to give me a room at the top of the stairs.
When you are a woman traveling alone it is comforting to stay in a familiar place, with familiar, friendly faces. Radar and company was a delightful bonus.
Imagine my surprise when I walked into my room and was greeted by a very sickening odor, never before have I detected an odor in any room I have stayed in at the Battlefield Inn. I then realized my room (which I have stayed in before) was dirty, looked like the doors had not been wiped free of handprints and smudges in forever and it did not close tight. The outside hall light shines right through. An obviously used wash cloth was left wadded up on the bathroom counter, a black hair in the sink , a dripping faucet, the bathroom floor that felt sticky under my feet and the general all over "seediness" told me "I had not come home".
Had I not been so tired from pushing myself to get to the Battlefield Inn for the night I would have immediately checked out. The next morning I was greeted with yet another disappointment. All of the parrots were gone except Radar and he did not seem like his ole "spicy" self. I hate thinking about Radar there alone with out his "friends".
I guess like they say, "all good things come to an end". Including the Battlefield's reasonable rates and polite southern hospitality ( I will say the ladies in the breakfast room were still very friendly and helpful). The Battlefield Inn had become a tradition for me. One I recommended to many travelers. I will not be back. I am sure it is not a lost to you but it is to me. One more piece of America sold out and lost to those of us who cherish it.