I love to be able to get away every now and again, even if only for a couple of days.

I enjoy the change of scenery and waking up someplace different, whether at the home of a friend or family member or even on an air mattress in my tent.I am, however, really leery about staying in hotels and motels.Over the years I have had some rather unpleasant experiences that make me cringe to even think about.As a kid, my mom and I always spent a week "down the shore."We stayed in places that were downright dirty and in ones that offered the visitation of unexpected "guests" in your room each night; namely, la cucaracha.Some years back I stayed in a hotel in Allentown for a work holiday party.After checking in during the early evening, I carried my luggage to my room and put my things away.I sat down on the multicolored bedspread to put stockings on and smelled a foul odor.For whatever reason, I placed my hands on the bed spread on either side of me and looked around to try to figure out what it was that I was smelling.When I lifted my one hand, there was something stuck on it.Feces.I gagged and then ran to the bathroom and became sick.Upon closer inspection of the bedspread, there was a large smear on it that blended rather nicely with the colorful floral print.I stomped downstairs to complain about my disgusting find and instructed them to completely strip the bed and provide all new linens.I then went off to our holiday party.Several hours and several drinks later, I was tired and a little bit tipsy and wanted to just go and plop down on the bed.I went up to my room, kicked off my shoes and sprawled across the bed to relax.Upon making the decision to then watch some TV, I rolled over on to my stomach only to be violently greeted with that same smear of feces still on the bedspread.Turns out they did change the linens and pillows, but not the spread.After a loud and not so nice display from me in the hotel lobby in front of a rather large group of partygoers, I was "comped" and given a different room.I have since learned that most hotels and motels do not change them after each checkout, which is why I now tear them off and stuff them in a closet when I arrive.I have also encountered bedbugs in Wildwood after being assured that they were not a problem at that motel.Now, the first thing I do is pull up all of the sheets and padding to inspect for bedbugs and then remove the bedspread.This past weekend, my daughter had a volleyball tournament and we decided to spend two nights at the Hampton in Mill Hall.The first thing I noticed was the free cookies at the check-in counter. Nice, very nice.As I looked around everything was very modern and clean. The staff was very friendly and accommodating, but the true test was awaiting me in our room.The hallways and elevators were also quite clean and there were none of the odors that you typically find in a hotel.When we arrived in our room, my first observation was how fresh and clean it was there as well.The beds had white duvets that smelled wonderfully of bleach! (No stripping required.)I immediately began to remove the multiple layers of bedding and padding, fearful that they were there in an effort to conceal what lurked beneath which was … nothing.Bedbug free!There was a little sticky note on the headboard informing us that everything was fresh and clean just in case we had not noticed, and to top it off, the mattress was actually quite comfortable, which was a good thing since my air mattress did not fit in the room.As good as all of that was, this establishment offered so much more that impressed me.When we went downstairs the next morning to enjoy the complimentary full breakfast, we were greeted with a note on a small chalkboard that said "Good day. You're amazing just the way you are."It made me smile ear to ear, and I had to take a picture of it on my cellphone.That little note seemed to somehow set the tone for the day.I was then very pleased to discover that the breakfast consisted of all healthy choice items such as a western omelet, turkey sausage, lots of fruits and whole grain breads, bagels and muffins.What a delight that was for me, and it was all quite tasty, too. Additionally, I happened to take notice that the coffee cups were eco-friendly and compostable as well.After heading back to our room, we found that the maid service had left us a friendly, handwritten note encouraging us to enjoy our day.Again I smiled.The entire staff was all always smiling, super friendly and super accommodating the entire time we were there, AND they all spoke English, which comes in really handy when the customer needs to ask them a question or make a request.All of the positive elements that we encountered during our stay there are what made it truly a wonderful experience.We are often quick to complain when something is wrong and slow to remark when someone does something right, and the staff at that Hampton got it all right in my book.