The Suite Life........................................

......................that would be our family at TownePlace Suites in Chantilly.  Really.

Eighteen months ago, we arrived home from the most perfectly wonderful family vacation at the beach.  We had been driving for five hours, and Miss Eenie Weenie ran into the house to use the bathroom.  'Hey,' she says.  'Why is the ceiling on the floor?'  'HUH?' I ask.  'And I can see right upstairs to the kitchen,' she says.  DH (dear husband) and I go running towards the bathroom and when our feet hit the new berber, it is awfully spongy and soaking wet.  A few more steps and we are looking at wall studs, dry wall (no longer 'dry') lying in curled piles on said berber.  And, we look up and where there had been kitchen floor.......well, there isn't any longer.  Need I say that it was the end of the most wonderfully perfect family vacation?

We scrambled to make phone calls to our insurance carrier, Serv-Pro (Manassas) who were absolutely fabulous, and within the week we were informed that we would have to move into an extended stay hotel as mold remediation and removal was about to begin.  We were given a list of properties, we were told that repairs would take two weeks. DH and I went and looked at all of the  properties and the TownePlace Suites by Marriott was an excellent fit for us in every way.  We toured a Suite, were assured that our hound (recently adopted from Rescue) was welcome, and we began moving in.

I have mentioned, haven't I, that we are homeschoolers?  The kids and I loaded the Hummer with school books, white boards, maps, DVDs, and drove to our 'new home.'  Staff showed up with luggage carts and carried tons of books and supplies to our Suite.  And, literally, from our first day, TPS became home.  The Manager, Assistant Manager and everyone on staff went out of their way to make this 'home.'

As guests, we were treated to Complimentary Breakfast, free laundry soap, hot coffee all day, and fresh baked cookies every night at 7pm.  Yes, we became spoiled and loved staying there.  Good thing, too, because our two week stay was extended on a sort of regular basis, and we ended up being in residence there for FOUR months.  That's right - FOUR months. 

We were there for two weeks when the New York Yankees won the World Series. We decided to put scarecrows and pumpkins outside our door for Halloween.  They stayed out there till Thanksgiving.  We decorated for Christmas, put up a little tree in our suite, listened to firecrackers set off on New Years' Eve, enjoyed the Super Bowl, three major snowstorms and finally moved out on February 14th.  the staff would photocopy tests, worksheets and quizzes that we needed for school, the kids could sit in the Business Center and they would be monitored while they took tests or did seat work. 

Our housekeeper would knock on our door when it was rainy or snowy with a bag filled with complimentarybreakfast items so 'the babies' wouldn't have to go and get breakfast themselves.  How do you not love these folks?!

On February 14, we were sad to leave.  Glad to be going back home, but the people at TPS had been our family for four months as we were aggravated on a daily basis with shenanigans from the contractor hired by our insurance company.  We visited during the summer, used the pool, and even checked in for two nights over fourth of July to have a mini-vacation.  We were so happy to see everyone and they were happy to see us.  One individual, imparticular (M), told me that we liked it at TPS because 'this was like family.'   She was correct!

We stop in from time to time, drop in to say hi to staff and wish them a Happy Birthday, and on Wednesday night when the ice brought down a power line in our driveway and ripped our electrical meter out of the house ('press one if there has been an explosion' -- I did), dh's first phone call was to TPS.  Our friend, D, told us he would call in the a.m. and tell us when to come on over, and he did.  We arrived Thursday in the early afternoon to hugs and hellos and 'let me get you extra towels' and it did feel like coming to visit family.  Dh went down to the office last night for a cup of coffee and to see if any cookies were left.  He came back with coffee but no cookies.  'They only do cookies once in a while now,' he said sadly.

This evening, M came on duty and we saw her for the first time since the summer.  The kids rushed over to the office to say hi, and hugs were shared.  M touched my heart when she said to the Assistant Manager, 'The kids are here.  I'm going to bake cookies!' YAY!