I just spent the past week driving around England and Scotland with my Dad, and boy was it an experience. We departed from Bath in our little black Ford rental car complete with a GPS system. In case you were wondering, yes, the GPS lady did have a British accent. My Dad was actually quite good at driving on the other side of the road, which took me by surprise. I had no idea that for 3 years of my life he had driven on the other side of the road. Apparently they drive on the other side of the road in Japan and I was just an obilvious child. Anyway, after a six hour drive up north we arrived at our first destination was Edinburgh, Scotland. My Dad had made a reservation at this hotel called Prestonfield because he had memories of going there with his family when he was a kid. It turns out that since he was last there, some 40 years ago, they have redone the place and it is now a 5 star luxury hotel that is "dangerously decadent" (as stated in their brochure). If you don't believe me, you can ask the cast of the 2003 MTV Music Awards, they've been there along with Joan Collins, Minnie Driver, Billy Boyd and Vin Diesel... the A list goes on.
Anyway, so here we are pulling up in front of this fancy hotel with peacocks roaming freely (interesting note: peacocks make noises that sound like an alarm AND they sleep in trees) , and all I can think about as I walk into the entrance is that this place is the CREEPIEST place I have ever been in my life. The inside literally looked exactly like the Disney World ride "Tower of Terror" in the Twilight Zone Hollywood Tower Hotel (the only thing missing was a floating candelabra). Everything inside the hotel was dressed in red and black: black candles, black flowers, plush red curtains blocking out the sun. The lighting was dim throughout the whole place, which appeared to be empty the whole time we were there... scary? I think so. The lady at the front desk showed us to our room, and we got in there and there was only one bed... She looked at us and said, "Do you like your room?" And we looked at each other and said, "Where is the other bed?" The lady looked kind of embarassed, and apologized. Eventually after a lot of awkwardness, she agreed to give me my own room down the hall, no extra charge. So now, up to this point, my Dad's room had been upgraded to a suite, I got my own room, and we were still only paying the price for the advertised twin bed room they had online. Quite a steal. I wish I could describe the rooms for you, but I don't think even my description would do it justice. They were so ornate, but in that haunted mansion sort of way. I honestly thought I might not live through the two nights we stayed there. It didn't help that I was in the middle of reading The Shining at this time. I think The Shining could have easily taken place at Prestonfield. I actually was curious and asked my favorite Scottish bell hop, Barry, if he knew any good ghost stories about the place. He said he'd done a few night shifts and the only thing he found was a few doors that opened on their own. But then he said (without me mentioning I was reading the book), "The place does kind of remind you of The Shining doesn't it?" AHHHH. I almost went running out the front door.
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