USA 2016 part 5: Monday 14th November – Leaving Queens for Hotel Newton
I trusted the travel agency back in Devon when I gave them my brief: a reasonable and inexpensive middling hotel in Manhattan, not far from Central Park. I had two nights at the Hotel Newton to look forward to – or so I thought. I was shocked when I arrived at the hotel – it was more like a hostel and my room was tiny…
By early afternoon I was packed and said my goodbyes to Auntie Sachee and family. It was very good to see them and to spend time talking and thinking about Rena. Before long I was on the subway at 111th street station and off to Broadway and 96th street station, very close to the hotel.
From the outside the hotel did not look promising; as soon as I got through the door it became obvious this was no ordinary hotel. It was very odd, with no seating or waiting area, no proper reception and certainly no bar or restaurant – or lounge for that matter. It was pretty grim and was about to get a whole lot worse.
I managed to get up to my room; dark, drab and small does not do it justice. I was shocked at how small and unpleasant the room was, with just a single bed and bedside table – nowhere to stash clothes, or anything else for that matter. On all my trips to the United States I had never experienced anything like this; even a cheap hotel-chain in Britain would never have been this bad. I unpacked after a fashion, laying clothes out on the floor.
Later in the day I decided to get on the subway downtown towards Trump Tower to see if there was any activity – and sure enough there was…
Colin Anderson 
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