Last week I shared some of Martha’s and my recent experiences at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Naples, Fla., where I attended a conference. Being guests at the Ritz is something out of the ordinary for us, with rooms starting at more than $400 a night (tax included). As you might suspect, the hotel boasts of having the Forbes Four Star Award and the AAA Five Diamond Award.
We rented a car for our stay so we could visit Martha’s former roommate from the days when she first moved to Stevens Point to teach. Mary and her husband, George, live in a gated community (there are many in the Naples area) in a lovely house that opens to a large outdoor patio.
George enjoys cooking and treated us to a champagne brunch on a Sunday morning, and a wonderful pork roast dinner the following evening. We sat outside for cocktails and visiting. Temperatures were in the 80s.
Each time we left the hotel and asked for our rental car – a Ford Fusion – we surveyed the circular driveway leading to the entrance to see expensive cars, which the hotel parks close-by. The first two times we checked, we spotted Bentleys – first a blue one and then a black model. Later, Rolls Royce masterpieces headed the row of pricy vehicles, with a few Lamborghinis and plenty of Mercedes Benz and BMW models.
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