Conventional Wisdom

(Historical Notes: I can’t remember if I explain this on any of the previous comics, I may not have stayed at this hotel any other time, but the Sheraton Suites across from the Galleria is positioned very strangely.  It’s sort of nestled into a corner between Cobb Parkway and the parking lot for Cumberland Mall, and that parking lot is significantly higher up than the bottom floor of the hotel.  As a result, while you can drive straight into the hotel parking lot from the mall lot, you CAN’T just walk straight into the hotel from there.  When you just explain it, it makes perfect sense that a hotel can’t have a second entrance several floors up from the lobby.  It’s be a security nightmare if people could just wander straight in like that.  But when you’re actually THERE, trying to find your way in to the hotel or out to the convention center, all that up and down travel gets really disorienting really fast.  To make matters worse, while there IS a pedestrian bridge to get people over Cobb Parkway, that bridge connects to the MALL parking lot, not the hotel one.  And the way Cumberland Mall’s parking lot is laid out, the incoming traffic comes through right behind the hotel.  So even if you specifically want to avoid walking through traffic to get to the Galleria, you STILL HAVE TO DODGE TRAFFIC TO GET TO THE BRIDGE.  Mall traffic’s nowhere near as bad as street traffic, but the sense of pointlessness makes it feel even worse.  Also, good for Past Me not even trying to hide my cynicism anymore!)