Is a Premier Inn Plus Room Worth the Extra?
It begins, as these things often do, with a small death.
Not the dramatic kind. Not the kind involving violins or headlines. Just the slow bureaucratic suffocation of what used to be called “customer service.”
I arrive at the Premier Inn Birmingham City Centre (Exchange Square) — luggage in hand, optimism in pocket — and am greeted not by a human but by a gesture. A nod. A point. A kiosk.
“Check in there.”
No warmth. No theatre. No “Welcome to Birmingham.” Just me and a glowing screen asking me to confirm I am, in fact, myself. The machine hums. I comply. Somewhere a shareholder smiles.
Ten Tips for Negotiating in a Marrakesh Souk (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Hustle)
The first time you step into a Marrakesh souk, it feels like being fired out of a cannon into a living organism. Noise ricochets off the walls. Scooters appear where scooters should not exist.
Marrakesh or Marrakech? Chaos, Culture, and Survival in Morocco’s Wildest City
I arrived in Marrakesh — or Marrakech, depending on who you ask and how French the sign feels — the way you’re supposed to: slightly dehydrated, mildly confused, and already questioning whether I’d accidentally wandered into the middle of a live-action video game set on expert mode.
