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Much has been said about Greenville’s downtown, including on this blog. However, we chose to stay about 15 minutes down the interstate outside of the downtown area because it was more convenient for my husband’s various morning commutes. He was tasked with visiting a different location each morning, including some that weren’t in Greenville at all.
The seven-story Greenville Marriott is perched atop a hill and since it was just before Thanksgiving, we were lucky enough to have a few colorful trees outside our widow. Many hotels in this area seem to have indoor pools, but this one had a lovely outdoor pool area. There is a real Fall up here (not like at home) so no one was using the pool, but I bet it gets its fair share of attention in the summer.
The most notable thing, though, about this property was the customer service. Since I have spent my whole career in customer service, there a few things that I notice more keenly. This staff learned our names and our breakfast juice preferences by day two. When we arrived at the restaurant for breakfast we were greeted with our names and confirmation that we wanted “our usual” juice order with our meals. Impressive.
Since we are members of the hotel chain’s reward program, we have a member profile. Ours states that we like extra towels and foam pillows. Feather pillows are pointless. If I wanted to sleep with my head flat on the mattress, I would skip using a pillow altogether. This is the first property that has ever actually read our profile before we arrived and had our preferences waiting for us in our room. Whaat?!
When possible, we upgrade to a larger room/suite so that I can teach online really early in the morning and my husband can sleep until a more human hour. The first five days we were there, no suite was available. I asked if there was an empty board room that I could use at 5:45 a.m. each day. The staff found one for me and gave me the consistency of teaching in the same place every day. This may not sound like a big deal, but other properties have said to me, “Those rooms are for rental customers only.” This staff said, “We don’t have rentals at 5:45 in the morning, so you are welcome to it.” That’s exactly what I was thinking too, so I was excited to be on the same page with the staff. Their benevolent attitude was, “Make sure to let us know if you need it each day so we can sanitize the room for you.” A gold star for customer service!
On my last day in Greenville, I sought out off-the-beaten path experiences. The downtown was nice, but there was nothing unusual about it. I was looking for something quirky before I left the area. I definitely found it at Herdklotz Park.
This park is managed by Greenville County Parks, Recreation and Tourism and lies in North Greenville. There is ample parking and a paved, handicapped-accessible half-mile walking trail that encircles the beautiful ball fields. Up on a hill, there is a huge playground and multiple picnic shelters that can be rented/reserved for family gatherings. There is even a sand volleyball court. This sounds like your average neighborhood park, so why am I mentioning it?
Herdklotz Park is notable because it is an amazing example of a community acknowledging a rather sad part of its own history and creating something hopeful and positive from it.
In 1930, the Hopewell Hospital was erected on this site to care for adult and youth tuberculosis patients. The hospital cost $175,000 to build and had space for 66 patients. The site remained a TB hospital for four decades until 1970 when the property became a state-run correctional facility. In 2002, the facility burned down and thus ended the sad chapter of this property.
In 2007, the new recreation complex opened and the rebirth was complete. Today, unless you are looking for evidence of the old hospital (as I was), you might miss it entirely. A historical marker is present, though. Built into the side of a hill, is the only remaining piece of the hospital, the entry to the original root cellar.
I will not deny that it is a bit eerie, but the overriding message of hope and renewal cannot be denied either.
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