Days Inn - North Hwy 123 in Seguin, TX

When we first arrived to town, we needed a place to stay for a little over a week until our new home was ready. Although I am usually a bit of a hotel snob, preferring the Hampton Inn over any other hotel, that was pricey for that length of a stay and they weren't offering that great of a deal. So, I "settled" for Days Inn and got myself mentally prepared for a bad experience. NOT SO AT ALL! Our stay was overall very enjoyable! Although the hotel is old, and in need of renovation, it was a nice stay. We did have to switch rooms as the water from the first room would not come out in the shower. But that was really our only problem. The breakfast was great. The dining area kept clean. The workers there were all pretty friendly other than one housekeeper (who was not our regular daily housekeeper) who got annoyed that we wanted fresh towels and our room vacuumed. But our regular housekeeper was amazing. We were able to choose the general location in the hotel for our stay. There was coffee available at all times. Overall, we were quite surprised. We still would prefer the Hampton Inn. But, if you need an affordable place to stay with a good, warm breakfast....Days Inn is not bad at all. If there is any concern you have when there, just ask the front desk about it. The problem will go away. :)

Humane Society PIctures With Santa at Bank of America, Seguin TX

I know this may be the scroogiest post I have written, but I will chance the wrath of Santa for this one.

I took my son to see Santa on Court Street at Bank of America.  You (or your pet) could get your picture taken with Santa and it benefitted the Humane Society. 

Not that pleasant of an experience. My main complaint? You spend $15 for a small pack of pictures and have to wait until December 18th, (yes, you read that right...a week before Christmas) to get the pics back!!! So ridiculous.  Not only do you have to wait.  But they don't even have the courtesy to mail them.  You then have to drive out to get them at the Humane Society.  Totally inconvenient.  Way too late.  They need to get the right equipment to print out pics on the spot.  Nobody waits for these pics anymore. If my son wasn't excited to see Santa, I would have left after finding out about the wait.  Not happy.

The visit with Santa was not great either. You are herded around and it is pretty much out of control and chaotic. No organization. Too crowded in. And it is more like "you paid? ok go ahead".  It is not a memory or happy experience as it should be.  Santa was nice once you got to him. But the rest of it was not worth it.  Go anywhere else for your photos with Santa until they get a bigger venue, better organization and pictures on the spot (or will at least mail them to you).   Who needs this experience only to get pictures only 1 week before you don't need them anymore?

There were several vendors. They had a bake sale, as well.  There were cute items and the bake sale was super affordable.  There was one vendor who stuck out like a sore thumb with waaaaaay overpriced items for the event. To me, this vendor did not fit in.

Overall, as much as I would like to love this to support the Humane Society, I would not recommend it.  Go anywhere else until they get a better venue, more organized leadership and just a better experience all together.  We now need to pay AGAIN for pictures with Santa to be able to really use them. 

Please share the great spots to see Santa near Seguin, TX!!

Donut Palace - Seguin Texas

This is a review of the Donut Palace on King St. in Seguin, Texas.

If you are wondering where to go for soft, good donuts...this is it.  I have been there about 3 or 4 times in the 3 months since I have moved to Seguin.  The donuts have been great until today.

Today I received an apple fritter that was pure grease on the inside.  Not doughy, not soft.  Just literally grease throughout the middle.  This may make you wonder why I am recommending them when I had this horrible donut that may have been a day old and re-fried to appear fresh. 

It actually was the first bad donut experience I have had there.  All of the other times the donuts have been excellent.  And I have 3 kids, so I have seen the range of the donuts from Donut Palace.  Soft, fresh, good.  Just one bad experience.  I am still going to go back.

I want to say that at the same time I received this horrible apple fritter (the first time I got the fritter there...I usually stick with the cinnamon twist because it is soooo soft), my son wanted a sprinkle donut and they didn't have anymore.  So they made him one! How great is that?!? I wasn't expecting them to do that, but they did with a smile. 

Oh, that's another thing.  They aren't real chatty.  But they definitely are not rude.  Just nice in general. 

Oh, and one more good thing.  They have a drive-thru.  I love this. *************UPDATE: The drive-thru is a convenience IF you can get in line without being in traffic.  It is becoming VERY hard, and frustrating to get into the drive-thru as there is always a long line.  Because of this, I am now open to another donut store in Seguin.  The staff is friendly, but convenience is starting to go downhill.  Please!!! Fix the drive-thru issue!

I am going to write a not-so-positive review of Seguin Donuts in the plaza at 123/Court soon.   But in the meantime I will tell you this.  They are obviously selling day-old donuts and they are small and hard.  The lady isn't really friendly, either.  She strikes me as someone who hates her job! I don't have more than one experience with her, though.  Because I haven't and won't go back.  Who wants a hard donut?

Virgin Mobile Broadband Hotspot Review

OK.  So not really a business that has a local building.  But one that I have to use as I live in the VERY small town of Seguin now and they don't have a lot of choices. 

I got Virgin Mobile from my local Walmart.  I was told it had unlimited 4G at a decent price, so I was excited to get this going.  Well, Seguin doesn't have 4G service.  Ugh! I found this out after I bought and had it open and home.  Oh well, I will just use 3G.

It was a nightmare to set up from the beginning.  If you don't like overseas customer service (I hate it), then you will NOT enjoy Virgin Mobile.  It has been 3 months and 100% NIGHTMARE.

First of all, they will try to scam you out of all of your MB's of service you are supposed to get.  ALWAYS check to make sure.  They will say they know it is a problem, and yet it happens month after month.  My guess is that it is done on purpose and they hope people won't notice and pay again without getting what they paid for.  Why else wouldn't they fix this KNOWN problem for 3 months?

You will constantly be put on hold with the SAME 30 second recording blasting in your ear.  "you are listening to Virgin Mobile..." ugh SUPER, SUPER annoying.  Again, I think this is a tactic to make you hang up and give up.  They will consistently put you on hold when you have a complaint.

Make sure you complain to a supervisor.  The regular call-takers will tell you they are escalating your concern and it will be handled in 24 hours (this is when the internet is cut off because they are ripping you off of your PAID FOR MB'S).  Well, it won't be back on in 24 hours.  Ask for a supervisor and demand credit.  This is totally not appropriate for a business run by a very rich and successful businessman. 

Pay more with another company.  Run,  don't walk, away from Virgin Mobile!!!

New to Katy? The First Thing to Do is Like Katy Magazine on FB!

Although I have been in town nearly a year, I still consider myself new to Katy.  I had no idea what was going on around me and had no friends in the area to ask questions.  But then I found Katy Magazine on Facebook! Seriously a MUST for those who want to know when and where the Easter Egg hunts are, where the locals go for the best dentist, etc. 

They are also awesome because you can post to their wall and ask questions that you have no one to ask.  And some of the time they will repost it on the main wall if they see that you have not received an answer.  They will ask local people to help you out with some answers. 

Their pics are of local kids and they had the cutest local elderly couple.  They are Katy's best source for truly local, helpful information.   Go "like" them now and you will never be out of the loop! Find them here.

Wendys on South Fry Rd, Katy TX

Ugh! I've been to this Wendy's a few times.  Nothing special.  Employees not rude, not super friendly.  Just kind of there.  The bathroom doesn't look horrible, but doesn't smell clean.  And now, add it to the list of reasons to find another restaurant...they have not taken gift cards because "the machine's not working" for several visits over a month.   Get a new GM and owner for this one Wendy's...they are making you look bad.

New Aldi Store in Katy, Texas

There is a new store in the area.  Of course, this catches everyone's attention.  Right next door to Walmart and right across from Kroger...this store has guts! But we are excited to check it out.  At least this can provide us with something new as we wait for HEB to come to the area.  Psssst! HEB WE NEED YOU IN NORTH KATY!!!!!

When Aldi opened, it was overflowing with cars.  There were no parking spaces and I am sure this little store was surprised with the crowd it was drawing.  We waited a few days and then went in.  We were unprepared for the carts to cost $0.25 and of course I couldn't find a quarter in my purse.  So, we just decided to check it out and get a couple of things.  (BTW, you get your quarter back when you return the cart).

First impression:  IT IS SMALL.  And so far, it is crowded.  But it has a clean feel to it and that's important.  Not everything is cheaper.  Bleach is cheaper other places.  And a few other items.  But milk and eggs were priced lower than usual.  So, you could definitely save a few bucks if you did some thinking about cost.  And there are not name brands, so if you are OK with generics, you are good to go.

The employees are all super nice. Nicer than most groceries stores by far.  They are all welcoming and smiling and friendly.  All but one lady who rudely moved my cart pretty darn far from where I was standing without turning to even glance at me.  I don't think she spoke English, but basic manners would have been appreciated.  It seemed rude. Otherwise, people are super happy to be working there it seems.

Once the crowd and the curiosity die down, it will be a nice place to run in and grab a few things.  Or to get the things that are cheaper.  Overall, I like it.  But I am still waiting for HEB!!