I hope you will give me the opportunity to respond to the letter (Western News, May 22, Insult to current hotels) calling my views “nonsense.”
I will ignore the selective quoting of my comments, but his letter is just full of the sort of narrow minded views that smack of the “I’m alright Jack” attitude. While some may not want Penticton to change from the way it is now so that they can enjoy retirement, what about the next generation of retirees who want to come and live here?
Each generation seems to have complained about the building of something new — such as the condos on Lakeshore Drive, the Lakeside Resort and Casino, the convention centre, Landmark movie theatre and so on and so on. If they had got their way, none of these would have been built and this wonderful city would have been stuck in a time warp, unable to attract anyone, youngsters or retirees alike.
As for insulting our existing crop of hotels and motels I do not know where to start. But to be brief, while some reviews think the accommodation is wonderful, I can only comment that if people’s expectations are low in the first place, then they will not be disappointed.
To balance that, some very recent reviews of our hotels in the last seven days on Trip Advisor include such phrases as “very dated,” “in need of a face lift,” and “smelly.” Perhaps that could explain why there is such a low occupancy rate of around 45 per cent. The more discerning traveller comes here once, samples what is offered and never returns.
As for anyone calling council meetings the “Muppets Show,” well that smacks of jealousy that their favoured candidate was not voted in by the majority of people who live here. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the next council meeting because I am currently out of the country.
I have been spoken to by a considerably large number of Penticton seniors who agree with the content of my letter. I would reiterate that I am also a senior. I just hope this council does not listen to the likes of some of these letters to the editor writers, and lead this city into the dark ages.
Alan Warren
Penticton