The Crash Pad

As you know I've been driving all over for lacrosse and this week is no different. Well, it's different in that I'm in Tennessee for 3 days. At first because I'm still working the day job, I thought I was going up and back on Tuesday, and then I found out I could work remotely.

Checking the best way to get from School A to School B put me back through Chattanooga. Having heard great things about the Crash Pad and the price being right ($30/night), I decided to check it out.

Straight from their webpage, this is what I had to look forward to:

Our mission is to further establish Chattanooga as an ultimate outdoor destination by providing a base camp and community hub for adventurous travelers. This has led us to our dream of opening an uncommon hostel in the heart of downtown, combining the affordability and camaraderie of a traditional hostel with the charm and cleanliness of a boutique hotel.

While The Crash Pad welcomes all travelers, we’ve taken special care to maximize the experience of those who come to play in the mountains and rivers that surround our city. Detailed information will be readily available for the wealth of climbing, biking, running, kayaking and all other sports accessible by a short drive from the hostel. We look forward to helping you plan your adventure.

New construction ensures the highest standards of craftsmanship and energy efficiency. As outdoor adventurers, we pursued construction and operation techniques built on reclaimed and renewable resources in order to minimize our impact on the environment. For more information on our commitment to sustainable business, please visit our Certifications page.

I'm not hiking. I'm not climbing, I do think I'm low fuss. I needed wi-fi to work and a bed to sleep in. They promised both. I called Tuesday morning (I saw from the website there were plenty of beds open that night) and reserved my bed and warned them I might be late. I was assured it wasn't an issue. I managed to get here during normal operating hours. I got checked in and given a tour since it was my first visit.

The tour:

The kitchen: Breakfast stuffs are provided, spices, cookware, label your food. Clean up. That simple.

Then down the hall is a laundry facility. You pay for it, but they'll just put it on your tab when you check out.

I said no thanks and skipped the details but I could see if you were coming for a week or so and backpacking, etc. This would be very handy.

We headed up the steps because I was told at check in I could have my own area, but it would be upstairs. Perks of being here at a low traffic time I guess.

VERY clean bathroom, hand towels, hand soap.

Shower had the same level of cleanliness

And then the bunk I signed up for:

In each bunk area were 4 outlets, a personal light, a fan and curtains to close off. Underneath the beds were locked storage areas. Clean sheets, towel, and blanket greeted me as well. Sweet on the towel, I thought I had to bring my own so I stopped at Wal-Mart and grabbed one. Oh well.

The staff that greeted me was super pleasant and offer to get the fire pit started if I wanted.

But I was hungry and I didn't even bother to settle in before I headed over to the Flying Squirrel for dinner. Turns out I got 20% off my food for being a Crash Pad guest and other discounts around town as well.

I slept okay but had a weird dream about my ex-boyfriend. It made no sense. But that's not really part of the story here. I got up and ran to the other side of the river and back. Chattanooga starts moving early, lots of cars and traffic lights to deal with.

Time to work. I had spoken to the guys the night before and they said there was no issue with me hanging out, using the wi-fi and working today until I needed to go to my game. As a matter of fact, the staff was headed out to a meeting and they first checked to see if I needed anything and then gave me back a key (check out is 11am) so that I could move about the building and get back in if I went out.

Today's work space

A place to hang out in the 'reception' area

I headed out to lunch with a friend to The Terminal Brewhouse. Since I'm working remotely, I just took my laptop with me and we sat out side and enjoyed a great meal. Upon my return, I resettled into my office. My only slight disappointment was the music playing. Not my style, but I figured if I'm prolonging my visit and they are being very gracias about it, I'll just keep plugging away.

There are larger rooms if you are traveling with others beyond just the bunks. If you are coming up to hike, climb or more likely training for Chat 70.3 or Chat 14x.6 this could be a great place to stay. I would stay here again without hesitation.

These guys and others in their fancy sweat-xedos will be here to greet you.