BOQ REVIEW's

[Kyoowashugi]

Yeah, I was talking about Shoe Towers. I didn't even know there was another one next to the piers.

There's one that's about a 5-minute walk from what I called Amphib Row (big-deck parking) on the piers...Spruance Hall, I think? That's the one I was talking about. I had a friend in Wall Manor and her suite was nice...my single room in Spruance was misery. :icon_rage

 

[Carlos Caliente]

Malmstrom AFB in Great Falls, MT. Holy shit, this is where the Chair Force parks all their money. It was ridiculously nice, and about 28 bucks a night. Flatscreen in the King size bedroom and the other room, which had new, nice furniture. Stayed there a night in september 07 while passing through.

 

[nittany03]

More random recollections of the resident professional flight student:

NS Bremerton CBQ:
Stayed here a few times whilst at NAVHOSP Bremerton dealing with the utter medical clusterf*** that came with having kidney stones. Judging by the "BEQ Parking" signs that were on the curbs, some beancounter decided that the officers don't need their hoity-toity seperate quarters, and everyone can deal with the BEQ. F that. Oh, and speaking of parking, THERE IS NONE. It fills up if the damn place is over 70 percent occupied, and every other parking lot on base has a "do not park here without parking permit XX or you will be ticketed and towed" sign. Piss poor planning on someone's part.

The inside looks like the inside of a mental ward (see my review of NAS Willow Grove), and the walls are paper thin. So thin all the wiring conduits are on the outside of the walls. Which is great when you have surgery the next morning and the guy two rooms over is watching a movie at 2200. Sheesh. WiFi is spotty. By the look of the bathrooms, the place was recently renovated, but given the result I don't know why they bothered. Rooms are decorated in a "minimalist" motif which makes you want to adjust the color on your eyeballs. No, really. It's all black and white. Nowhere really to eat on base; the galley is unimpressive, there's a Mickey D's if you want to clog arteries, and the "Sam Adams Brewhouse" appears to be the de facto E club. Yeesh. If I worked there, I'd be hopping the ferry to Seattle every weekend.

NAS P-cola and NPS new BOQs:
Holy cow. I have seen the promised land. I'm convinced AF money had to be involved with these things somewhere. P-cola has two huge new BOQs, and NPS a new addition off Hermann Hall. Nice single rooms with fans, new TVs, and kitchenettes. Decently sized, too, not Motel 6 size. The architecture of both blends in with the local buildings, which is nice. Decent soundproofing or else I was there during low occupancy. IF ANYONE FROM BIG NAVY READS THIS, THIS IS WHAT A Q SHOULD BE! Except for the beds. Apparently someone involved in acquiring beds for Navy Qs has a hardon for beds that feel like bricks. I don't have back problems and would like to delay getting them until the nursing home, if I could. Care to help?

The one in P-cola has a fountain in the entranceway with the "Navy Gateway Inns and Suites" logo on it. Totally superfluous, but hey. At least they're looking out for the details.

 

[Gatordev]

NAS P-cola and NPS new BOQs:
Holy cow. I have seen the promised land. I'm convinced AF money had to be involved with these things somewhere. P-cola has two huge new BOQs, and NPS a new addition off Hermann Hall. Nice single rooms with fans, new TVs, and kitchenettes. Decently sized, too, not Motel 6 size. The architecture of both blends in with the local buildings, which is nice. Decent soundproofing or else I was there during low occupancy. IF ANYONE FROM BIG NAVY READS THIS, THIS IS WHAT A Q SHOULD BE! Except for the beds. Apparently someone involved in acquiring beds for Navy Qs has a hardon for beds that feel like bricks. I don't have back problems and would like to delay getting them until the nursing home, if I could. Care to help?

The one in P-cola has a fountain in the entranceway with the "Navy Gateway Inns and Suites" logo on it. Totally superfluous, but hey. At least they're looking out for the details.

The problem I had in those rooms when I was staying there (for 6 long weeks) was that I had little to no hot water in the shower if it was 6am or later on a weekday. Kind of annoying.

 

[nittany03]

Thread resurrected for the Nit returns to Whidbey tour, coming soon to a city near you.

Tinker AFB: Overall fleet average. What you'd expect; a little dated but in good repair. Standard single-room-with-shared-kitchenette the AF seems enamored with. Microfridge and TV. Average size room. Oh, and it's FREAKING COLD here.

Goods: They give you a tube of shampoo the size of a travel tube of toothpaste. Would be key if you're there for a few days, as opposed to the standard tiny bottle which lasts for 1.5 showers. Close to the galley and gym if you have a car.

Others: THE BED. It's like poured concrete. I don't understand why DoD spec seems to require BOQ beds to induce visits to a chiropractor. It would also be nice if they shoveled the sidewalks better when it snowed; I about fell on my ass a couple of times unloading my car.

Odds: The AF apparently plays Taps over the PA at 2200. I liked it because it brought up memories of being in a tent at Scout camp as a kid, but whatever.

 

[nittany03]

Kirtland AFB: Overall above average Q. Two things in particular stand out: the bed and the layout. Queen size bed was not too cushy and not too soft. For the usual price range, you get a bedroom and sitting room with stand-up shower bathroom in between. TVs in both rooms. Reasonably well soundproofed or else empty.

Goods: as mentioned. Also, in addition to the standard Do Not Disturb/Make Up Room signs, there is a black AIR CREW: DO NOT DISTURB sign. Interesting safety-related touch.

Others: It's in the middle of nowhere in the midst of base housing. Base itself is in kind of a ghetto area (big surprise) forcing you to drive to good food.

Odds: There is a bomb threat reporting form conveniently located under the phone. Something I don't know about here?

 

[Uncle Fester]

Cannon AFB, NM. The Q was more like furnished 2-3 BR apartments, complete with full kitchens and spacious living rooms. There for a month long, three-plane, two squadron det, it was quite posh. Of course, to quote Elliot Gould, you're still in the middle of the goddamned desert. Clovis - the only nearby town - makes Fallon look like Las Vegas.

If in San Diego and you have a choice, make sure to get a room at the NAB (Coronado) Q. Nice rooms, and best of the SD Q's for location and view. It's in a high-rise, and you either get a ocean view or a view of SD Bay. I was there for pre-IA mobilization stuff, and it was worth the 20 minute drive over to 32nd St. NASNI Q is okay. The 32nd St Q's only virtue is that it's right next to a trolley stop, so you can get around easily should you find yourself there without a rental car. The ASW Base Q looks good on paper, being in the heart of Point Loma, but the rooms suck, and you still need a car to get anywhere.

 

[HuggyU2]

So, if I get this right:
USN/USMC aircrew stay in USAF VOQ's, but USAF aircrew generally stay off base and avoid their own VOQ.
The irony...

 

[A4sForever]

So, if I get this right:
USN/USMC aircrew stay in USAF VOQ's, but USAF aircrew generally stay off base and avoid their own VOQ.
The irony...

IRONY INDEED ... when I was stayin' in Waikiki on layovers prior to buying that 'permanent roof' over my lanai I was always AMAZED when an ENTIRE USAF BUS full of AF-weenies would show up @ various & sundry Waikiki hotels 'cause the base facilities were 'substandard', according to them ... and of course, their HNL 'vacation layover' was all compliments of the US taxpayer. There was PLENTY of room on base.

In the meantime, some of our former USN/USMC pilots on the airline (the cheaper ones in general) were beatin' down the doors to get in @ the Hickam BOQ/VOQ. Nobody ever stayed @ Schofield, however ... don't know whether it was 'full' or whether it sucked or possibly both.

One of my copilots was so cheap, he would go over the Pali to the Kaneohe 'Q to save a couple of bucks over what Hickam or the Submarine Base charged ... now, that's REALLY cheap.

 

[insanebikerboy]

If in San Diego and you have a choice, make sure to get a room at the NAB (Coronado) Q. Nice rooms, and best of the SD Q's for location and view. It's in a high-rise, and you either get a ocean view or a view of SD Bay. I was there for pre-IA mobilization stuff, and it was worth the 20 minute drive over to 32nd St. NASNI Q is okay. The 32nd St Q's only virtue is that it's right next to a trolley stop, so you can get around easily should you find yourself there without a rental car. The ASW Base Q looks good on paper, being in the heart of Point Loma, but the rooms suck, and you still need a car to get anywhere.

I'm split on the best one in San Diego. The Q on the sub base is being redone, in that the interiors of the rooms are being redone. About half of them are updated, have nice furniture, the beds are actually really comfortable and it's enjoyable to stay there. I preferred it over anything on Coronado, although it takes about 30 minutes to get through traffic and over to the NAS.

 

[PropAddict]

One of my copilots was so cheap, he would go over the Pali to the Kaneohe 'Q to save a couple of bucks over what Hickam or the Submarine Base charged ... now, that's REALLY cheap.

Yes, yes it is. Especially considering that you only save @$50 a night to stay at K-Bay over the Hale Koa. But you have to make that drive thru Honolulu rush hour and lose all the Waikiki amenities.

 

[A4sForever]

Yes, yes it is. Especially considering that you only save @$50 a night to stay at K-Bay over the Hale Koa. But you have to make that drive thru Honolulu rush hour and lose all the Waikiki amenities.

His excuse was 'it's so quick over H-3 or Likelike to the airport' ... ri-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-iggght.

I stayed in Waikiki on a regular basis (2-3 hotels) for @ 8 years prior to purchasing my lil' grass shack out west ... but from Waikiki we'd usually go Nimitz to the airport ... usually not more than 35-45 minutes in traffic even with a couple of stops thrown in to pickup 3-4 stews along the way ... now THAT's somethin' those AF-weenies couldn't do ...

 

[Gatordev]

Yes, yes it is. Especially considering that you only save @$50 a night to stay at K-Bay over the Hale Koa. But you have to make that drive thru Honolulu rush hour and lose all the Waikiki amenities.

Not to mention that the K-Bay Q is horrendous. Case closed. When I went back there this summer for some TAD/leave, I gladly paid out of my own pocket to stay at the Lodge just so I didn't have to deal w/ the Q there.

 

[nittany03]

Resurrected AGAIN as I hit a bunch of TAD on the way to this "fleet" thing I keep hearing about.

32nd St, Ford Hall. 3 weeks here for Legal O Skool. Good grief, this base is in the ghetto. I mean, holy cow. I was nervous driving around after dark. Again, the fact that the building says "Hall" should cue you in that, once again, NGIS really stands for "Officers, to the (former) BEQ, harch!" That said, fleet average to slightly below.

Goods: The bed. It's positively civilized. Decent soundproofing or I had quiet neighbors.

Others: Housekeeping knocking at 0830 on a weekend morning. GO. AWAY. The whole place being 1/4 mile from a rail crossing and being woken up by train whistles at 0-dark-30 because housekeeping left your window open. Housekeeping turning the AC off when they clean, leaving the place stifling when you get back from class. Housekeeping taking their lunch break in the "common room" outside your door, yapping away like they own the place when you want to take a post-lunch nap. Really? Having to close the curtains and trap the AC behind them because you're missing four blinds.

Odds: Sharing a sitting room with three other people when you get a "Private room."

 

[KBayDog]

^So what you're saying is, don't be the squadron legal officer. Noted.