An Exclusive Look at Life at the Villanova Quarantine Hotel
By Olivia Pfeiffer
By now, I’m sure you know someone who is currently stuck in quarantine. The rising number of cases on campus makes it seem almost impossible to not know someone who has either been sent home or to an off-campus location. I was unfortunately contact traced within 48 hours of arriving at Villanova, not even having the chance to unpack before I was moved first to the Villanova Inn and then to the Hilton in Plymouth Meeting. As my time in quarantine fortunately draws to a close this weekend, I thought I would take the time to reflect on my past two weeks in quarantine: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Good
The Accommodations: As far as my physical comforts go, there is not much more that I could want. I have a king bed to myself, multiple TVs, and a separate living area and bedroom in order to have some semblance of work/life balance. I have more space for myself than I have ever had while on campus, and it is a luxury to take a shower and collapse onto my bed in a towel with zero judgements or worries of annoying my roommate. I don’t have to wear headphones on my zoom calls and can play my music as loud as I want in relative privacy.
The Staff: Both the hotel staff and the Villanova staff who have been at the hotels with us have been nothing short of friendly and welcoming. During this incredibly stressful and confusing time, they have been kind and helpful, dropping off dinners and answering questions as needed. You have to sign up with them in order to go outside, but I always enjoyed the conversations I had with them while doing so, and they definitely did the best they could to accommodate all of our requests and make life a little less miserable.
The Bad
The Food Variety: The food isn’t bad, especially in comparison to the NYU Watermelon Chicken Salad scandal that dominated TikTok last fall. You get to choose your own meals the night before, and then they arrive at your door three times a day at a fairly consistent time. With that being said, the menu is fairly limited (understandably so), and it can definitely get extremely repetitive after a few days. I definitely end up craving Chinese or Indian or Greek food after days of American food. I also love cooking for myself, so not having access to a kitchen when cooking is my primary hobby has been a personal blow. Some people love not having to cook, but I am looking forward to my Trader Joe’s runs!
Plastic, Plastic, Plastic: Another aspect of my stay that is entirely understandable, but my plastic consumption has risen considerably in the past two weeks. All my meals come in plastic tins in plastic bags with plastic silverware wrapped in plastic, and I head to the fridge to grab my plastic water bottle and feel as though I am killing the earth. While I get why this is the case, I don’t love having such a high plastic consumption but do not see any way around it.
The Ugly
Lack of Communication: I know the news on campus has been worrisome wherever you are, but it has felt incredibly frustrating to be in quarantine and not have any updates as to what is going on beyond texts from my friends. When we were moved from the Inn to the Hilton, we had less than 24 hours of notice to pack up our bags and were never even told why we were moving in the first place. Even the Health Center has been difficult to contact regarding questions about the quarantine period, from arrival to drop off, and it is very frustrating feeling like you are completely out of the loop and stranded.
The Isolation Blues: You don’t need me to tell you how miserable it is to be stuck in a hotel room by yourself for two weeks. Though all my physical comforts are provided for and I spend hours on FaceTime, it just sucks to spend all that time by yourself. It is incredibly lonely to not be spending time around other people, and as an extrovert, I’ve really struggled with all of this time to myself. Especially on weekends, when you don’t have any classes to distract you from your thoughts, it can get incredibly depressing and definitely impacts your mental health, even if you are doing yoga every day. Remember to reach out to your friends who are in isolation right now and offer to do something with them. Even a night spent virtually watching a movie together can make all the difference.
