Hotels: a general critique

[suze2000]

A minimum standard of cleanliness. I once got into a recessed tub for a relaxing bath and discovered mould around the inside of the recess. Erk. I understand in tropical regions it's hard to get every speck of mould off the shower and can accept a little in there. But in the tub, that hardly ever gets used?

Five star hotels that don't stock high quality brand-name toiletries. Mind you, I don't always use them, but I do take them home for when I'm taking other short trips where only small amounts of shampoo is required.

Toilet paper mounted in impossible places has already been mentioned but bears repeating. And there MUST be a spare roll - in case of disaster. (!)

Only one bathrobe in the wardrobe when you have booked your room for two. Add to that bathrobes that won't fit anyone who doesn't have snake-hips. Same goes for those luggage racks - there should be two in every room. Hate having to ring and ask for another. And they should be sprayed or examined regularly (at least weekly), otherwise what's the point of them?

Only one power point that can be found without unplugging the telly.

Rooms that are dark even with the lights on - I'm looking at you, Pan Pacific Perth! Stayed in a suite that didn't have an overhead light in the living room, instead you had to search for the switches for the lamps, and they barely provided any light at all.

 

[justin23]

Its interesting because when I have traveled for work I'm always in a decent hotel. Everything looks nice, but they want to charge for wifi, minibar is expensive etc etc. Yet for personal travel I often stay in guesthouses, private rooms in hostels and smaller local run hotels and I rarely ever have an issue. Sure sometimes things look very dated, and occasionally a staff member isn't helpful, but 99% of the time I have very little to complain about.

I'm off to Bhutan/Singapore/Bangkok in a week or so and its all been prebooked with hotels. It will be interesting to see how they compare to my usual choices! Although I do admit for work I tend to want a lot more comfort than for leisure travel.

 

[Valerie Moffat]

I stayed recently at Crowne Plaza in Canberra.
My husband and I had stayed there often prior to his death.
When I arrived not only was I greeted by name, it was obvious that records had been perused re my previous stays and smiles and warmth were aplenty.
Everything was as one would expect a fine hotel to be.
Just thought a positive comment should be aired !
Valmoff

 

[h15t0r1an]

And there MUST be a spare roll - in case of disaster. (!)

....and it would help if the existing toilet roll was not practically empty at the time you check into the room. In which case you might not make it even if there is a spare located somewhere where? over the bath where it can get steamed, like I saw in one hotel?

 

[RogerRoo]

DO YOU HAVE A RESERVATION SIR?

After a full day in the Office, you fly interstate and go straight to the Hotel, plan for a quick meal, finish reading todays emails and then plan out tomorrows meetings before getting some sleep in a strange Hotel environment.

Going downstairs for a meal, you are greeted ..... "Good evening sir, do you have a reservation? No, I just checked in, I am staying in the Hotel. Sorry sir we are fully booked."
I seem to be getting more of this of late, particularly at the five star hotels that now have what I call, middle of the road Hotel eateries. Some Hotels have shifted from lower volume/high quality restaurants to high volume, high/middle quality, attracting the whole city to their venue. Mind you their pricing does not seemed to have changed=profitability.


To just stretch this lacking of nutrition in the Hotel one step further (from a recent experience) before I pose a question (below). I then go back upstairs, to seek Room Service, find some tantalising (sounding) items on the not much cheaper room service menu, make a call, hold on ringing for 45 seconds, hang up. Make another call to Room Service, no answer again. I then make a call to the Front Desk.

"Hello Mr Roo, how may I assist you? I cannot get an answer when I dial Room Service, I have called twice. My apologies Mr Roo, they are busy assisting in the Restaurant, we are rather busy down there and we needed more staff, I am happy to take your order, we will be able to deliver it in 45 minutes". If I was told in a Restaurant that there would be a delay of 45 minutes, may I suggest you would go elsewhere. So ...... I said to the Front Desk," Thankyou, but I will try elsewhere, where my patronage will obviously be more appreciated". I ended up at the Golden Arches that evening and none of my other planned work was done!

The days of the Hotel guest being cared for (as much) in some Hotels seems to be a luxury of the past, unless you pay more for the privilege, say in a Club Floor or maybe a boutique Hotel.

Hotels are clearly more focussed, maximising return for every square metre of their property, such as their Restaurants that I mentioned above as an example rather than pleasing their guests. I always thought that if they pleased their guests then they would be rewarded by higher occupancy=profitability. Interesting (potential) conflict of interest, can they can have it both ways? I think not.

 

[RSD]

When it comes to hotel rooms I have the simple philosophy of "I didn't design it so I don't expect everything to be perfect just as I like it" and just take whatever is found in my stride. The only thing that annoys me is when the curtains don't overlap properly in the middle, or don't extend sufficiently past the ends of the window - I like a dark room for sleeping. Solution - always carry half a dozen clothes pegs in my bag for holding the curtains together or pulling the ends out to something.

 

[Turbo-g]

I've recently graduated from an engineering course designed to place sensitive smoke detectors in the most steam prone areas in any hotel room. Apparently we are likely to be in high demand from many Hotel chains worldwide, with some of our counterparts already setting excellent standards especially throughout Asia.

 

[Valerie Moffat]

Good Luck with that Turbo-g.
Good to read a positive, not long list of complaints! !
Valmoff

 

[Valerie Moffat]

Great idea RSD..a positive post..
Valmoff

 

[RogerRoo]

When it comes to hotel rooms I have the simple philosophy of "I didn't design it so I don't expect everything to be perfect just as I like it" and just take whatever is found in my stride. The only thing that annoys me is when the curtains don't overlap properly in the middle, or don't extend sufficiently past the ends of the window - I like a dark room for sleeping. Solution - always carry half a dozen clothes pegs in my bag for holding the curtains together or pulling the ends out to something.

I also take clothes pegs, but when on vacation. Strange thing, I actually use them for hanging clothes washing.

 

[michaelj]

What do I hate the most?

An iron that puts a whopping big stain on your last clean shirt.
An alarm clock set at 4am that the last guest did not turn off.
Being given a room that already had another couple in it.

 

[hthorei]

What makes me mad that when you arrive early you generally get the furthest room available and that means some distance in the larger hotels when you leave your room several times a day.
I Agree with toilet roll positions and it seems that the respective architects never use hotel toilets when they are traveling
The internet problem is slowly changing with many hotels offering free wifi in their lobbies and some public areas

 

[plspoon]

Agree with most of these posts! My pet hates would be

. inaccessible or no extra power outlets
. curtains that don't meet properly in the middle particularly when you're on the ground floor or one of those motels where people walk past your room. I've had to prop them shut with a chair. I actually complained about this at one hotel on their feedback form and some months later found that they had replaced them with new curtains that did close properly.
. certain hotels/motels in the NW of WA those air conditioners that sound like a jumbo jet taking off and no ceiling fan so you either swelter all night with the aircon off or have to use ear plugs for the noise and use all the blankets to keep warm.
. On a recent trip to japan I had taken two power adapters with me, one a two pin and one a three pin for my old laptop. I only found a three pin power outlet in two of the hotels we stayed in and for that I had to unplug the kettle.

 

[Flanjam1]

Oh my goodness - I thought it was just me. In Nelson NZ a swimming pool the size of a postage stamp with leaves and hair floating in it. A flat screen TV with blue standby light unable to be turned off which glowed all night and a toilet with a static louvered window opening onto a lane way. In Bali an open air bathroom which became a mosquito haven. No shade at the swimming pool and towels that smelt very much of bleach/chlorine. Both of these places were rated as 5* (not).

 

[blackcat20]

When it comes to hotel rooms I have the simple philosophy of "I didn't design it so I don't expect everything to be perfect just as I like it" and just take whatever is found in my stride. The only thing that annoys me is when the curtains don't overlap properly in the middle, or don't extend sufficiently past the ends of the window - I like a dark room for sleeping. Solution - always carry half a dozen clothes pegs in my bag for holding the curtains together or pulling the ends out to something.

The crowne plaza in Chicago provided curtain clips which was great.

I hate the too-small towels which you can't wrap around yourself. And towels that are going grey.
Not providing shower gel, which seems to be common on my current US trip. One hotel provided tubes, the other had large pumps. All the others have been without.
No Powerpoint by the bed; I don't want to charge my phone in the desk on the other side of the room. Especially as I like to check the clock on it or use the alarm.
Expensive wifi. Finding less hotels charge for it, the only place I've paid this trip was the hilton.
Expensive hotel parking; $23 per night is extortion.
Turning the aircon off if I've left it on. I don't want to come back to a room that's 82F when it took 24 hours to get it down to low 70s to start with.
Hotels that are oblivious to their own status perks.

 

[dajop]

Showers where you cannot adjust the pressure (mainly a US issue).
Automatic charging minibars that mean you can't use the in room fridge.
Bedding in the tropics that is better suited to hotels in the arctic circle (I don't really want to run the aircon flat out if I don't have to)
Airport hotels with facilities (such as pools) that close at 7pm.
The usual light switch and power point location complaints....

 

[blackcat20]

Automatic charging minibars that mean you can't use the in room fridge.
....

I've seen a few lately where they've been emptied and there's a note stating that they've realised people would prefer to store their own drinks etc.

 

[inkylegs]

Showers designed by short people I'm 6 ft it's amazing how many showers come out if wall at chest height.
Old rattly aircon old rattly fridges which I generally unplug.
Being asked for a deposit which gets taken immediately on arrival at room no mini bar anyway so not sure why a deposit is req then being told my deposit will take 5 days plus to go back into my account.

 

[Prof Henry]

I too agree with most of these posts, but I have become accustomed to some of these familiar shortcomings and try to be prepared, where possible.
For the curtains with gaps at both ends and in the middle, I take pegs and use an airline eye-mask.
For the hotels that refuse to supply a second keycard to keep the electricity on when you go out, I take an old library card (or a hotel card, I've forgotten to return at checkout); it works most of the time, but not always.
I have formed the habit of turning all alarm clocks off to avoid the unwanted 4am wakeup; so many hotel clocks seem to have been set to the wrong time. If I'm going to be in the room for a couple of nights, I actually reset the clock to the correct time (if I can work out how to do it!).
I carry a variety of adaptors to try to fit my plugs into the awkwardly placed socket up against the furniture or at floor level; and I applaud the increasing number of hotels that have sockets that take multiple plug types.

I haven't really solved the "two single beds pushed together to make a double" (often in expensive 5* places), but would welcome suggestions.
And, I strongly agree that wifi should be free; free (limited) wireless in the lobby doesn't cut it; do they also make you shower in the lobby?
And hotels with those cute green cards promising to save the environment by only washing towels that get put in the tub, and then take every piece of linen in sight every day (twice a day in one hotel in Asia recently).

I also wish the congratulate the 3* hotel in Melbourne (an Ibis) that offered me immediate check-in at 7 am yesterday.

 

[al57]

Light! Why are hotel rooms always so dim? Do they think it's "atmospheric" or something?

It's a basic requirement to have adequate light, by which I mean overhead light good enough for reading a book or newspaper, and at least one lamp capable of reading comfortably under for extended periods. I have stayed in many hotel rooms where reading would not be possible if I did not have my own torch with me.