Hotel Room Idiosyncracies

Status
Not open for further replies.

bigjobs

Active Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2005
Posts
802
Hi there,

sitting in my hotel room this morning i found my mind wandering to what aspects of the room i find challenging. i then started to think about all of the hotel rooms that i have experienced and thinking about what was challenging in relation to each of those rooms.

i then wondered what others find challenging about hotel rooms.

so please, with the idea of giving people a laugh, let others know what you find challenging with hotel rooms.

For me it is the Toilet Paper Roll Holder. it always seems to be in a place that requires a yoga pose to reach it if you are using the loo. it seems that it was attached as an after thought. This is consistent with most of the hotel rooms i stay in.
 
My regular biggest challenge is working out how to short the remote into setting the TV into maintenance mode so that I get the movie channels free.
 
I hate rooms that don't have power points near the bed. I like to sit in bed with my laptop or PocketPC and often end up with the power supply and leads strung across the room from the only available power point (without unplugging the bedside lamp or alarm clock). I don't know how many times I have had to strategically position the chair to support the laptop power transformer as the cables at suspended from the desk to the bed.

I also dislike the rooms where the air conditioning turns off when you leave the room (ie take your room key out of the wall switch). I like to come into the room after working all day and have the room at my desired temperature. When the power switch is activated by a credit-card sized room keycard, I like to leave an old room key from a Marriott hotel in the switch while staying at a Hilton hotel :p . That way the key stays activated even when I am not there.
 
I hate the doors that close too quickly (on either entry or exit) when you are trailing luggage behind you. Often if I'm not quick enough, the luggage gets jammed in the door. Offending property - 4Points, Darling Harbour, Sydney

I have a similar frustration to NM regarding power points. The designer's ill-conceived ideas of where power points should go, or not enough power points (I often need two for laptop and mobile). Offending properties - 4Points Darling Harbour, some Hilton properties
 
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

I'm with NM on the power point, though for different reasons - I sufer from Sleep Apnoea and so need to plug in my CPAP machine to breath at night.

Other peaves:

- In tropical Asia, making beds with a feather quilt! Aircon on 17 deg and wrap up in the doona! OMG

- Feather pillows! (Shangri-la often have a pillow menu with at least 6 types!)
(So, first thing I do when I check-inis get a real pillow and get the bed made properly!

- Small tea cups

- Powdered milk (coffee mate)
 
Lindsay Wilson said:
I have a similar frustration to NM regarding power points. The designer's ill-conceived ideas of where power points should go, or not enough power points (I often need two for laptop and mobile).

Because of this, I now pack a 4-plug powerboard if I'm going to be away for more than a few days. This also has the advantage of only needing 1 plug converter overseas.

AlwaysUpThere said:
In tropical Asia, making beds with a feather quilt! Aircon on 17 deg and wrap up in the doona! OMG

I definitely agree with this one. No matter what the room temperature is, it's too hot with the doona on, and too cold with it off.

AlwaysUpThere said:
Feather pillows! (Shangri-la often have a pillow menu with at least 6 types!)
(So, first thing I do when I check-inis get a real pillow and get the bed made properly!

The Conrads in Asia also have a great pillow menu.
 
AlwaysUpThere said:
- Powdered milk (coffee mate)
Might be ok if it was actually milk. But in most cases (especially USA), its actually "Non-Dairy Creamer", which is mostly a soy extract. I often end up taking milk from the breakfast buffet back to my room when I want to make coffee.
 
The smoke alarm above the stove in the service apartments I stay in. Once a week it goes off because someone actually uses the toaster or stove. It is especailly annoying when it goes off at 5am in morning. Great piece of engineering there!

The irons are cough the cord is never long enough.

But power points is probably the biggest problem.
 
* Toilets that are crammed into a corner just behind the bathroom door. Really bad position!

* Blinds on the bathroom window into the bedroom. OK for certain hotel stays, not so handy for others!

* Light switches that aren't reachable from the bed. Same goes for aircon etc etc etc

* Hotels that have wind tunnels. The one i'm thinking of has a large outdoor area in the middle. Wind gets in and gusts badly. Makes opening and closing doors a nightmare, let alone keeping you "Do not disturb" sign there.

I'm sure I will think of more...
 
splunk said:
The irons are cough the cord is never long enough.

Irons that spray cough all over your shirts! Argh!

There's also the fun game of seeing how many days in a row you have to ask reception to do something (like fixing a light) before it actually happens...

Chrisb.
 
My five cents worth:

Renovated business rooms that feature a desk with a glass top - not much good to work with an optical mouse

A turn down service that leaves all the lights on when there is no central off button, so you have to hunt down each switch before retiring for the night.

Do not disturbs signs that become invisible to housekeeping, or worse become a ring me to confirm I dont want to be disturbed by housekeeping sign (especially in Vegas)

Rigid check in and checkout times that cover up lazy/poor organisation - surely if you can provide a check in eta then you should have an expectaion that the room is yours for 24 hours from that time (the old westin Singapore always had my room ready, including a 5AM arrival once which was fantastic).

As for power points, the more the better, especially hotels that offer 220/110 variations.
 
Another problem for me is curtains or blinds that don't block out the morning sun. Especially when the 4am rising sun shines around the edges of the curtains.
 
Well I've been living in a hotel for almost 6 months now and one pet peeve that everyone has mentioned is power points, expecially when almost all the powerpoints except for one or two specifically located places are weird US ones so you can't plug in your phone charger next to your bed but have to do it on the desk a few meters away.

Another pet peeve is getting a good room but with a coughpy view (ie. great suite upgrade but on a low floor with the adjacent office building leering down on you).

Another peeve is housekeeping forgetting to put in some replacement milk in the fridge.

Apart from that I recommend the Rydges Jamison in Sydney. :)

Regards
Daniel
 
NM said:
Another problem for me is curtains or blinds that don't block out the morning sun. Especially when the 4am rising sun shines around the edges of the curtains.

Hotels in Scandinavia that don't bother with anything more than a little net curtain to 'block' the light. Sunrise? 3am (or worse)
 
As cough as it may seem, I travel with my Swiss travel knife kit which has a compass. It tells me which way the sun will come up (esp when in the northern hemisphere - my directions go to sh#t) and make sure the sun's blocked, or curtains open just a bit (helps with jet-lag) as appropriate.


Another peeve is when the hotel goes to the expense of having irons in every room, but they don't have steam capability. Can't get those travel creases out without steam. (As well as my Swiss kit, I carry the tiniest of water spray bottles (>4cm) to help get the shirts ironed)
 
Power points a recurring theme here.

My biggest problem was when I had Mobile 'phone recharger with plug pack - the transformer formed part of the plug.

So far so good, except when the power points are located 1" off the floor making it impossible to insert it. :x
 
Power points power points....

No irons

Coffee machines that you are too stupid to operate (maybe it's just me!)

Can we please have wireless internet everywhere and at a reaonable price?

Door latches so when you arrive with too much luggage you can get in
 
My biggest peeves are

* plain Pringles in the mini bar
* hairdryers that don't dry your hair
* not enough boxes of tissues.
 
Mine is the (usually down market) rooms that have a phone beside the bed, but the desk is on the other side of the room. I have to carry looonnnng phone extension cords and connectors so I can connect to such critical business sites as frequentflyer.com.au. :)

Plus the lousy chairs you get to sit on at the desk - here I am at the Sheraton in Saskatoon and my butt is aching from the totally unsuitable chair.
 
Bob,

surely the aches are not just due to being in Saskatoon ... fine place that it is ...

:D
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Enhance your AFF viewing experience!!

From just $6 we'll remove all advertisements so that you can enjoy a cleaner and uninterupted viewing experience.

And you'll be supporting us so that we can continue to provide this valuable resource :)


Sample AFF with no advertisements? More..
Back
Top