I was idly thinking about an upcoming holiday as a means of getting through the working (weekend) day and had a flick through some photos of trip advisor of the hotels we’ve booked, everything is still looking just as it should which is always a relief! I’ve developed pet hates to hotels and hotel rooms over the years and the photos that other people upload onto trip advisor are great opportunities to check that my pet hates aren’t on display!!….
Hair dryers – who sighs when they see something out of the dark ages, the sort of under-powered chintzy off-white plastic machine that you might have used as a teenager… It is amazing just how many hotels still have these in rooms! And even more staggering how many are located in the bathroom?! Water, electricity – I know, put them in the same room!! I guess the danger is low though, as these hairdryers aren’t actually going to dry anyone’s hair – it’s normally better off standing on the balcony in the sun! It is surprising that some of the fancier hotels (I’m thinking the Waldorf Astoria in Rome as my most recent example) still have these, but then the likes of De Vere’s Village (which is much cheaper) have newer kit that actually does the job in hand.
Lighting – mood lighting is lovely, all romantic – how nice (ME London even has a ‘sexy’ light setting), but how often do I find myself in my romantic hotel room alone and sat at the desk trying to get enough light onto my computer or work! Or even sometimes to find a mirror lit well enough to do the day’s make-up without sweltering in the bathroom!
Sexy lighting at ME!
Water – most hotels either leave a big enough bottle of water, and top up at turn down, or leave a clear note that the tap water is drinking water. How hard is that! Sadly harder than many large have realised! I always chuckle when you see the little tag at a Hilton that explains how lucky you are as Gold and Silver guests to be left a bottle or two FOC!!
Bath towel – probably on the fussy side, but it would be helpful if the largest of the bathroom towels was a bath ‘sheet’ rather than a small towel. Often this is not the case and all that happens is that the hotel guest uses more than one of these smaller towels, which as the end of the day is no better than having left a smaller towel in the first place!
Gyms and Pools – a bit of honesty with advertising the facilities on offer! It is just nice to know for example whether the pool is a lap pool or a paddling pool! At a certain one in Delaware, it was advertised as a lap pool, but it was so shallow that when I swum my laps I grazed my knee on the bottom of the pool frequently given its lack of depth!
No fridge – American hotels excel here and often a room comes with fridge and microwave which is great. But so often in the UK or on the continent, or in the more upmarket hotels, there is a mini-bar and no further space. If I’m at a hotel for a week with work then I won’t want room service every night and like to stock up on salads and things, and think about parents who might want to keep baby milk chilled or people with medication that needs to be chilled. Plenty of reasons for a small fridge that can be used without setting off the mini-bar costs by moving a Mars bar! Maybe I’m just being naive – they want me to use the hotel restaurant at all times of course!
Parking extra – I understand hotels do this to stop non-residents using their car parks, and thankfully many hotels give you a free exit pass to leave the car park, but it is always frustrating on arrival if you weren’t expecting it, because it is all too easy to assume that it is just another hidden charge!
WIFI – so so many smaller or posher or boutique places include this, and so many self-catering rentals do as well now. So I am staggered that some of the larger mid-range hotel chains still charge £15 a night for internet use. Sometimes I think that hotels should make sure the WIFI reaches the pool or beach area, but actually, I quite like it when it doesn’t and I’m on holiday as it means proper relaxing and just a catchup on the outside world in the morning and evening when passing through the hotel room!! When I’m on holiday I’m on holiday and email and social media stops – long may it be so!!
So after all that I just sound like a fusspot!! Am I ever happy? Well, yes, if the above is right – that is a very good place to start. But there are a few ‘nice to have’s’ that help make any hotel stay more bearable, I’m thinking about work trips here really:
A view! Open the curtains and see a view – often when working away from home it can be lonely and office-based, so having a view to enjoy before heading to work is always nice!!
Wilmington Delaware
Space – the room is my home and it is nice to be able to put the suitcase down, create a bit of mess and still be able to find some tidy space, and a chair or sofa to relax on and watch the TV. So much better than eating room-service at the desk, watching TV from there and then going straight to bed!!
For a price you can get all the space you need at the Rome Cavalieri
Free paper and a club lounge – just makes life easy! I always lose track of the news when I go away and am busy to a paper to my door is great! And the club lounge for breakfast and evening drinks/canapes is far nicer than being a single diner in the restaurant reading a book, it’s actually quite social too catching up with others at the end of a long day in the office!
And if it is an outdoorsy type of place, so a hotel or inn with rooms in the countryside, the for goodness sake have a drying room for waterproofs, wellies and walking boots! Not only does it keep any mud and dampness out of the clean hotel rooms, but it also means dry and warm clothing ready for the next day and as a result – happy customers!
I don’t really want to have to keep these next to the bed!
And of course the pet hates above having been correctly addressed!
As for the holiday, what does a hotel need? Well, I’ve taken it upon myself to do some detailed and lengthy research into this (terrible thing really!) and it is easiest to describe what works for me with a few stunning examples!!
The Chedi Muscat Oman – stunning grounds and fantastic pools
Water gardens and the best pools going
We’d had our eye on this place for a long time before booking it, and now (thanks to it being so fabulous) we now have our eye on plenty more GHM hotel holidays!!! The site was astounding, although the entrance drive wasn’t anything special, inside the compound the feng shui is perfect – that’s the best way to describe it! Water gardens and perfectly manicured lawns, absolute cleanliness and serenity. At night fire and flame lighting up the grounds and the pools! The hotel grounds should almost be a visitor attraction themselves such is their perfection! They were very calming and whilst the hotel was near full, it was not apparent at anytime. There is plenty of space and you certainly don’t have to stay in one spot all day in the sprawling grounds. And then there’s the swimming pools – amazing! One is 100 metres long and they are all beautifully set! Funky music is played at one and two are reserved for adults only. The rooms are fab too, and the club-room deal is not to be sniffed at. Dining here is an (expensive) experience, even if you were just to do breakfast. Not cheap, but ever so memorable in all the good ways! I don’t normally want to just stay in the hotel when I go on holiday, but the Chedi was the kind of place that you could almost forget to go anywhere else!!
Strawberry Hill Jamaica
Unbeatable views
The view, wow!! And to think I almost crossed this off my list because of the geographical hassle! To be fair, the drive up here at night wasn’t much fun, but the view and the peace and tranquility made up for it in spade loads! At day and at night the view from this small hotel down over the city of Kingston and across the edges of the Blue Mountains is something else! I believe all the rooms have their own balcony and so command private stunning views. The swimming pool is then at the highest point and has an infinity edge with the view to end all views. This place is going to take some beating! It absolutely wins the prize for a hotel rural idyll! The rooms are lovely too – rustic and comfortable with lovely comfortable beds and delicious coffee and rum left for you to enjoy!
Naumi Singapore
Discreetly perfect
This was a hotel that just got everything right and had thought of the little details to make it comfortable! For example – the TV is on a gimble and so can be rotated through 180 degrees so that it can be watched from bed, or from the sitting room area of the suite! The pool loungers are comfortable – rather than hard wood or plastic they are moulded more as a seat. This is a small hotel with a small pool, in a city of high rise and expensive tastes, this is a little piece of calm away from the crowds
And then there’s the ‘something special‘ that can’t be repeated elsewhere. Often the something special is more likely to be found either at a very small hotel or in self-catering accommodation. Must as the hotels above are wonderful, some of our fondest travel memories are from off the beaten track locations:
A certain je ne sais quoi
Alpacas in the garden of our cottage in Dittisham at Swilly Barn! They liked most of our left-over kitchen vegetables, but seemed to have been used to organic!!
A treehouse in a field commanding views across the Drakensberg! Sycamore Avenue was a great find – a handful of tree houses, all made by the owner and all different! A hot tub on the top floor and balconies and light and privacy – wonderful!
A grown up wendy house on the banks of the bay on Rhode Island! Just the cutest – even had its own jetty out into the water – very Dawson’s Creek and having slept through a hurricane, it is more sturdy that it might first look!
A welcome gift – never does a stay at a property start better than when they greet you with a little gift or a special drink (and remember your names for the rest of the trip no matter the size of the hotel)!
Sunday Traveler with Chasing the Donkey and A Brit and a southerner
Thanks for linking up this week for #SundayTraveler.
I so so so hear you on many of these, but the biggest one id the fridge. I know the hotel wants my $4 for the water, but a girl has to drink and my baby needs his me milk in the fridge. Gah, it’s gets me so cranky.
I have pinned this post, I do hope that’s okay.
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It is indeed (no idea what pinning is)!! The fridge annoys me so much, the US are really good at it – Hilton Doubletree in Wilmington had all the kit, and the room wasn’t good value, but it was set up for practicality. I bought wine from the hotel, but I just made it last which saved me money! Definitely think it is ever so important for families, and for any special diets or drugs!
Pinned = I pinned this to my pinterest board. http://www.pinterest.com/chasethedonkey/sundaytraveler-blog-link-up/
How do you make wine last… that is a skill I have not yet acquired 🙂
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Aha Pinterest – I haven’t got there yet!!
Good point, when I say ‘last’ I didn’t mean for long!! Maybe 2 days, back late from work so not much time to drink!!!
Thanks for linking up this week for #SundayTraveler.
I so so so hear you on many of these, but the biggest one id the fridge. I know the hotel wants my $4 for the water, but a girl has to drink and my baby needs his me milk in the fridge. Gah, it’s gets me so cranky.
I have pinned this post, I do hope that’s okay.
Author
It is indeed (no idea what pinning is)!! The fridge annoys me so much, the US are really good at it – Hilton Doubletree in Wilmington had all the kit, and the room wasn’t good value, but it was set up for practicality. I bought wine from the hotel, but I just made it last which saved me money! Definitely think it is ever so important for families, and for any special diets or drugs!
Pinned = I pinned this to my pinterest board. http://www.pinterest.com/chasethedonkey/sundaytraveler-blog-link-up/
How do you make wine last… that is a skill I have not yet acquired 🙂
Author
Aha Pinterest – I haven’t got there yet!!
Good point, when I say ‘last’ I didn’t mean for long!! Maybe 2 days, back late from work so not much time to drink!!!
oooooh yes!! The towel thing is my pet hate…there’s nothing worse than getting out of a lovely shower or bath only to find teeny tiny towels to wrap yourself in! And the water issue is annoying too, especially as I have children who want their water cups filling up before bed, I hate not having good water to rely on and I really resent paying for it in the hotel room. (The Chedi Muscat has been on my dream wish list for awhile now!! 🙂 )
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Sounds like I’m not alone!! Chedi needs visiting before new airport opens as I expect airspace is going to get noisy!! Can’t use the nicest of the pools with children though…
oooooh yes!! The towel thing is my pet hate…there’s nothing worse than getting out of a lovely shower or bath only to find teeny tiny towels to wrap yourself in! And the water issue is annoying too, especially as I have children who want their water cups filling up before bed, I hate not having good water to rely on and I really resent paying for it in the hotel room. (The Chedi Muscat has been on my dream wish list for awhile now!! 🙂 )
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Sounds like I’m not alone!! Chedi needs visiting before new airport opens as I expect airspace is going to get noisy!! Can’t use the nicest of the pools with children though…
Hahaha, alpacas and treehouses are definitely a plus. I’m more of a hostel person than a hotel person…I think you get more bang for your buck. There is almost ALWAYS wifi, for example. And often, breakfast. And sometimes horses out your window. Just sayin…
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Agreed, some of the most idyllic places we’ve been we private places or self catering and because it’s a person thinking out the space it’s normally got what you’d have at home, like running drinking water 😉
Lol the few times I have used a hotel hair dryer, I have wondered why they have bothered supplying it. You are right, I may as well have stood on the balcony!!
The fridge thing can be a big issue for us with young kids. It was a deal breaker on our last trip with a baby that needed milk, and it is definitely something we look for in a hotel
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Much as I hate the hotel I never forgo the valuable space in my luggage and take my own!!
Lol the few times I have used a hotel hair dryer, I have wondered why they have bothered supplying it. You are right, I may as well have stood on the balcony!!
The fridge thing can be a big issue for us with young kids. It was a deal breaker on our last trip with a baby that needed milk, and it is definitely something we look for in a hotel
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Much as I hate the hotel I never forgo the valuable space in my luggage and take my own!!
I have to admit my pet peeve would be charging for water. And there is nothing worst than having a hand towel to dry off after a shower. A fridge is also a definitely must for me!
I have to admit my pet peeve would be charging for water. And there is nothing worst than having a hand towel to dry off after a shower. A fridge is also a definitely must for me!
Some pretty nifty hotels you’ve got here 🙂 You’re spot on concerning the Jurassic hair dryers – I always have a bit of a giggle when I see their yellowed shells. But my main pet peeve would have to be fancy hotels charging for Wifi. Don’t really care about the pool situation (water+electronics+natural clumsiness=catastrophe waiting to happen), but asking 20 bucks for a service I usually get for free in hostels or a small b&b strikes me as ridiculous. On a different note, I’d also go for the treehouse. Lovely post. Good luck and safe travels!
Some pretty nifty hotels you’ve got here 🙂 You’re spot on concerning the Jurassic hair dryers – I always have a bit of a giggle when I see their yellowed shells. But my main pet peeve would have to be fancy hotels charging for Wifi. Don’t really care about the pool situation (water+electronics+natural clumsiness=catastrophe waiting to happen), but asking 20 bucks for a service I usually get for free in hostels or a small b&b strikes me as ridiculous. On a different note, I’d also go for the treehouse. Lovely post. Good luck and safe travels!
My biggest pet peeve is charging a ridiculous amount for Wifi…I don’t mind if it’s just wifi in the lounge as long as it’s free but so many hotels I’ve been at charge over $10 a DAY or some ridiculous amount for Wifi! Oh and no fridge. I’d also like a microwave but the fridge one bugs me more if there isn’t any.
My biggest pet peeve is charging a ridiculous amount for Wifi…I don’t mind if it’s just wifi in the lounge as long as it’s free but so many hotels I’ve been at charge over $10 a DAY or some ridiculous amount for Wifi! Oh and no fridge. I’d also like a microwave but the fridge one bugs me more if there isn’t any.
As a mom my biggest pet peeve is rooms that aren’t toddler friendly. One room I stayed in when my son was just over one had glass bathroom doors that would shut so fast that even I got my fingers banged in the door. On top of that, there were glass shelves everywhere, vases, broken sockets. It was a nightmare. Fortunately, most places aren’t like that so my second biggest pet peeve is expensive and horrible wifi connections. I also hate bad showers. I want hot water with high pressure. And on a smaller note, I hate the hotels that have big lobbies, but the way the reception desk is facing it feels like the people are always watching you.
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Bad showers – totally forgot that, then this morning I was in a hilton and the shower was good and it shocked me!!!
As a mom my biggest pet peeve is rooms that aren’t toddler friendly. One room I stayed in when my son was just over one had glass bathroom doors that would shut so fast that even I got my fingers banged in the door. On top of that, there were glass shelves everywhere, vases, broken sockets. It was a nightmare. Fortunately, most places aren’t like that so my second biggest pet peeve is expensive and horrible wifi connections. I also hate bad showers. I want hot water with high pressure. And on a smaller note, I hate the hotels that have big lobbies, but the way the reception desk is facing it feels like the people are always watching you.
The hairdryers are great for drying things. Just not hair. 🙂
Had to laugh at this one, Bob. 🙂
The hairdryers are great for drying things. Just not hair. 🙂
Had to laugh at this one, Bob. 🙂
Just like Samantha, I go crazy with ridiculous WiFi charges. How about hotels in London that have all the windows locked, and no way to open them. Safety issues?!
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In London there are a few hilton doubletrees and some do free wifi and some don’t? Not even consistency in over charging!!
Just like Samantha, I go crazy with ridiculous WiFi charges. How about hotels in London that have all the windows locked, and no way to open them. Safety issues?!
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In London there are a few hilton doubletrees and some do free wifi and some don’t? Not even consistency in over charging!!
No fridge is always a huge pain! And it’s unbelievable there are still hotels that charge extra for wifi in this day and age.
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And for the same price as a months wifi at home….
I just despise it whenever a hotel chain decides to charge extra for wifi access. Whenever you are paying a large amount upfront I really do believe that free wifi should be included, and honestly the more luxurious establishment that you stay in, the likelier you are to have to pay for wifi connectivity. I guess more wants more right!
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Typically the business chain ones do as I guess they know we aren’t paying ourselves, but it is getting better…. Slowly!!! One place in jamaica didn’t have wifi – was actually quite nice for a few days!!
I just despise it whenever a hotel chain decides to charge extra for wifi access. Whenever you are paying a large amount upfront I really do believe that free wifi should be included, and honestly the more luxurious establishment that you stay in, the likelier you are to have to pay for wifi connectivity. I guess more wants more right!