23 Things I Would Like In My Hotel Room
I’ve stayed in a lot of hotel rooms lately.
As hotels are a more expensive accommodation choice there are certain things that I do expect.
I am surprised at how varied the standards are. Of course I expect the features and service to vary from a 1 star to a 5 star, just as the price does. But even hotels of the same “class” can vary dramatically.
Some hotel rooms nail it with their service and facilities, others can’t even provide decent things like irons.
So below is my general list (not accounting for the star class) for all hotel operators on how to make your hotels better. And most of my changes would be a minimal cost for the hotel operators:
- FREE wireless internet.
- Green tea bags.
- Raw sugar.
- A fan and A/C so I can choose.
- Control over the AC, arctic temperatures just aren’t enjoyable for me. I like to feel the heat.
- More electrical sockets to plug stuff into.
- Windows that open slightly.
- Hot showers that don’t drip.
- TV that hasmore than just 500 news channels.
- An iron.
- A hairdryer.
- FREE wireless internet.
- Value for money mini-bar and room service.
- A book in the room with information about the hotel and area.
- Comfy bed with lots of pillows.
- Large bath towels, it is hard to dry yourself with tea towels, especially after a lukewarm shower – not pleasant.
- FREE wireless internet.
- Your twitter and facebook accounts clearly labelled on your promotional material so I can promote you (if I like you) and connect with your community.
- Complimentary bottles of water.
- A decent brand of soap and cleansers.
- An easy way of working the lights and the sink plug so I don’t have to call reception for instructions – that is embarrassing for me.
- A latch on the door so I can keep it open when I am entering in and out with my luggage.
- Did I mention FREE wireless internet.
Is there anything you would add to the list?
Caz
Caz Makepeace is the co-founder of y Travel Blog and has been traveling and living around the world since 1997, first solo, then with her husband, and now with her two daughters. Don't miss her 9 best tips to help you travel more. Follow her on Google+
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48 comments on “23 Things I Would Like In My Hotel Room”
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It baffles me that a hostel can provide free wireless Internet but an hotel can’t – only reason I can think of is greed.
Vanessa recently posted..Festival of the Sails – Photo Post
Completely agree Vanessa!! My pet peeve and the rates they charge is ridiculous! Although we are at the Hilton in Surfer’s Paradise at the moment and they are charging $10 a day for wireless. The cheapest I have seen yet for hotels and an obvious step in the right direction. Yay for Hilton Hotels!
Actually it’s because a small hostel can often get away with a single router and costs them no more than most people pay in the home.
For multi storey hotels it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to set up and maintain the infrastructure to provide reliable hi-speed and secure internet access.
Recently many places are catching on to want travelers want and are bundling into their rates, though that means slightly higher rates for everybody.
Aaron recently posted..Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit- Review
Great to know the reason for it Aaron. Thank you for sharing. It does make sense.
1. A well-lit bathroom. It always surprises me whenever the bathroom is dimly lit. Even harsh lighting is better than barely being able to see.
2. Heat lamp right above the shower is heaven for me.
Ah the well-lit one is a great idea. Like the heat lamp too on a chilly day
I’m so glad you listed FREE wireless internet at least 12 times.
I agree! ha ha
Why do so many hotels still not get it?
The hotels that have internet but charge outrageous prices to access it are the worst. This is 2012! Internet doesn’t cost a lot. Everyone knows that. If this were 1990 I could understand hotels charging for Internet access, but we’re in a totally new millennium now. Internet should be included in the price – not be an upsell.
Darren Alff recently posted..Reykjavik Bike Tours – A Great Way To Spend The Day In Iceland’s Capital City
I would like to add one more – FAST and FREE wireless internet.
Jane recently posted..My favorite photos: El Capitan, Yosemite
Ha Ha Yes! The fast is really important too
Free fresh fruits, is this even possible?
mika recently posted..Top Five Stress Free Travel Tips
Very rarely but yes!
Best places I’ve stayed have always included a bit more with the standard tea/coffee – fresh fruit, handmade chocolates, homemade breads… Agree with no.7 – once offered room with no windows at all, let alone ones that don’t open!
Kerry recently posted..The Goodtrippers Guide to Olympic London
Just those little things go a long way. No windows at all!! That would freak me out
Amen about the wifi!!!!!!!!!
Steve and I recently arrived in a hotel room to find a whole bowl of boiled sweets. Steve has the world’s sweetest tooth so that completely made his day
Victoria recently posted..Play Travel Photo Roulette Round #47: Excellent Splendour of the Universe!
Oh Craig would love that, He has the sweet tooth in our family!
I’d like the private toilet (not in the corridor)
Victor Tribunsky recently posted..Le Pont du Gard Breathtaking, but That is Only Water Conduit!
Oh yes! Agree
I would like to see better working hairdryers in hotel rooms. I think they need to be replaced more often than they do, because of the large volume of people using the same dryer. The employees cleaning the rooms don’t clean them enough, or they don’t know how. If they had a better quality hairdryer in the rooms, they would last longer, so people could dry there hair on the fly. A variety can be found at…http://www.blowdryerhair.com
I also like lights on dimmers on either side of the bed for reading. And a soundproof room is a bonus. I don’t need to know what’s going on next door.
Leigh recently posted..Gobsmacked by the Rainbow Range in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park
Yes! We discovered this on our cruise last week when the young kids next door broke out into a drunken fight at 3am. I also like the bedside lights!
Great list Caz! I couldn’t agree more about the internet – I am in Rome right now and paying through the nose for internet each day. As I am still planning the next legs of my journey, I really do need to use my computer. I was quite surprised when they said I would have to pay to use the business centre computers. When I travel at home, the business centre computers have always been no charge so it came as quite a surprise that the cost for a limited time on their computer was almost as much as 24 hours of use in my room!
Mini bar is less important to me as I would prefer the empty fridge! I often will pick up food and like the fridge – too many hotels have it set up that if you even move an item in their fridge, the weighted sensor sees it as you having taken an item and charge you for it, so there is no room in the fridge for what I want to put in there!
Anyway – time to pack up, I am off to my next hotel and need to stuff everything back in that backpack of mine!
Happy travels.
Anita Mac recently posted..Monday Morning Series: Sun Setting over Mallorca’s Tramuntana Ranges
I never knew that about the weighted sensor!! That is so great to know. Make sure you double check your bill from now on. I hope you find cheaper internet at your next hotel
A friend once told me how he stayed at a hotel where the staff made a different animal of out a towel each day and left it on his bed. I’d like to add that to your list
Turtle recently posted..Acropolis wow!
Oh yes! They do that on cruise boats. We had fun coming home every night to discover what the new one was. We couldn’t find it one night until Kalyra screamed out, it’s hanging from the roof- it was a monkey!! Very cool
Great list Caz! Better hair dryers would be good. I’ve stayed in too many hotels with those hair dryers that look like vacuum hoses, and they really don’t work. There are soooo many things hotels could do that would make the rooms better, and the little things go so far.
Ali recently posted..What If You Don’t Speak the Language?
I had a hair dryer once that sucked up my hair in the back of it because the filter thingy wasn’t on it. Dreadful!! The more I am travelling I am discovering what a difference the little things make. We just stayed at the Hilton in Surfers Paradise. Every evening at 7:30pm two ladies knocked on the door to deliver chocolates. They were the turning the bed down ladies, but we didn’t need that so we just eagerly took the chocolates. WE looked forward to the knock every night!!
It still amazes me that hotels charging more than $120 a night charge extra for wifi and $3 for a can of Diet Coke from the mini-bar.
Stephanie – The Travel Chica recently posted..Travel the World Through Food
Scandalous! The Hilton in Surfers though has gone down to $10 for wi-fi. Good on them!! Nearly at free
This list really made me smile because it’s so true! Free wireless, a comfy pillow, tea making facilities (with decaf tea!) and lamps or a dimmer switch top my list because I just can’t stand over bright lights when I arrive late at night when I’m exhausted!
Jody-Lea recently posted..The Convertible Dress – Why It’s at the Top of My Preliminary Packing List
I found the dimmer lights came in really handy the other night when I was putting Savannah to bed and she still needed a dim light. I usually put the outside hall light on but the dimmers worked perfectly
I’m now disappointed when I go somewhere without a bathrobe. I really like lazing around in one.
Although I’d take free wifi over a bathrobe any day.
Ayngelina recently posted..Food Friday: Portland Food Carts
OMG…yes free wifi access is a must! I recently stayed at a hotel in San Francisco for business and I needed to stay connected, but it cost $15/day for access, since I was there for 5 days that would have been $75! That is crazy! I know something else customers should have in thier hotel room…NO BED BUGS! I don’t want to have to worry about bringing little friends home with me!
Sally
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More electrical sockets, #6 on the list, can be easily solved with an adapter such as the belkin mini surge protector that plugs into one and ceates 3 sockets plus 2 usb sockets. had it with me a couple of times on business and came in handy. free internet in more places especially in vacationing spots would of course be great
Dmitry recently posted..Keep your friends close and your gadgets closer
Free wireless (AND electrical outlets!) are a must. Even more important, let me log on with more than one device when you give me that “free” access code. Doesn’t help me when I need to be working and hubby wants get online too! Drives me crazy.
Keryn @ walkingon travels recently posted..Overwhelm Your Ocular Senses at Kimpton’s Hotel Monaco in Portland
I would definitely add the room needs to have decent curtains that close COMPLETELY and PROPERLY so the room is pitch black at night! Especially when travelling with the little monsters!
Black out curtains!!!!
Bethaney – Flashpacker Family recently posted..How to Maintain Personal Style While Travelling
It’s all about the Wifi, most annoying when they advertise that they have it and it simply does not work.
Lee Carter @ Global Goose recently posted..Dear Hotels, Start Taking WiFi Seriously
For me, my top priority (apart from general cleanliness) is a comfortable pillowtop bed so I can get a great night’s sleep similar to what I get at home. Nothing else matters if I can’t get a good night’s sleep. If the tap water isn’t drinkable, then yes, I also want filtered or bottled water. And if traveling with my kid, then black out drapes are a must; I can wear a sleep mask, but he won’t manage to keep one on. I always bring my own bath amenities and tea bags, so it’s never an issue what the hotel provides.
As for WiFi, as Aaron pointed out, good WiFi systems for multi-storey hotels aren’t cheap to install or maintain, so I don’t begrudge a reasonable charge if it’s a good connection. With the flood of iPads and iPhone, not to mention bandwidth-intensive apps people are using, hotels are in a sticky situation. I’d rather pay a nominal fee and be assured of a great connection than have it be free and really slow.
Hilary – TravelSort recently posted..Over 15,000 Points from $2500 Spend Today
Um, you forgot to mention free Wifi! I kid – it would be top of my list, too. And I love it when hotels and hostels have complimentary bottles of water – especially in Asia, where I’m usually dying of thirst by the time I’ve found a room and negotiated a good deal.
Simon recently posted..5 amazing meals you must try in Thailand
Oh i agree on the bottles of water!! That is one of the first things I look for and I growl when they want me to pay for it!!
For me I would love free Wifi. I can’t believe some of the prices that they try to charge you for Internet.
The only thing on this list that I would really want it the free wifi. I can live without the others, except for maybe the bottles of water. Maybe I have just conformed to accepting the least from hotels.
I agree wholeheartedly!! And I couldn’t help but laugh to myself when I read the point about the towels. It brought back to mind my one holiday horror story all about towels. You’ll get a kick out of this one: http://www.superkawaiimama.com.au/2008/03/26/easter-extravaganzer/
Candice xx
Oh no Candice!! I just read your post, what a horrible story. I guess they don’t like referrals or repeat business! and all for a couple of extra towels and linen!
Hi Caz
The hairdryer is not consequential to me, as I don’t have many hairs to dry.
However, for me, the internet access is extremely important as well.
To think that you can be charged around $20 a night for in house access is exorbitant. To try and escape that fee by going the mobile internet route, doesn’t work out much cheaper either, especially if you use the gigybites quickly.
So, I definitely agree with you, and many of the comments above. How expensive for them can it be for them to freely offer this service.
They would find, i’m sure, that this alone would be a drawcard for travellers, who would quickly spread the word.
Thanks for your list
Good idea on the tea bags! My mom usually brings a small coffeepot and her own coffee grounds if she doesn’t think the hotel will provide it. Of course, that doesn’t work for long trips.
Amy recently posted..It’s All Greek To Me- Travelling in the Land of the Gods