BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture Business Travel What simple things make a hotel stay enjoyable?

Sometimes it's the simple things that can really be memorable about a hotel.
For me, it's in-room coffee with liquid creamers (Starbucks in the hotel room I'm staying at now); nice towels and a desk chair that's comfortable for a few hours of laptop work.
What is it for you?

I never use the coffee or creamer. I always worry about the pot.

I love a room with plenty, plenty of towels and washclothes I always ask for more),extra pillows and scrap paper. A working remote is always nice as is a soda machine on the same floor.

Diane, what could possibly be wrong with the pot? It makes hot water.

I use and take all the freebies. I figure i paid for them anyway.

One time I checked into a room and there was some interesting greenish stuff on the less visible parts of the pot. Now granted there have been times when I did put watter in it, let it get hot in an attempt to sterilize the pot before use.

I usually hoard the shampoo, conditioner and lotion.

I love the toiletries and always take those. The little soaps can be grated and added to homemade laundry detergent.

I also use the shampoos in my toilet crock where the toilet brush lives, so my scrubby brush is always soapy and ready to use.

The lotions go in my purse and travel around with me since it's so dry here. I use lotion all day long.

Oh, and the little coffee packets are great for camping!

Jilly,

You always find wonderful "alternative uses" for so many things. Awesome!

Thanks, dianne! It's a playful way to use the brainz.

I've "heard" secondhand of women who have washed out their panties in the hotel coffee pot. Ewww! Even hearing this gross bit of news, I still use the hotel coffee pot, though I always rinse it first with the hottest water possible. My desire for morning coffee wins all the time.

I do like the hotels that have the single-cup brewing systems a pot is no longer needed then. And a hotel gets three gold stars from me if they have single-packet Starbucks!

I stay in cheap motels when I'm doing out-of-town art fairs, and I am always SO happy when there is a little refrigerator and microwave in the room. I stay away from restaurants to save money, and love it when I can stop at a grocery and buy a dinner to heat in the microwave. I carry a plug-in cooler but a real fridge is colder. I'm not a coffee drinker, and carry an immersion heater to warm water for my tea. (water heated in the coffeepot always carries some coffee flavor)

Speaking of freebies.

I just got back from a business trip last week. Usually when they clean the room and the little freebies are missing/used each day, the housekeeping staff will replace them. I usually don't use the shampoo so that one was still sitting, unopened, on the counter, but I had taken the litle lotion with me.

The first day they cleaned, they didn't replace anything. The next day, they put another shampoo bottle in the room, interesting enough - half the bottle was gone. So they either gave me a used bottle or had a defective one.

I love a hotel with a Waterpik shower head.

Yes, Connie - those are awesome!

Since we usually travel as a family I like the hotel room to have some room in it. One room on this year's vacation was so small that there literally was not room to walk between the wall and the bed or between the beds! I also like there to be ample parking. I like having a built in blow dryer also. It comes in handy for many uses.

Vintage what other uses do you mean? I am intrigued!

Those build in blow dryers are great for drying small items of clothing after they are hand washed. (Hopefully, NOT washed in the coffee pot!)

Won't the clothes air dry by morning?

It never occurs to me to wash my undies in a public coffeepot. Or in a private coffeepot. But I can see how that could work if one wanted hot water...had no washing machine...maybe one could get a thrift store coffeepot just for handwashing? I am both disgusted and intrigued.

I used the blow dryer when I accidently splash water on my clothes and I need to leave in a hurry. I just aim at the wet spot - and quick dry!

i normally prefer to stay at hotels with a kitchen, like Residence Inn or Homewood Suites. If not, though, I like to at least have a small 'fridge and microwave.