Hotel guests: read all about ’em
bySo much personal information on display at quaint, old-fashioned hotels like the one we recently stayed at in Bali. Which rooms are occupied? What…
So much personal information on display at quaint, old-fashioned hotels like the one we recently stayed at in Bali. Which rooms are occupied? What…
What the hell happened to the sink? Why is its plumbing all bandaged? Is it insulation in case of a freeze tonight? Are the…
Salvador Dali knew about lurking lobby luggage thieves.
This man had weighed his bag and was now shedding stuff when I saw him at the check-in counter in Pisa airport. What he…
“Thief!” That’s my hotel accusing me, before it even knows me. What kind of customer relations is that? I feel insulted when I find…
We were nearly asleep when the Jacuzzi turned itself on in the bathtub next to the bed. Of course we both flew out of…
A hotel I stayed in was unabashed enough to provide shampoo in a water glass! Obviously they’d simply run out of amenity bottles. But…
Nice square sink at the stylish Empire Hotel in Manhattan. Delicious little apples, too. Another example of form over function though. You can barely…
It wouldn’t strike me quite so funny if the brand were “Hindiware,” but it’s not. Hindware. Is there a more perfect name for a…
Out the window of our Mumbai hotel room, across the street: a beautiful building of apartments, or maybe it’s another hotel. On the roof…
The San Francesco al Monte hotel in Naples, Italy, a former monastery originally carved into the mountain in the 16th century, is a warren…
Back at the Jumeriah Emirates Towers in Dubai again. This time, in a cupboard, I find slippers in a can. Why? Isn’t this a…
In the most staid of Dubai’s many elegant hotels, the most conservative and sedate, the Jumeriah Emirates Towers, provokes a little smile. This after…
Contrast Mamak with our New Year’s day dinner at Appetito, also in Sydney. Recommended by two people, nearby—and most important: open—it seemed a reasonable…
This very cup, holding this very fine pen, sat on a desk in our room. The coffee cup was from the hotel’s restaurant. The…
I have no idea what this thing is. It’s on the floor in the carpet, in front of a window. About an inch and…
Our hotel room in Paris had these gorgeous bathroom doors. Each door is made of one large plate of thick translucent glass in a…
Yeah, we know already, like “leave a message after the beep.” But this is odd… “A towel on the rack means ‘I’ll use it…
China World Hotel, Beijing— Very nice room. In an effort to think of every detail, there’s a little glass shelf installed on the bathroom…
I have to say, there’s something rather cozy about a warm toilet seat. Definitely got used to that in Japan. I came to expect…
I stay in a lot of hotels, some of which are the best or most unique in the world. This one in Hong Kong—not…
Despite the focus on negative experiences compiled on this site, it is possible to travel without being ripped off. It bothers Bob and me…
The Wellington in Madrid is a lovely, old hotel full of charm, the official temporary residence of visiting bullfighters. Our room was large and…
Hotel front desk safe Natalie is a tour sales manager for one of the major cruise lines. She’s an experienced world traveler and accustomed…
Okay, this is priced in Canadian dollars, but still. $6.49 for a bottle of water? No matter how elegant it looks on the nightstand,…
Hotel hypocrisy. This is certainly not unique to the Delta hotel in Newfoundland, but that is where I was struck by the pretense and…
Very bad news on the travel front. Seems bedbugs are here to stay. The Wall Street Journal reports on a comprehensive genetic study of…
“Burning condition salmon” on the breakfast buffet in our Tokyo hotel. I guess we might call it “blackened.” Good for an early morning smile.
Pasted onto our Reykjavik hotel bathroom tiles: Yes, we came out of the shower quite rancid-smelling—and the fragrance lasts. I imagine the locals: “You…
When you check into a hotel and are handed a key to a room that turns out to be already occupied, you have to…