What do you like so much about hotel stays?

I like that fact that somebody else has to clean up after me.

What @YARNLADY said.

Also, I liked knowing that nobody knew where we were.

I didn’t like how thin the walls were. I’m pretty sure some kids were all “Mommy, mommy, what’s happening to the lady in that room?”

/me does a little dance

Oh, oh, also, whoever invented the jacuzzi must have totally gotten a Nobel Prize. Peace, physics, medicine or whichever.

@yarnlady: yes, i do enjoy that!
for some reason though i still tidy up the place before i leave as if that makes a difference. i don’t want the maid to think we are slobs.

I love a spacious, airy, well-appointed hotel room with a nice view, attractive furniture, plenty of pillows on the bed, and ample closet space. I want to see a well-laid-out bathroom with good counter space. I need a good headboard or bedside lamp for reading, and I strongly prefer a room with windows that open. Don’t care about the TV—virtually never turn it on. Having a fresh start with no unfinished business or chores facing me is one of the greatest things about it.

A refrigerator and microwave are a plus, and for a longer stay I prefer a suite with a kitchenette. But definitely a coffee maker and a hairdryer (without a flashing light).

One thing I really like is that for a time you can conduct your whole life in this small (smaller than your house) space, with everything almost within reach and seemingly all you need right there. No “baggage” in the larger sense. But unless you truly do live minimally, sooner or later you are going to need all that stuff you’ve accumulated back home. Either that or you should go home and throw it out.

I couldn’t bear to tell you about the worst, but let’s just say I wasn’t there for long.

Free breakfast
And you don’t have to clean up your room, or make the bed

Best hotels for the soap, luxurious showers (with real water pressure that I don’t have at home), thick towels, and dreamy sheets.

Worst hotel had an unusual odor. Didn’t catch what was up until I took my shoes off and carpet was wet. Total grossout!!!!

The Little Princess in me likes turndowns with the chocolate on my down pillows every day, how high the beds are and signing for room service. The Fairmount Chicago is a lovely hotel. The St. Regis in NYC is equally lovely. And I didn’t have to pay for my stay in either hotel!

I like traveling anyway, so when I’m in a grand hotel, it just heightens the experience of “travelling”. Airports do that for me as well.

my family is spoiled. there must be two TVs with game access, two baths, a balcony, a fireplace, beds in the front and the back, a microwave, a fridge and of course a pool.

@Kayak8 ooh ooh! my wife and i stayed in a hotel in las vegas that was on the old part of the strip. in the ceiling was what seemed to be an “escape hatch” provided for possible mobsters who needed to make a quick getaway? scary.

The company
Fresh sheets and towels daily
Whirlpool bathtubs

Free towels.

SANDESTIN BEACH AND GOLF RESORTS, DESTIN, FL
Best place ever in 10 statements, starting with…

1. Its big
2. Golfing is incredible
3. 2 shopping malls themed to look like a small bayside town and a large beach cottage (which are both equally awesome)
4. Kids have billions of things to do there
5. Like ten billion pools plus an awesome beach
6. Its awesome
7. Adults have billions of things to do there
8. The condo owners have awesome sense of style (your condo rental will be worth it)
9. Billions of things to do just outside of the perimiter
10. Its awesome

And I could go on if you like…

I don’t like so much about hotel stays. They feel too transient. I much prefer camping.

If I’m traveling for work, set me up with someplace above average because at the low priced places, you get the rooms the local swingers clubs like to ooze all over.

Step 1: Pull the comforter off and stuff it underneath the bed. Do not touch it again. Ever.
Step 2: Wash hands 2–3 times with as much soap and as much hot water as you possibly can.

I love to travel and go on vacation too and I guess I just love the fact that the whole focus of the hotel is the vacation and I don’t have to think about anything else (like was @Jeruba said) and I just like being there. Not to mention the fact that you don’t have to clean up after yourself, as @YARNLADY said.

My worst experience was this small hotel in Mount Vernon, Washington. There was some kind of bar in front of the hotel and there were teenagers/young adults yelling and screaming outside from 10:30 to 1:30. I didn’t fall asleep until 2. It was so awful…

The best was probably the time we stayed in a really fancy nice hotel in Vegas with many, many amenities. It was just nice to have that lavish hotel experience. Even though I’ve lived in Vegas before, there was just a lot of stuff there and a lot to do. I’ve also stayed in nice places in Hawaii (and Mexico) near golf courses and beaches and pools and spas, but those were more apartments than they were hotel rooms.

man, i stayed at this one hotel in phoenix back in 2001 and got a free show from the balcony. a twilight pool lovemaking session. i mean, who wouldn’t watch?

The beds are always more comfortable than the one we sleep in at home. :/ Our matress sucks.

I used to like em. Now, after being in a hotel room for almost a month, I’m not too fond of them.

From the ones that I’ve stayed in; their big, comfy beds with white fluffy duvets. The fact that I don’t have to clean up after myself. With some, you have a bar just downstairs. :)

My favorite hotel..The Hudson in New York City. Stayed there twice.

@3or4monsters and to add to that: the pillows suck. are those really pillows? i just have to bring my own.

@charliecompany34 Yeah, the beds are softer and more comfy than I’m used to, but the pillows are crap.

Free ice.

Big spacious hotel rooms with amenities are nice, but I much prefer the outstanding service one gets in perhaps a smaller room on a cruise ship. First off, I would go nuts without an unobstructed ocean view with a private balcony, so already the price has shot up considerably. But the service is exceptional. Room service is available 24 hours a day at no extra cost (except liquor). There is a person assigned to a small group of cabins (4 to 6) and is there to see to your complete comfort. If you want a perpetually refreshed fresh fruit bowl, tell them how often you want it checked and you can count on it. If you don’t want to go to one of the restaurants for your meal, tell them exactly what you want and they always deliver. I’ve requested a complete rearrangement of a cabin putting two beds together right in front of the ocean-view sliding glass door that lead to the balcony and they jumped at it and happily accommodated. If you need an extension cord or request a shower stool, you got it. Bottomline: its hard to beat the service on a luxury cruise ship (and with the economy the way it is, prices are the lowest they have been in years).

@GAMBIT my wife is a feen for shaved ice that comes out of those machines.

@whatthefluther hmmmmm, i think i wanna go on a cruise after that answer!

A hotel room is just a room to sleep for me. I could really care less what it looks like unless its dirty or something, but the whole reason im stayin in a hotel in the first place is im on vacation. Why the hell would i want to hang around the room?

Most hotels have beds that are less comfortable than what I have at home. In addition, the rooms generally smell odd. Sometimes it is perfumey and tolerable and sometimes it is organic and most unpleasant. The shower head is often too low, and the tub is always much smaller than ours at home.

However, I do rather like the fact that someone else makes the bed, vacuums the room, and supplies clean towels on a daily basis.

if the hotel has a lively bar with cool drinks, i get to know the bartender, if ya know what i mean.

as far as water pressure in the shower, if it has a dial to switch to pulsate, i am in love with the hot water. i dont care too much for “soft water,” but it seems many hotels in the west or south have this feature.

if the bath has citrus shampoos and lotions, i cuff them for my own and request more, just so i can take home. is that wrong? .

@Darwin Is that true even in handicapped rooms? I usually prefer to use the handicapped because the rooms are much bigger and nicer than the regular rooms.
@charliecompany34 The hotels are supposed to dispose of any personal items that were placed in the room, even when unopened, according to the health rules, so feel free to take them home with you.

@YARNLADY – Actually, yes, it is. We tend to stay in handicapped rooms because of my husband’s difficulties in getting around. Of course, it may depend on the hotel you are in, but these days we are pretty much limited to a particular La Quinta located next door to my parents’ “senior living facility.”

And we have a really big tub at home.

@YARNLADY…Hey, that was supposed to be our little secret!!! See ya…wtf

@whatthefluther What usually happens is the maids take the stuff that is left behind, because they can sell it.

@YARNLADY…I meant the accommodations for wheelchairs and the disabled…wtf

@charliecompany34 – that is the first thing we stock up on when we arrive. Especially if we bring our own food. We let the water out of the coolers and put in a fresh batch of ice. :-)

@whatthefluther heheheheh Oh, what is secret about the handicapped rooms being better than the others?

I’m not fond of hotels. I much prefer B&Bs or house rentals. Hotels are not so good with kids. You can all cram into one room, but there’s no privacy, and you all have to go to bed when the kids go to bed, if they are young enough you can’t leave them alone. To get a couple of rooms is much more expensive.

I get very uncomfortable in soulless rooms. It doesn’t feel anything like the comforts of home. I avoid them at all costs.

I actually stayed in a hotel for 6 months following a house fire. That was a completely different experience than just staying in a hotel for a couple days. They let me help decorate the Christmas tree in the lobby and sometimes I had the spa and hot tub all to myself.

I particularly liked the morning wake up calls at the hotel (it took several, I was younger then). When I finally got to move back into my house, the first morning I woke in my home, the night clerk called my house with a wake up call. I was really touched.

@daloon I always take my own decorations with me, like some nice handmade wall hangings, which I can always find a place to hang and set out fruit and nut bowls on homemade placemats. I have a picnic basket that contains fake crystal plates and glasses, and a paper tablecloth, which I place over the credenza that is always there, or over the computer desk. I also take my own pillows with my own pillow cases.

We are lucky enough to be able to take two rooms for us and the kids, so at least we have that. The boys used to love to make coffee by themselves in their own room when they got old enough to shut the adjoining door.

When ever I stay in a hotel I end up arranging and cleaning everything like I was at home anyway. I always straighten out the sheets and blankets on the beds so it looks nicer when the maid comes. I don’t know why I do, I guess I don’t want the maid thinking we’re pigs. like I should seriously worry about this, but I do

@knitfroggy since I make my reservations in advance, and often stay for a week, I contact the manager and insist that the room must be completely cleaned and disinfected.

the maids don’t care if I am a pig, as long as I leave a good tip, which I always do.

@YARNLADY I’m sure the maids don’t care if I’m a pig either but for some odd reason, I care

@knitfroggy oink

I prefer house rentals, like @daloon
but I love how you don’t have to clean up after yourself at hotels.

We don’t have to make up our own beds.

I don’t like hotels. They feel so sterile.

@The_Compassionate_Heretic It only takes a little creativity to fix that. A few minutes work while partner is bringing in the luggage really perks up the room. I always take my own decorations with me.

I start with my own pillow with a brightly decorated pillow case. Place a nice fruit/wine/cheese basket on the countertop, throw a disposable, paper table runner (in case you forget it) over the top of the TV, wrap colored celophane around the lampshades.

When during holiday time, I carry a lighted wreath that plugs in, and a little table top musical holiday tree, or a strip of colored lights to place on the console. I have some little fiber-optic light burst lamps that I sometimes take along.

What a fantastic read for someone who has been in the hotel business for 30 years. As for selecting a hotel, here is the Top 5 criteria by priority:
1.) Location
2.) Price
3.) Cleanliness
4.) Service
5.) Amenities

For several years, I inspected hotels. I could tell you tales that would make your toes curl. And before you panic, 98% of them were created by the guests, not staff.