Tag: Hotel Rants
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Rant: Does Anybody Care About Hotel Facebook Pages?
OK, we'll start this rant by acknowledging that, in general, there are elements of social media that get on our nerves, so you'll have to excuse us if at times we seem a little biased. However, the topic we're covering today concerns a very particular kind of social media: hotel Facebook pages.
Pretty much every hotel opening these days has one, but what exactly do they accomplish? And does anybody care what they have to say?
A few recent examples come to mind: QT Gold Coast wondered what we thought of JLo's manicure at the Golden Globes. Over in New York, Hotel BPM felt like sharing how "hot" they think Rihanna looks in the current issue of Rolling Stone. And though it hasn't even opened yet, The Quin Hotel is "recommending" the Michael Kors Spring 2013 womenswear line.
Maybe we're just not hip to the groove, but can someone please explain how these status updates have anything to do with the hotels themselves?
Hotel Rants / Hotel Trends / European Hotels / → All Tags
Mini Rant: What’s the Deal with Europe's Double Duvets?
Correct us if we're wrong, but aren't Europeans supposed to crush American men when it comes to romance? Candlelit dinners, walks along the canals, deep knowledge of the arts, literature and history, a tongue that speaks far more than one language, etc., etc. We've heard it all, not only from women abroad but from those right here on our own soil.
Damn you, Fabio, you and your long locks of love.
But is all as it seems? Why, then, do so many European hotels insist on using double duvets on queen size beds? And that weird thing of pushing two twins together to create the "illusion" of a double/queen bed? European men might have all the swag in the world, but perhaps they’re not as good in the ninth inning as they are in the first–they seem to need their beauty rest, indeed. Perhaps American boys aren't afraid to share their sheets and space?
On recent trips to Europe, we inquired about this tendency that's completely non-existent in the United States. What's the reason? The most common answer was that Europeans “prefer their space.” So much for the post-coitus cuddle, folks.
What are your thoughts? Yay or nay on the double duvets? Chime in!
[Photos: Will McGough for HotelChatter]
Hotel Rants / Hotel Housekeeping / Hotel Management / → All Tags
Rant: "Hold On!" Rarely Works With Housekeeping
Watcha gonna do when they come for you...at the break of dawn?
Let's just call this "Tell Us Why You're Mad Tuesday" rant, m'kay?
This is dedicated to all the hotel housekeepers who bust in our rooms after just one knock. They never hear our panicked "Hold On!" as we race to the door. It's always too late. Yes, sometimes we realize we've forgotten to put the "Do Not Disturb" sign on, but honestly, isn't that more of a back-up than an out-and-out mechanism to waylay intrusions?
We usually don't expect a knock on the door at 9 a.m. when most of these disturbances seem to occur. Isn't check-out at 11 a.m., lady? And what's with the universal one-knock rule? One tap and you're opening the door, not giving us a second to get ourselves decent. And it seems we're always indecent (when the room invasion occurs).
Hotel Rants / Hotel WiFi Hell / Hotel WiFi / Frankfurt Hotels / Airport Hotels / Business Hotels / Germany Hotels / Sheraton Hotels / → All Tags
Beware: A Stay at the Sheraton Frankfurt Equals Hotel WiFi Hell
Even though many budget-friendly hotels have adopted free internet as part of the room rate, the fight for complimentary WiFi is far from over. Our latest battlefront is the Sheraton Hotel & Tower at Frankfurt Airport in Germany, which had the most appallingly bad internet policy and connection we've ever used.
Thankfully we got around paying $250 a night for this airport hotel by being a guest of Lufthansa, but we still had the pesky internet charge. And here's the policy: Guests get a free 30 minutes of internet per day in the lobby only. In the rooms, connectivity costs 8 Euro per hour, or a flat 19 Euro for 24 hours. You must create a user ID for your account.
After successfully hooking up to the free half-hour in the lobby on our iPhone at check-in, the situation looked manageable. That is, until we sat down in our room to begin the real work.
