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| [hotel room] |
The British television program Four in a Bed is a reality program
on hotel stay, whether a full hotel or glamping site or anything in between,
and its ultimate measure, the value for the price. On that subject, ny wife and
I have just completed a trip involving several, maybe too many, hotels in Crete
and Nurenberg (Germany). Each of the hotels, while in a similar price category,
had its unique elements that added or subtracted from the ease and comfort of
the stay. I am aware people have individual priorities, e.g. the cleanliness
and quality of the linen and variety of teas and coffees in the room. I am less
critical of such details, within reason, but wish to share which elements
influence my perception of these temporary abodes.
Two essential factors for any stay over one night are a comfortable
mattress and room to open two valises. A good night’s sleep is the basis for a
good day. By contrast, back pain from a poor mattress is a good reason to find
another hotel if the management cannot find a solution. In fact, I stopped
going to Marriot Hotels for that reason. It is important to be aware that many
major chains use the same category mattress in all of their hotels. As for room
size, unless I plan to spend significant time at the hotel, the physical
dimensions of the room are primary visual until it is too small to lay out two
valises without blocking access to the bed. European urban hotels understandably
tend to be rather limited in space but proper room planning can at least allow
this action. I will put up with such a small space for one night but that is
all. I am happy to report that I was satisfied with all of the hotels in these
respects.
The most variable room in hotels in the bathroom. I have the impression
that, unlike in truly luxury hotels, nobody in the management actually spent a
night in the room and tried to take a shower. In some cases, the height of the
shower forces the bather to adopt a strange posture while in other cases much
of the water ends up on the floor near the toilet. In terms of safety, I have
experienced numerous bathrooms in which entering
and exiting the shower required great dexterity and seemed an accident in waiting.
I believe that the fanciness of the pieces does not make a good bathroom but
instead its ergonomics. As poorly designed bathrooms are the rule, not the
exception, we just have to put up with the them and complain, just like the
weather.
An important factor that many hotels, even otherwise quality one, ignore
is hanging space. When traveling in wet countries or in the wet season, it is often
necessary to hang jackets and sweaters to dry out. The closet is not an ideal
option for obvious reasons. It is sometimes possible to do so in the bathroom
but that creates other issues. It is so convenient where there are pegs or
other designated places to air or dry out the day’s clothing. The floor
lamp works but was clearly not designed for that purpose. When the hotel
considers this need, it rates higher in my eyes.
Location was a surprising unclear factor. We stayed in a non-touristy
business area on the main road, a hotel in the old part of the city one block
from a red-light district and in the middle of a tourist area surrounded by restaurants
and shops. Curiously enough, I found advantages in each area and ignored the
less attractive elements of the location. The actual surroundings had
relatively little impact on the pleasantness of the experience.
By contrast, the level of service was the key for me. When I interacted
with friendly and helpful front desk people that understood English to a
reasonable level, I enjoyed the stay and was willing to ignore the quaintness
of the hotel. On the other hand, dealing with service people that neither
really understood English nor truly attempted to resolve issues was a major
turnoff regardless of the fanciness of the hotel. A manager at a major
international chain actually told me that it had subcontracted room service and
had no direct control of room cleaning. As in all service businesses,
customers want to feel appreciated and understood. Otherwise, they do not come
back, in this case physically.
Clearly, each customer and each hotel have their specific demand and capacities. For me, the bed and a reasonable room size with a friendly staff available to solve a problem is the key to a return visit with other elements of less importance, depending on the daily rate even if it involves only two in a bed.
