I have stayed in thousands of luxury hotels ( From 5 to 7 star) over my years in travel and they are usually wonderful — but most with some small exceptions. While the following pet peeves may seem petty (isn’t that the definition of a pet peeve?), I find them irritants in an otherwise lovely experience. Do you agree? Please add your own! We can offer to Luxury Hotels as a “White Paper.” .

1. Tiny or poorly shaped soap — that falls out of your hand on the shower floor and then falls through the soap dish back on the shower floor. Half your shower is spent retrieving.

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2. Toilet paper that falls off the holder every time you use it.

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3. Separate hot and cold water spigots. Yes, these are very quaint and old fashioned, but unless I am filling the sink with stopper — useless. How many times have you burnt your hands, trying to wash them with only the hot on — or trying to quickly move your hands between the two?

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4. Tiny wastebaskets that the foot pedal never works and you are constantly having to open it with your hand on the rim–ugh. Yes, I know the sanitation reason for these, but make them work and if a real 5 star hotel, offer me an open wastebasket too for kleenex, empty contact lens package etc.

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5. Small toiletries that refuse to release their contents-and you are similarly crawling around on the shower floor (See number 1) when they slip out of your hand. Or you end up squirting body lotion all over when it finally comes out. (Apologies to the Palace hotel in Paris that now has alot of body lotion on your carpet.) Thank you for the fine lines you carry — just make sure I can hold on to them and get the product out.

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6. Power plugs — don’t make me move furniture, crawl around to find a plug only to find there is only one and i have to choose between, light, TV or charging my phone or computer. Yes, I now travel with adapters with many plugs but is that really the only solution? P.S., it is usually dirty behind the furniture I have to move too!

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7. Wifi–do I need to elaborate here? Probably not if you have read this far. Needs to be free for some level of service and a strong enough signal to at least load emails etc. I understand if I can’t stream videos on basic wifi, but do not understand when I have to stand on a chair near the window (with it open) to get at least 2 bars.

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5 thoughts on “Dear Luxury Hotels, You Are Almost Perfect, Except…

  1. All very true and valid points. I always think why someone can not sit and try to make empathy with their guests needs. I too travel a lot and either stay at hotels to inspect or for business or vacation, if we are two and our boy, 2 iphone, 1 I pad can hardly be charged at same time. Last hotel I stayed in NY paying same as Four Seasons Sultanahmet rate for a 4 star + hotel I had to ask for a slipper! Some hotels with towel rack few meters away from shower or bath tube is also frustrating.

  2. Agreed totally. We recently stayed at a 5 star in Maastricht, The Netherlands, but despite excellent location and spaciousness was more like the little train …. i think I can … but just fell short on ridiculous little things that could have made it great. Rough toilet paper, trivial but important. Despite 2 and a half bathrooms, no toiletries and no tissues anywhere. Despite a chic Danish design was souless, an easily fixed problem in keeping with the theme. Website needs some work, i am disinterested in a photo of your pen. Keep puffing along you are so close.

  3. I wander sometimes who makes some of these decisions. They are so simple to fix but no one does. Strange!!!

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