I’m sure many travel writers have encountered a situation where they have been offered a ‘media rate’ by hotels, airlines and tour operators. And I’m sure many of us have struggled to know how to word the most appropriate response.
Well never fear – just alter the details on this template letter to suit your individual [...]
Essen business hotel
Last weekend, I stayed in the InterCityHotel in Essen, Germany. It was a perfectly pleasant business hotel, handily located for the central train station. But it did one thing differently that pleased me enormously.
Fruit juice for breakfast
Call me a glutton, but I like to drink more than a thimbleful of water or fruit [...]
Continue reading about Petty Gripes: #3 – Little glasses at breakfast in hotels
I’ve been a little slutty recently, and contributing to a couple of other blogs.
Ironically, given my little hissy fit about ‘character’ accommodation yesterday, I’ve picked out a place I’d happily pay to stay at for 101Holidays.co.uk. My choice is the Hunter Valley Cooperage in New South Wales, Australia, which I visited last November. It’s exactly [...]
Twitter confessions
An interesting bout of shame-faced confession broke out on Twitter a week or so ago. A few travel writers – most of whom spend their time tracking down stylish design hotels or character-heavy, family-run accommodation – admitted where they actually like staying.
Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t the ‘boutique’ pseudo art installations or quirky, personality-packed hovels. It [...]
Information from hotel
This morning, I received a reply from a hotel. I’m currently researching a feature on getting away from the whole family Christmas thing and thought this resort might be a good possible inclusion. But I needed a bit of information on it first before I could assess.
The response
The response, pasted below, is a priceless example [...]
Continue reading about Hotels: How not to respond to information requests from journalists
Travel media and budget hotels
I have come to the conclusion that people working in the travel media are in some kind of fantasy land. Recently, I have seen so many stories about the best budget hotels in various locations and have had the same reaction every time. Simply put, the travel media definition of ‘budget’ [...]
Continue reading about What is a budget hotel? The travel media doesn’t seem to understand
Tipping for good service? Or all the time?
I’m fairly sure that this one will open up a can of worms, but let’s run with it anyway. Cards on the table – I hate tipping, hate the fact that I’m expected to tip, and hate the attitude I’m given when I don’t.
And yes, this means tipping [...]
My previous post on hotels and their attitude to providing internet facilities for guests drew quite a response. It seems as though it’s not just me that gets angry with this.
Time for part two of the rant, then…
Patchy WiFi access
The second thing that infuriates me about WiFi in hotels is that the coverage is often [...]
Continue reading about Why hotels don’t get WiFi: 2 – Coverage
What does a double room mean to you? I’m fairly sure that by any reasonable definition, it means a room with one bed big enough for two people. What it most certainly isn’t is a room with two beds pushed together. That is a twin room for people who have a peculiar attitude towards physical [...]
Continue reading about Hotels: Two singles do not equal one double
There are few things that get me angrier than wireless internet access (or lack of it) in hotels. There are some hotels that have an admirable policy on WiFi, but by and large, accommodation providers behave disgracefully when it comes to getting online.
Suffice to say, this is likely to be the first of many rants [...]
Continue reading about Why hotels don’t get WiFi: 1 – Ambivalence
/
Recent Comments