Hotels

David on December 8th, 2011

I’m sceptical about hotels that try to claim green credentials at the best of times, but some of the “environmentally-friendly” claptrap rang particularly hollow on my recent trip to the States. Just about every hotel does it these days – puts the sign up in the bathroom asking you to re-use the towels as constantly [...]

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David on December 5th, 2011

76 Christmas (or birthday) gifts for travel-lovers If you’re anything like me, you’re generally hopeless when it comes to buying presents. But my wife has a harder task. She’ll often find something perfect a few months in advance only for me to have gone and bought it on a whim a couple of weeks before [...]

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David on October 26th, 2011

In recent times, I’ve encountered a few press trip frustrations that, from my point of view, just didn’t need to happen. It got me thinking – what would my ideal press trip consist of? Well it obviously depends on the stories I’m going to research, but this little lot just about covers it…   A [...]

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David on October 3rd, 2011

Tapped in the head? I spent last weekend in Chester – nice city, great zoo – and stayed at the Abode hotel. Whilst there, I again encountered something that I find rather perplexing. In the bathroom, there were two unmarked taps, with no indication as to which was hot and which was cold. No little [...]

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Continue reading about Hotel design idiocy: Part 325,392

David on September 18th, 2011

Ask the concierge? Having spent the last week travelling around Switzerland and openly weeping at the cost of, well, absolutely everything, I’ve made unusually frequent encounters with people I don’t usually trust. Common consensus has it that hotel concierges are an excellent source of knowledge about the city they work in. They know where the [...]

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David on August 22nd, 2011

Must have breakfast… There is a mystifying tribe of people roaming this planet for whom not being able to eat breakfast at their hotel is an absolute deal-breaker. These are the people who will insist on booking on a bed and breakfast basis, even though it’s basically the same as the room-only rate with another [...]

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North Americans and tax North Americans, as a general rule, really don’t like tax. In fact, if you allowed a significant number of loonbags on the shouty fringe of the Republican party to have their way, there would be no taxation at all – let’s face it, we don’t need those vile evolution-preaching schools and [...]

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Continue reading about ‘Plus tax’: A phrase that makes no sense whatsoever

Below, I’ve created a very simple 20 point manifesto that I think all hotels should abide by. Anyone running a hotel who would like to sign up can say “aye” in the comments. I will provide free WiFi that works well in ALL rooms. I will not push two single beds together and pretend they [...]

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Continue reading about The Grumpy Traveller hotel manifesto: A 20 point plan

David on May 30th, 2011

Dear hotel receptionists, Imagine someone comes into your hotel. They say they’re a journalist, and would like to see a room as they’re writing a city guide and need to recommend places to say. What do you think they’re asking for? Is it (A) to see a room? Or (B) to pointlessly swap business cards [...]

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Continue reading about An open letter to hotel receptionists

If you ask me, there are certain criteria that have to be applied if something is to be fairly deemed a ‘service’. Key amongst them is that it has to be genuinely useful and desired. The hotel industry, however, appears to think differently. A service, it seems, is when someone is put in the way [...]

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Continue reading about Five hotel services that are not actually services

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