apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

The first thing I do in a hotel room is put away all the print advertising clutter left by the hotel; room service menus, guest guides, etc. It makes a big difference!

Some of the suggstions on this list are just plain daffy.

There is no flipping way I'm going to go to a hotel and change the bedspread/blanket/lightbulbs, then clean the bathroom myself, wear flipflops in the shower and buy a plant for the room. If you're this tripped-out/anal - it's best to just stay home in your cocoon.

And I like using the hotel toiletries - I'm paying for them anyway, they're generally premium brands which are an opportunity to try something new, it saves weight/hassle in the luggage - and the last thing I want to do on vacation is hunt down a drugstore to buy tiny little bottles of soap/shampoo.

Most of these suggestions should be considered by hotel owners/management.

I also second bepsf's comment about the suggestion on bedspread blanket and cleaning the bathroom. How does wearing flipflop in the shower make the hotel room feels more like home?

anyone who travels these days knows that it can be a nightmare dealing with the restrictions going through security; i would like to see the face of the security officer when you explain to him/her why you have a lightbulb in your bag. the best way to travel is to pack as little as possible and take only what is absolutely necessary.

if you feel that you have been given a room that is not clean you can go to the front desk and ask to be moved to a better room. if the hotel cannot accommodate you can request that a maid be sent to clean your room again. and you can request fresh bedding.

In keeping with this list, do one better, dont wear flip flops, just empty out some tissue boxes for a germ-free experience. :-)

huh? change the bedspread? as in bring your own? I dont get it.

Oh my goodness. If you're going to go through all of this rigmarole, why not just stay home? Especially since you'll never actually get a chance to experience the city or region you're visiting, because you'll be so busy redecorating and "sanitizing" (ha ha, fat chance) your hotel room.

Sorry to be rude, but in my view, this crosses the line into OCD.

I don't recommend using hotel room drawers to put your clothes in, you can pick up bedbugs from them (not that this is a common occurrence, but you can never be too careful). Regardless of the caliber of hotel, leave your folded clothes in your luggage and never put your suitcase on the bed.

No way would I do all this.

I do try to bring slippers, which are nice on the plane, too.

I usually bring my own shampoo and face wash (in v. small containers), because sometimes hotels don't offer the full package. I take home the nice samples, and periodically the empties- for refilling and toting back and forth to the gym.

I was also thinking about the don't use the drawers because of bedbugs issue. It is nice not to live out of a suitcase, but not crucial enough as to be worth risking getting bedbugs.

I like to use the courtesy hotel shampoos and such until last year I checked into a very nice hotel that had way too purfumey shampoo and I was stuck with their smelly choice for the week. I like to travel light but will always bring my own from now on in little re-fillable containers.

way lame post...might as well stay home!

This is well over the line into OCD.
If your worried about athletes foot, dry your feet properly. As a fungus it needs a damp area to grow, and cannot develop if your feet are dry.

"I don't recommend using hotel room drawers to put your clothes in, you can pick up bedbugs from them"

Um - No.

Bedbugs don't live in dresser drawers - there's nothing to eat in there. They live in and around the bed - hence the name "Bedbug" - because that's where their food (Human Blood) is.

The way bedbugs get into luggage & clothing is when folks pack their luggage on the beds of infested rooms - and the bugs crawl inside to get away from the light.

If you're staying in a room with bedbugs, it's not going to help keeping the clothes in the luggage - You'll have them already.

No offense, but most of those tips are ridiculous. The lightbulb idea is just crazy, since most hotels have lamps with dimmers or some table lamps that have lower wattage.

If I'm travelling for a week or longer, one thing I like to do is to make room in the minibar and put a bottle of milk and one of OJ in there for breakfast. I also buy cereals or bread and peanut butter and eat breakfast in my room while watching a local television show. It's a good way to cut costs and save money for a good Sunday brunch or nice dinner.

"Fabric softener sheets"

Who on earth likes how these smell? Some places have linen sprays in the room, and packing your own isn't all that odd, but the rest of these "tips" are just insane.

To the best of my knowledge bedbugs go up on the bed mostly at night when they feed (on you.) The rest of the time they will often hide in furniture, between floorboards, and any other little nook or cranny. Hanging up your clothes is supposed to be better than using drawers because the "commute" for them is more difficult, and the bathroom is better too because they have a hard time climbing slippery surfaces like porcelain and metal. Of course, you can be careful and still get them, and be totally careless and not get them.

like jes i put away the print advertising clutter. And i hide the ugly (most of the time) bedspread in the closet, i prefer the look of white sheets. For more than one night i would rearrange chairs and lamps a little. With a candle, a bottle of vodka and my ipod i feel almost like home...
Favorite scarf on the ugly chair also help.
Ultimatly, if the arts on the wall are too offending to your eyes there is always a closet...(did it a few times)

I try to stay in less corporate-type places to start with, which certainly makes things more homey. If the room has some personality, I'm much happier - I don't care if it's not MY personality!

I'm with Jes in that I'll put away all the hotel stuff I don't need - TV guide, etc. Once those are put away and my books come out, the place feels better.

And I do carry a couple tiny good-travels totems; one was a gift, the other I picked up on one of my trips. They take almost no space and weigh very little - and I love seeing them sitting out.

If I'm staying somewhere for a while, I do like buying fresh flowers for the room. I'll bring along a travel collapsible vase to put them in - again, that takes hardly any space and adds minimal weight. And buying the flowers is a fun experience, in itself.

Change the bedspread and lightbulbs? It sounds like the scene from Best in Show where the characters Stefan and Scott do the same thing and more including hanging a quilt over the bed, changing the artwork, etc...

Oh lighten up, people. Most of these tips are actually pretty useful and make sense, and the ones that don't to you might to someone else. At best, I think the way it's written is a little careless, because most of these ideas are more about making your hotel room *safer* and not more like home. The writer should clarify, and you should all relax.

That being said, I do think these were all geared toward someone staying in an impersonal hotel room for longer than 1 night. If you've ever had to stay in an awful hotel for more than a week, it's easy to start hating it. And yeah, it might drive you to do crazy things like switch lightbulbs. If you're alone, a long way from home, and have no friends in town, forced to attend some conference or work assignment you hate, it really really helps to personalize your hotel room any way you can, even if that means being a tripped-out anal freak. Such practices are soothing to some people. Welcome to the human race.

My favorite one thing I always do - best travel tip ever - is travel with a tiny bottle of good quality essential oil that you like. I'm big on lavender, rosemary or lemon.

Wet a small hotel towel, loosely wring it out, sprinkle it liberally with the essential oil, and hang it on the back of a chair close to the bed. As it evaporates, it humidifies the dry hotel air and perfumes it, too. The next morning, it will be dry but still scented, and I use it to wrap up my wet hair after showering. Then I'm perfumed all day. Works like a charm!

get a grip!!! who the frick is changing hotel lightbulbs and carrying them in their luggage? dream on. stay home. those suggestions are ridiculous!!! travel much???

* When I stay for a week in a hotel, it is more homey to put my clothes away in dresser & closet. I bring a tiny nightlight, & buy fresh flowers for the room. I keep one of the drinking glasses nearby to capture any large bugs I might see(This happened while in Southern India!). With the rest, I take my chances. My endorphins likely protect me...

I find hotels and timeshares like InnSeason Resorts South Mountain and Marriott resorts attend to use cheap blankets and sheets. I not sure why this is. I recommend they upgrade there bedding for customers to travel more. I continue have to bring two or three acrylic chatham blankets with me to travel. That are soft and nice to snuggle with to get a good night sleep. Why did hotels change from nice blanket to these cheap blankets called Vellux Blanket. They are gross and not soft like the acrylic blanket. They never use fabric softner on the sheets like snuggle. When will hotels and restorts upgrade there bedding to increase people to travel. Also charge more for the room. I bought a timeshare to save money but find timeshares attend to need to spend more on bedding. I even offer innseason to use my spare blankets for my unit. I even offer to pay for the blanket to be on the bed so it will stay there for us and customers. When you own a timeshare the restort should help you upgrade your unit with more options. So you can have higher trade value or exchange it with another.

For example to get nice blanket that is really soft could range from $45 to $450 merino wool, silk blanket or acrylic blanket. Hotels should have kept companies like martex and Chatham mfg companie in business. Government should have stop trading with China.