Friday, April 14, 2006

Shades of blue


I'm shameless whenever I stay in hotels. I take pictures of the shampoos and other doodads that they leave for guests. Some establishments are downright artistic in their packaging - I guess there's only so much you can do to differentiate a room, a bed and a dresser, so you turn to the toiletries to make your mark.

Score one for the Hampton Inn: they know their consumables. That, and they offer free wireless in their rooms (bless them.) A pox on any hotel that continues to charge for it. Or, horrors, charges for basic wired access. Or, horrors-cubed, doesn't offer Internet access at all.

Your turn: The neatest hotel I ever stayed at was...? And that would be because...?

20 comments:

Gypsy said...

The neatest hotel was a charming little bed and breakfast on Elba in Italy. It was perfection. Clean, quiet, simple, gorgeous, and the proprietors were terribly sweet. We all got thank you cards from them after our stay.

Of course, I can't remember the name for the life of me.

Anonymous said...

Hello, Michele sent me.
Sorry no memorible hotels for me but be careful with the cool looking toiletries. If they are too simmilar you may be gargling with shampoo and using hand lotion in your hair.

Lisa said...

That would be The Atlantis in the Bahamas... and because... well because it was the Atlantis in the Bahamas! :-) Seriously, for a small town USA girl, it was the epitomy of luxury..

Anonymous said...

Hi Carmi, Your photos of everyday stuff always makes me smile. How is it we forget to really look at that stuff...and then you remind us.

I was in Asheville visiting my son last weekend and was thankful the wireless in my room too. It makes all the difference. Remember when motels used to advertise FREE HBO?!

Linda said...

The Ritz-Carlton in downtown Atlanta...it was TRULY RITZY! We were waited on hand and foot...tuxedo'ed strawberries, champagne, breakfast brought to our rooms...this was in 1998 and I STILL have all the wonderful toiletries they had. I especially remember the $10 tube of Tylenol...I had a headache and they sent it up - it had 6 tablets in it - they must have taken lessons from the US government on that one!

And the occasion? My one night honeymoon! (that's why I kept all the toiletries)

Anonymous said...

Do you justs take pictures of it or do you take 'em home with you? If they're of good quality, I take 'em home. I paid for them, after all.

Favorite hotels: The Pink Sands Resort, Harbour Island, Bahamas; Manele Bay Hotel, Lanaii, Hawaii

As much as I enjoy the big, fancy hotels, I like staying at bed & breakfast inns even better.

Moon said...

Ok..mine WILL be soon..I say this because I have stayed in quite a few hotels in the past and they all kind of blend into eachother in my memory now...but the best by far Will be THE INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL in Montreal..on June 9th this year...WHY? because for one, it will be the first 5 star hotel I will have stayed in but mostly, because I am getting married there on that day!!...(big cheezy grin here)...This hotel has 3 rooms on a lower level that are actual historical sights...they are there since the mid to early 1800's..they kind of look like old wine cellars..I will be having the ceremony in the smallest of the rooms (has beautiful fresco's on the wall) and my cocktails will be served in the other room similar, to finally have my reception in the bigger of the 3....we really can't wait!!..After all that , many of our guests and us ofcourse will be staying in the hotel till next day to assemble for a big breakfast.......
Ok so it wasn't exactly what u asked but I just had to be a blushing bride (at 43, maybe less blushing) and go on and on about it lol

Nic said...

Hi my friend. The neatest hotel I ever stayed in was probably in St. Louis in the Union Station there. It was just gorgeous. Lovely curved balastrade, decadent rooms - it was the first room I ever stayed in that had a phone in the bathroom. This was in 1994 and I was 20. It was certainly memorable!

Shalom uv'racha Aleichem!

Rene said...

That would be the Hyatt Regency in Maui. We had an ocean front room and we could watch the sunset every night. They had a great breakfast buffet in the morning. Not one of those cheesy Best Western ones either.

Steph said...

The greates hotel I ever stayed in was in Calcutta, the HIlton. In the poorest city on the planet, this was the most decadent and overstated hotel on earth. But after some very hard times there, it was a virtual oasis for us. Absolutely stunning, with cherry wood furniture, canopies on the beds with mood lighting, and every amenity you can think of to make you forget the sadness outside. After seeing that kind of poverty, I wish I could have enjoyed it.

Bill C said...

Fairmont in San Francisco, because "expense report approved." :-)

sage said...

i don't get all excited these days about the shampoo hotels provide... maybe they should have some sunscreen for those of us with little hair.

But my favorite hotel was the Chateau Lake Louise--wonderful and the fourth and last night we were there, there was a fire alarm at 3 AM--which I'll remember to this day--nothing like being awaken by an alarm and realizing that it's a fire alarm and you're on the 8th or 9th floor, and it's dang cold outside... But still, the hotel was elegant.

Anonymous said...

The neatest hotel hands down was the Zur Tenne hotel in Kitzbuehel Austria. The floors,walls and ceiling were all wood, heated for the winter and had a wonderful view of the Hannekam mountain, where the world ski championship has been held over the past years. It was, in my opinion the most wonderful hotel that I had stayed in on that scale.

Then there is the CIGA hotel in Rome on the Via Venetto. That was extravagant. I had never seen a heated towel wrmer on the wall before or a bathtub with "summons" buttons on the side!!

Peace,
Jeremy

OldLady Of The Hills said...

The Lanesborpogh in London. Great service in every respect and a lovely LOVELY room...it had a fax machine right there and Internet access, too...
Lovely toiletries, as well...!

Anonymous said...

Your toiletries are MUCH cooler than the ones they have here at the Marriott Springhill Suites in Robinson Township, PA (think outskirts of Pittsburgh, but stop making that face. Pittsburgh is a cool place).

The neatest hotel I ever stayed in was the Hotel Roma in Montmartre. We had a 6th floor room with a balcony. The hotel is right on one of the main boulevards in Montmartre, and...it's just cool.

kenju said...

The best was the Hyatt Regency in Kaalapani Beach, Maui, HI. They have a lagoon with black swans, an open atrium with plants galore, many birds and animals on the site and treasures from the Orient (ceramics, porcelains, enamels, paintings, etc.)

Unknown said...

A hotel in Maastrict, the Netherlands. It was a 'business' hotel, but it was extremely luxurious and had the best breakfasts ever. Huge spreads of everything you could ever imagine, even bagels and smoked fish. The room was beautifully furnished and had those tempapedic mattresses and I slept like a log. They had sky tv so I could watch TV all over europe. And the bathroom, man was it nice. Separate shower stall and a huge jacuzzi tub for long soaks. I lived there for weeks at a time when I was working in Holland, and it was the best place evah!

Unknown said...

Carmi: I gues my answer will render me "a lightweight", but it was the Hyatt Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida. I read a poem from singer Jewel that was "Written in a Red Roof Inn". Well, I now have a Redicard. For $37-$49 (US) they have it all. Yes, even free Intenet. But no iron and ironing boards. I can live with that. A great value!

Sandy said...

Neatest? Easy - Pearl Beach Resort in Bora Bora. I mean really, can you beat your own personal bunglow out over the water? Your coffee table has a glass top that looks down into the bright blue water. You can open the lid to feed the tropical fish? You slip off your own deck into the cool, blue bay. It was incredible!

Jennifer said...

Oh, for me, it would have to be the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Texas....magnificient!!!!!! A country girl's paradise!