How (not) to run a hotel

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#1220850 23-Jan-2015 15:22

Stayed in a real gem of a place in Kawerau, right out of the 1970's, orange shag pile carpet, between 2 rooms we were able to make one complete set of dinner ware.....1 plate, one cup, one knife.......etc,

Lets just say next time round we stayed outta town!

MadEngineer

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#1220855 23-Jan-2015 15:31

You get what you pay for. Lots now have double glazed windows which makes for a dead silent room and is indicative of the room you'll get when looking.

Showers doors that don't contain the water is one of my gripes.

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#1220857 23-Jan-2015 15:32

When in 'decent' hotels (like a 4-star property Novotel or similar), having really really crap TV reception.

How hard is it to do properly when you are setting up a hotel? I know digital distribution systems aren't cheap, but setting up a hotel like that, it should be built into the cost.

Noisy fridges and Noisy aircon are my other two bugbears. Aircon moreso, because turning it off is either impossible or turns the room into an Oven.

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#1220858 23-Jan-2015 15:33

Or the aircon has a bright blue circular light to indicate it's turned on.

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

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#1220863 23-Jan-2015 15:35

Lack of anything but the bed to sit on when watching TV

Limited Sky channels

Lack of USB power sockets

Outrageous minibar prices

but the WORST

The recent fad for transparent walls between the bathroom and the rest of the room. I do not want to see my wife using the toilet or vice versa. One hotel I stayed in (in France I think) had that glass that went dark when you pressed a button and transparent when you pressed it again - that is a sensible solution.

shrub

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#1220872 23-Jan-2015 15:47

I've been staying in hotels a bit lately and my biggest gripe is WiFi prices eg. Novotel Chch $9.99 200mb over 2hrs or $19.90 1gb over 24hrs. Yet the Ridges Latimer 1 block over is unlimited and Free.
I remember these things when im booking, next time i will avoid Novotel just for this reason.

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JimmyC

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#1220875 23-Jan-2015 15:52

Since loud fridges and aircon have been mentioned, I'll pick on bathrooms -

Showers that flood the floor due to poor\improper\missing door seals resulting in lethally slippery tiles. (Numerous locations)

Bathrooms with low ceilings and raised baths with a pot light above the middle of the bath. At 6'1" stand in the bath to take a shower. Shampoo whilst avoiding electrocution. (Rydges, Queenstown)

Artistic toilets where the bowls are steeply sloped from the back to front with the tiniest puddle of water right at the front of the bowl. Encourage visitor to sit on said convenience by providing overly rich food from the restaurant. Don't supply toilet brush. (Hilton, Taupo) I actually raised that issue when I was asked to review my stay. They said providing a toilet brush would be unhygienic. Hmm... more so than the alternative to clean up by hand?! No response...

DarthKermit

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#1220892 23-Jan-2015 16:17

Any of those quirky Mom and Pop hotels that the Hotel Inspector chick stays in.

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Behodar

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#1220893 23-Jan-2015 16:20

JimmyC: Showers that flood the floor due to poor\improper\missing door seals resulting in lethally slippery tiles. (Numerous locations)

I spent one night at a place in Brisbane that had a curtain separating the shower from the rest of the bathroom. Just a curtain. Literally just a curtain. Nothing at all on the floor to stop the water from flowing out into the bathroom.

jeffnz

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#1220896 23-Jan-2015 16:24

I must be easily pleased as I generally don't have any real issues. My biggest thing is finding a place that is quiet meaning I can't hear the people next door so usually choose older places that have vibrapac block walls separating them.

Maybe my expectations aren't that high so never generally annoyed by little things as its only a place to sleep, generally.

I find switching fridge off as a simple solution to that.

Hard to satisfy everyone though.

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DarthKermit

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#1220899 23-Jan-2015 16:26

gregmcc: Stayed in a real gem of a place in Kawerau, right out of the 1970's, orange shag pile carpet, between 2 rooms we were able to make one complete set of dinner ware.....1 plate, one cup, one knife.......etc,

Lets just say next time round we stayed outta town!

Hardly surprising, in a hick town like Kawerau.

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Geektastic

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#1220909 23-Jan-2015 16:45

shrub: I've been staying in hotels a bit lately and my biggest gripe is WiFi prices eg. Novotel Chch $9.99 200mb over 2hrs or $19.90 1gb over 24hrs. Yet the Ridges Latimer 1 block over is unlimited and Free.
I remember these things when im booking, next time i will avoid Novotel just for this reason.

I always get free wi-fi in Novotel properties because I have Platinum status in the Accor Le Club. It's often worth sticking with the same chain to get up the ladder a bit for reasons like that.

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#1220910 23-Jan-2015 16:45

DarthKermit:
gregmcc: Stayed in a real gem of a place in Kawerau, right out of the 1970's, orange shag pile carpet, between 2 rooms we were able to make one complete set of dinner ware.....1 plate, one cup, one knife.......etc,

Lets just say next time round we stayed outta town!

Hardly surprising, in a hick town like Kawerau.

I was wondering why anyone would volunteer to stay there, I must say!

gregmcc

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#1220958 23-Jan-2015 17:30

Geektastic:
DarthKermit:
gregmcc: Stayed in a real gem of a place in Kawerau, right out of the 1970's, orange shag pile carpet, between 2 rooms we were able to make one complete set of dinner ware.....1 plate, one cup, one knife.......etc,

Lets just say next time round we stayed outta town!

Hardly surprising, in a hick town like Kawerau.

I was wondering why anyone would volunteer to stay there, I must say!

Only because we had a job on locally, From then on we stayed in whakatane

freitasm

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#1221007 23-Jan-2015 18:48

vexxxboy: Pillows, how hard is it to provide a decent comfortable pillow.

This. Either a rock or some fluffy thing that is so thick I get neck aches. And why bother placing six or eight of them, all the same, on top of the bed?

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