Reader Poll: What is your most appreciated hotel room amenity?
Time for a new reader poll, and since I’ve been spending a lot of time in hotel rooms lately, it’s got me thinking about all sorts or hotel room amenities.
What is your most appreciated hotel room amenity?
I think for most people FREE hotel room internet access tops the list, so I haven’t included this obvious choice. And I’m not talking about wanting the basics of a clean room and bed.
I want to know what else makes you glad that you made the hotel choice that you did. What do you really appreciate as a little extra in your room?
Please take a look at the options in the poll at right in the sidebar. I’ve included what I think are some of the more popular amenities, but feel free to check on “Add an Answer” to add something that you think I’ve missed. And, as always, leave a comment explaining or expounding upon your choice.
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Tags: Hotels, reader pollsRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Hotels, Places to Stay, Poll
14 opinions for Reader Poll: What is your most appreciated hotel room amenity?
styleosophy
Sep 30, 2008 at 8:20 am
Does great customer service count? I know it’s not ‘in the room’, but I don’t know how many times I’ve decided not to visit a hotel again based on bad service. Excellent customer service is a non-negotiable for me.
Robin Noelle
Sep 30, 2008 at 8:49 am
Other than free wireless, I don’t care about any of the other amenities. I care about a COMFORTABLE mattress and high water pressure in the shower. Accessible outlets to plug in my phone/laptop (hate crawling under desks) are a bonus. If I’m traveling on business, I like a decent hair dryer in the bathroom. Oh, and a mirror near a window.
adriana
Sep 30, 2008 at 9:20 am
I recently stayed at a Hilton hotel and they had these Cuisinart individual coffee maker things. At first, I didn’t care. But you could use it to make coffee and tea at the same time in different cups, and that was just the best thing ever for my boyfriend and me! If every hotel had those things, I would be a very happy person!
Shane
Sep 30, 2008 at 11:53 pm
I always appreciate having an iron and ironing board at my disposal as I haven’t yet mastered the art of wrinkle free packing :(
Mary Jo Manzanares
Oct 1, 2008 at 6:55 am
Styleosophy: Customer service is so important, but I’d hate to think we now count that as a room amenity - an extra - rather than as a basic expectation.
Robin: It just seems like a comfortable bed should be a given, don’t you think? How sad is it that we’ve come to think of that basic level of comfort as an amenity. I agree with you, too, about conveniently located plug ins. I hate it when the ones near the desk are all in use and I have to go groping around for some place to plug in my gadgets!
Mary Jo Manzanares
Oct 1, 2008 at 6:57 am
Adriana: I’ve seen the coffee makers that you are talking about, and they seem to be becoming more and more popular.
Shane: It’s nice to be able to touch up your clothes when you want, without having to call down to the front desk or housekeeping to have an iron and board brought up to your room.
Robin Noelle
Oct 1, 2008 at 7:20 am
@ Mary Jo: yes, a comfortable bed should be a must, but I’m talking about the insanely comfortable ones (at the W? or the Westin?) that the hotel actually will sell to you if you fall in love with them.
Also, I live in Mexico, the land of concrete beds. No matter how nice the hotel is, the chances are the beds are rock hard.
Norman
Oct 1, 2008 at 7:51 am
One or two bottles of water - gratis - daily
Richardo
Oct 1, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I NEED a coffeemaker and non-mini bar refridgerator. With those appliances as well as the iron and ironing board I can fairly well duplicate my lifestyle at home. I always have my own alarm clock since I never want to depend on the hotel, so that is an unnecessary amenity. Besides, I always have trouble figuring out how to set their alarms or disable them so I usually just unplug them. I bring an extension cord and power strip for the lap top so I can usually work around a shortage of outlets.
Jean Murray
Oct 1, 2008 at 1:06 pm
A comfortable bed with PLENTY OF PILLOWS! I hate cheap, flat, hard pillows. My favorite is Hampton, because they have great beds. And, oh yes, they have cookies at the front desk every night.
Mary Jo Manzanares
Oct 1, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Robin: Yes, I love the heavenly beds and linens at the Westin. I just wish they were standard in the industry! I spend a bit of time in Mexico, so know what you mean about the hard beds.
Norman: Ah yes, free water in the room. Very necessary, especially when traveling in places where tap water is not drinkable. And it’s a crime to charge $5 a bottle for it.
Mary Jo Manzanares
Oct 1, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Richard: Spoken like a former flight attendant, I believe. . .
And I agree with you completely. Coffee maker is a must — not much good can happen before the coffee!
Mary Jo Manzanares
Oct 1, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Jean: I love lots of nice pillows as well. I’ve never been anywhere that has had a pillow menu (it seems just a little over the top, too).
On a recent stay at the MGM in Las Vegas they had a wonderful assortment of pillows. Different sizes and degrees of firmness. My favorite was a long body pillow in a suede like fabric. I think I hugged it all night long!
Carole
Oct 5, 2008 at 10:07 pm
I agree with the other comments, and particularly appreciate extra pillows and blankets, and a coffee maker is a must-have. I also really like a safe in the room, so that I don’t feel like I have to carry all of my belongings with me every day.
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