Hotel no-nos?

[chicchantal]

Am interested to know, particularly if people have posted negative reviews on here or TA, what really makes you mark a hotel down? this is in part because I've seen some negative reviews on TA that made me think that the reviewer was being completely unreasonable. Eg they booked a two star hotel for sixpence a night and then complained because there was no minigolf. You know the sort of thing. I've left off 'hotel was being let by the hour' and 'vermin infestations' because we'd all (?) walk out if we had those. I think.

[annettecinca]

Filth and rooms being rented by the hour are the factors that drove us out of a hotel early once. Had to stay one night, but found something more suitable for us and the kids first thing in the morning. That experience taught me to be much more cautious before booking, especially online, and we haven't had problems since. I can overlook most of the other things on the list for a few days if we're unpleasantly surprised--unless it's a really bad situation, like gunshots in the neighborhood! Or purple shag carpeting...

[Shoesy]

Just the thought of staying in a filthy hotel makes me shrug. As much as I like it when my house is sparkling clean and in perfect order, that isn't always the case , but at least it's my own dirt and mess that I'm living in. I COULD never and WOULD never tolerate living in anyone else's filth !!! Yuck and double yuck !!!

[denise]

Yes I think dirt is what would make me leave a hotel. Most other things I could tolerate for a short period.

I have never felt insecure IN a hotel but the one we stayed in Rome was in a dodgy area and so the area got a bad review. The Hotel was nice though. I would never book through THAT particular company again.

Having said that what you pay is an important factor, I would expect better standards from a 4 or 5 star hotel than a two star, but it doesn't always follow.

I DO expect cleanliness and good safe state of repair as fundamental wherever I stay.

One of the nicest places I have ever stayed, clean, good service etc was a hostel in Dublin! Conversely the Worst place I ever stayed was a four star hotel in London. We walked out of there. It was so bad, they had just had a flood in the room and refused to move us because the smell was awful, but the windows were so dirty you could not see out of them.

Denise
love from England

[joan1]

I agree dirtyness and unsafeness would be my two biggest red flags . I have stayed in dirty places when I was young and poor,, but never again.
Safety is also a big issue for me.. I am happy to say I have only ever felt unsafe once, it was years ago, in the STates , hubby , 8 month old son , and I were driving down to "Reno' , and got stuck driving too far one night, had to stay at what we called a " no tell motel". There were potato chips IN THE BED.... We all slept on the bed, in our clothes,, and left early in am..

Now, If alot of the other boxes could be ticked off, I would leave a hotel for them, not immediatly, but I would look around. Not just one or two flaws, but rather if I felt the whole experience was negative,,
My last reveiw on Hotel Claude Bernard was not glowing, but I did not consider it a slam either , as I was happy to state hotel was clean, staff were nice( if not procrastinators )and location was good , as was price.
Now, would I stay someone again is a whole other topic...

[Happygoin]

The two biggest no-nos for me would be noise and dirt. Living in someone else's filth just makes my skin crawl (MY dirt is clean, you see ;D). And nothing can ruin a good vacation like not having enough sleep.

Being in an unsafe area might make my list, except that I think I'd have done my homework and made sure it WAS in a safe area prior to booking.

[chicchantal]

I have a friend who has a theory that most negative TA reviews are posted by people from Texas ;D apols to anyone from Texas. I stayed a whole week in a hotel in Nice once that was right by the station and though it was a backpacker hotel it was filthy, the place next door was a naughty shop. In Chester (NW England) I once stayed somewhere so FILTHY you could see the layer of fuzz on the top of the lampshades and write your name in the fluff on the skirtingboard. Luckily it was only one night.

[Jody]

Dirt, as has been said, if it's my dirt it's okay but not someone else's!

Only had 2 bad experiences, once in Vermont during Fall Foliage season and we had to spend the night as we were lucky to have even found a place. It was so bad I slept with my shower cap and one of David's tee shirts and socks so that as little of me as possible would touch the grubby gray sheets. The other time was in London. First the room was not terribly clean, hairs in the bathtub, but even worse I thought there was a safety issue. The room was at the end of a hall behind fire doors , but there was no exit other than back thru the fire doors! Having been in 2 hotel fires that made me really uncomfortable. We stayed one night and moved on the next morning.

[annettecinca]

Aug 18, 2008 7:45:21 GMT -5 Jody said:

...so bad I slept with my shower cap...

Love it, Demarias! ;D I will remember that if I'm ever in this situation again!

[Ellen]

My house is by no means squeeky clean, i'd be the first to admit that, having four kids makes it kind difficult to stick to a routine, but two areas I'm a stickler for is the bathroom and clean sheets. The same when I'm away from home usually when I enter a hotel room I pull back the bedclothes to check if they're fresh and I check the bathroom and if these are on par then I'm happy, I never fuss about the size of the room, or noisy neighbours, unless they were extreme and if I had the kids with me I'd complain about the noise, especially if they had a fit of ... to quote Laidback and Gitte...''nascent prurience'' , lol!
Seriously though, dirt would be my main reason for leaving.
You know sometimes while travelling my better experiences have been at the cheaper budget hotels, go figure!!

[Happygoin]

I think all of us who love to travel must have war stories of horrid hotels. Mine was at an obvious by-the-hour motel. I was stranded on business in Connecticut. The room had recently been broken into, as the splintered door jam attested. There were ants, no working light bulbs, live wires hanging out of the wall where the thermostat should have been and cigarette burns in all the linens. The carpet was a filthy shag from 1972. I lined the bed with cheap towels I bought at a local dept store and slept in my coat on top of the bed and got out of there as soon as I could in the morning. I still cringe thinking of it .

[Anne]

These posts are great fun to read, as much as TA's selected "raves" . Of course it's only fun for those who haven't actually been there ...

My only really bad experiences were from a backpack trip in Crete when I was a student . We used to stay at cheap hostels with shared bathrooms . The rooms were always pretty clean, but the bathrooms ... The shower was almost always located close to the toilet, and the plumbing was so inadequate in Crete back in those days that people were systematically instructed to throw their soiled toilet paper in a nearby (usually overflowing ) dustbin . But since some people didn't act as per instructed, the toilets were often blocked and overflowing too . Did I tell you that the showers were located close to the toilets, with the showers' base being just a hole in the inclined floor ?

Whatever my feelings towards TA, I must honestly say that their hotels reviews are a great help to avoid any really bad hotel . As most of you, I would hate dirt . Good sound insulation is a must too .
And I get quite irritated when the room is too different than advertised . I don't mean just TV or minibar or safe, I mean the whole room, like its size or standard of comfort or decoration . I accept the fact that hotels will usually post pictures of their nicest room(s), it is quite fair game to me, but when reality is totally different then it borders on swindle . Same when you've asked for some specifics about your room, and those have been confirmed by the hotel, and when you arrive the room isn't as confirmed . Not a good enough reason for leaving, but irritating .

[chicchantal]

The loo paper in bin rule applies to the whole of Greece and so far as I know it is still in force . . . apparently their piping isn't broad enough to deal with paper.

Am scratching myself just reading some of the comments here. I used to go on guided package tours a lot and some of the hotels were what you'd call grungy, I'll never forget the one in Venice where two of my fellow travellers found something I am too ladylike to specify on here in their room.

[holger]

;D

I had a really hard time picking only two. Dirt and bad mattresses topped my list but rude and unhelpful staff would also be there. In fact almost the whole list would drive me out of an hotel.

I really am fussy and have no hesitation in requesting improvements. Usually, I try to double and triple check in advance with every hotel that I will receive what they advertise and what I expect. I don't fuss about minor things like missing toiletries as I bring my own. But poor cleanliness and a uncomfortable bed would bring instant reactions.

[Sandy M]

I'm with you, Holger on the bad mattress thing - my husband just cringes when we walk into a hotel room and we can clearly see that the mattress is sagging as he knows that I will call for houskeeping to come and flip the mattress - if that doesn't help, we usually end up changing rooms. And of course, cleanliness is right at the top - the first thing I do is check the sheets, then the bathroom and if they are dirty, housekeeping is called to come and clean. I also bring sanitary wipes so I can wipe down the telephone and other areas that might be suspect. I was in the hotel industry for several years so I know first hand what houskeepers "forget" to do when they're in a hurry.