I recently stayed at the Westin Arlington and was reminded why I hate wall-mounted toiletries as soon as I stepped into the bathroom. There were:
- unmatched bottles
- that were not tamper proof
- and the conditioner’s spout was dirty
Anyone could have put something in those bottles that shouldn’t have been there. Housekeeping clearly didn’t clean them, either.
And what in the world are they thinking using Marriott’s own 39 Degrees North branded shampoo and conditioner at a Westin? That’s the stuff used at Marriott’s lower-end Courtyard. On Marriott’s shopping website they still list White Tea as the brand’s shampoo.
For some reason only two of the three items were converted to the cheaper in-house stuff, which was even stranger still. Oh, I should add that the light in the shower flickered on and off.
This isn’t being done ‘to be green’ as hotel chains claim. If that were the goal they’d use single use biodegradable packaged toiletries. It’s about cost savings, just as reduced housekeeping is about cost savings (they no longer even award you points for ‘making a green choice’ by saving the hotel on housekeeping labor). But at least don’t just go through the motions, choose a brand and stick to it, make it tamper-proof and for goodness sakes clean the spouts on the bottles.
Another reason not to trust these. I always bring my own.
So we can expect global temperatures to stop rising as a result of this? Sure are some gullible people in this world.
COVID has created a major culture shift and not for the better.
The travel and hospitality industry has become a less than enjoyable experience in many cases.
With regards to lodging, I prepare by bringing along my own toiletries.
I have and still recycle the small bottles of toiletries upon arriving back home. No big deal. I seldom use the common, wall hung bottles.
I absolutely prefer the individual small bottles along with small bars of soap. And yes, I will take the small bar back with me and create zero waste. This includes the paper wrapper that it comes in.
I agree that there were many enjoyable moments during travel in the past, it is best to embrace the future which keeps stress down.
Yes, if my hotel room is dirty, I ask for another room on a different floor at least 2 floors up or down.
This pretty much works since the house clean team members are assigned floors.
Of course, this may not work in smaller hotel properties.
And for those of us who have to use reading glasses, how about larger typeface so we can read the type of product we’re about to use?
Also, I was at a Luxury collection hotel in San Antonio last week, and I found a bobby pin on the floor on day 3 of my visit. Not the first time.
@Robert, dead on about the Covid shift. Not just travel but just about all industries.
When you pay generally unmotivated lightly skilled people and businesses to say home for 6 plus months to “prevent” a bad “flu” we all got anyway, this is the result. Bad attitudes. We’ll be suffering from this bad hangover for many, many years
Gary’s right. The Westin experience is not what it once was. And I find that surprising since Marriott is generally a solid and reliable hotel brand. But hotel service in general has dropped off a cliff since the pandemic. You practically have to beg them to clean your room these days. The only places that keep service levels close to the good old days are the higher end brands like the four seasons, etc.
As a very frequent traveler for almost 40 years, the hotel experience is now at rock bottom. Thank God I’m nearing the end of my business travel days.
When staying at brands like the Westin we never accept these types of issues. Fortunately I travelled so much for work that we have a crazy high status and usually end up in one of the nicer suites – which I hope are better maintained. But we also had issues that I would not expect… even places like the Ritz Carlton seems to be faltering a bit on over all quality control. Its very sad. On the flip side, I’ve found the high-end Korean chains are maintaining their standards… and even the standards in China are getting better (it used to be shockingly bad). But sadly things are going the wrong direction in several of the major Western brands.
That particular hotel has been horrible since the COVID reopening. You’re right, they don’t care at all. Brand standards no longer mean anything. But riddle me this? Why do European hotels still seem to do it right? Seemingly because of the competition; European travelers are not as willing to settle as Americans. It is ultimately our own fault.
In a way, we need to blame the government. In California, hotels are not allowed to use those small bottles. Yes, the hotels may not have done a good job, but the bottom-line is the government stupidity. Just as use paper straws nowadays, there will be more and more stupid policies coming…
What if there was a supply shortage did you ask the front desk why one container was different brand. Those bottles are brand standard because the big ceos get money from their soap ceo friends. If soap bothers you this much. Bring your own.
Have ypu though about supply shortage and cost of these items. Let’s blame the hotels for everything. Bring your own stuff.