Momof5

Hi
I always seem to have a hotel room where the curtains have a space in the middle or on hte ends or even worse at the bottom if they are short curtains. I wanted to know what fodorites do to remedy these situations when you want sleep and it super dark in your room. I need some ggod sleep on my trips. Thank you!

J62

I close my eyes.

There is no solution. Hotel room curtains are custom made to leave a 1" gap. I thought that was common knowledge.


Same thing with hotel room doors. They are specially designed to amplify any voice in the hallway and project it into your room.

Ditto for shower heads - they put a special noisemaker into them so when the guy next door gets up at 4am everybody nearby can hear his shower running. You'll notice that your showerhead at home is a quiet as a whisper.

nytraveler

If you need a super dark room to sleep (most of us sleep just fine in a room with all sorts of light - in hotel rooms I sleep with the bathroom light on so I don;t fall over the furniture if I have to get up at night) you might consider wearing eye shades.

I fear you will find few hotel rooms that are totally pitch dark- esp aftre the sun ha risen in the am.

Ackislander

We carry four wooden spring clothespins. Four has always been enough, and they have a lot of other uses, including as clothespins.

We also use tape (or bandaids in an emergency) to cover the fire/security lights in the ceiling and put towels, extra blankets or pillows over the bottom of the door.

schmerl

You could always wear a sleep eye mask. I push a chair up againt the curtain to hold it in place.

artsbabe

I love this forum because you learn about so many different requirements! I actually prefer to sleep with the curtains open, and I travel with a little night light to put in the bathroom.

happy_one

Sleep mask for sure. And ditto on the clothespins.

NeoPatrick

Same idea as those wood clothespins -- but slightly more modern -- a couple of those plastic "chip clips" come in very handy for a lot of things -- holding draperies closed is just one of them.

My biggest complaint is having a unit with the air conditioner right below the draperies that is guaranteed to keep blowing the draperies out away from the window causing flashes of light.

DancingBearMD

I often also roll up a towel and tuck it up against the hotel room door. Cuts off the light coming in under the door and also dampens the hallway noise.

Cyanna

I use my own hair clips - the ones I wear every day. I never forget where I put them, because they're always holding the curtains together.

The sides/ends are usually harder, but if there's room for a chair, that's one solution. I've been known to carry a little painter's prep-tape, too (little roll, not little painter).

Patrick's issue with A/C blowing curtains annoys the heckoutof me, too, so I often put a book or carryon on top of the tail of the curtain, on top of the a/c unit (depending on how much room there is).

Will try a towel roll for that sometime, too, but I already always use the bathroom floor map under the door - confounds the bill-fairy at 3 am, who sometimes wakes me up trying to shove the bill into the towel - one actually bumped the door several times, I'm sure to purposely disturb me in punishment.

Cyanna

Hah! "Bathroom floor map"? That's the guide they give you to find the shower, the loo, the sink, right?

Sorry, "floor maT" of course.

Brian_in_Charlotte

Funny, I've used a band-aid on the fire alarm light too.

happytrailstoyou

I don't have this problem, but I was reminded of advice given by Charles Kuralt, a journalist for CBS, who traveled all over the states to make his "On the Road" reports. Kuralt's tips for successful travel:

''Always travel with a big safety pin to pin the motel room curtains because they never quite meet in the middle and you get hit with a shaft of sunlight right in the eyes at 6 a.m. Never accept buttered toast at breakfast because that isn't butter they put on it. And don't sleep on the side of the bed next to the telephone because that's where the mattress is broken down.''

HTTY

sf7307

Now THOSE are useful tips! (Although I always leave the curtains separated -- I like to be woken up (eventually) by sunlight in the room. If the room were pitch black, I'd sleep til noon )

Dayenu

"Same thing with hotel room doors. They are specially designed to amplify any voice in the hallway and project it into your room."

nytraveler

There must be a lot of people out there with insomnia if they all have so much trouble sleeping. I can fall asleep standing up in the Broadwway local - but try not to.

I guess living in NYC you just learn not to let light or noise dissturb your sleep - or you would never get any.

sf7307

"I can fall asleep standing up in the Broadwway local - but try not to"

As can I. My ability to power nap anywhere anytime is a source of pride

kywood1955

Clothes pins.

Kay2

Us light sleepers have some pride too.
For example, once during the holidays I was the only one in the house (upstairs behind a closed door) who heard the policeman knocking at the front door in the night because it looked like a relative's car parked on the street in front of my house had been broken into. I'm also the one who wakes up if the alarm doesn't go off as planned. I like to wake up to the sunlight, but that means the room has to be dark at night. I want the alarm clock sold in Scandinavia that simulates increasing daylight.

I have used clips and pins more successfully than the book on the a/c or chair, though I have used those too. I will take tape next time. Eyeshades work, but I find them uncomfortable and inconvenient if I do wake up and want to check the clock. I love blackout curtains!

evvlabs

I always carry several binder clips in my suitcase (the ones used to hold stacks of paper together when the stack is too thick for a paper clip.)

For a very low level night light (regular ones are too bright) I use a battery operated tea light. It uses a little button battery and has an on/off switch underneath.