DAN

I am leaving to Hawaii in 2 weeks and will be staying at the Kahala Mandarin, Princville and Kea Lani. I don't usually stay at such High priced hotels (The best I have stayed at is a courtyard by marriott) but I figured since it is our honeymoon, why not. My question is this: What is considered a reasonable tip for carrying my bags to my room? Vallet? Housekeeping (every day, last day, not at all?) am I forgettng anyone; any advice will be greatly appreciated!

tipper

You'll no doubt get conflicting views about this, since there are no "rules," but here's a rough guide:
Carrying bags: $1-$2 per bag. But you can round off, so if it's three bags, the tip might be $5.
Housekeeping: $1-$2 per day, maybe a little more if the maid provides some special service (those of you with dirty minds: stop it right now!).
Valet: $1-$2.
Me, for this advice: $50-$100.

Brad

Bellmen carrying bags: $1-2 per bag.
Valets retrieving car: $1-2 at pickup (I don't tip when dropping the car off)
Maids: This topic was hashed/rehashed and beaten some more last year, and personally I never leave a mess in the room so I don't feel obliged to tip maids, but if you are somewhat messy then a tip is in order. Most people leave a lump sum tip at checkout, but some people like to leave a daily tip if they'll be needing extra attention during the stay, since staff pick up on the generosity from day one. At very nice hotels the housekeeping attention ia already superb so it's not like you're going to make it much better with a tip.
If you use a concierge, tipping $10-20 for special interventions/arrangements is in order (per courtesy).
Those are the common tip parameters.

tip

OK stupid question but since I am now a grownup & am now the one having to tip I need to know this. I understand that when you tip someone who carries your bags you just hand them a $5 or whatever and to tip the waiter you just add it to your credit card bill or leave it on the table but how do you tip the maid since you don't always see the maid herself? how do they know the few dollars you leave each day are for them & not just your pocket change sitting there on the dresser?

Faina

Tip, in some hotels you will see a note with the name of the maid who cleaned your room so you can put your bills on it. If not - make up your own note, like: thank you for cleaning.

Another Tip

Dan,
Don't be at all intimidated by staying in a fancier place. Relax and have fun on your honeymoon. The tipping advice here is dead-on.