Are Americans too picky about accommodations abroad?
 

My family,11 people in all, recently returned from a two week vacation in Great Britain - one week in Scotland and another in England. We do this type of trip, which is in effect a family reunion, every other year in some part of Europe and have never before been disappointed in our accommodations (we choose self-catering rentals because of the number of people). We had worked very hard on finding just the right places in Scotland and England and were really looking forward to our reunion. Imagine our disappointment when we arrived in Scotland to find an old stone house that was in a great state of disrepair. For example, there were cracked window panes which probably were responsible for what looked like mold on the walls - and also the smell that pervaded the house. . The wallpaper was peeling in the dining room - big time! - and pieces of wood had been nailed over baseboards in the ktchen to cover what appeared to be rot. The shower was a trickle of water and we slept on the beds' dust ruffles since there were no sheets (or mattress pads).
Need I say, we were very upset but stuck it out, in spite of the fact that we felt the house had been misrepresented.
In checking reviews of this place on the Internet, we found 2 of them - one from an American and one from an Englishman or Scot. The American wrote a scathing review warning people to stay away from this place, a review which we found to be only too true. The Englishman found no fault other than to say that this is one got in such an old house. Which leads to the question: are we wrong to expect better accommodations when we go to Europe or should we just accept that things are much older and not in the greatest condition? Again, we have rented before in Spain, Italy and France (one of the houses here was a 16th century old mill in beautiful condition meaning that it can be livable and old at the same time).
I will also add that we paid top dollar for these accommodations so it wasn't a question of doing it on the cheap.
Comments, please?

I think your post is lumping everything together, including a bunch of stereotypes and assumptions based on one person's review you found online--okay, two, American vs. Englishman and thus those two reviews of one old castle is now being generalized to all Americans, all Europeans, and all accommodations.

I think if you are renting old houses, you have to be more careful what you get and what you expect, but that doesn't translate to everything else (Britain also has notoriously bad standards, in my experience, although they have gotten better in the last decade or two, they used to have a lot of terrible hotels). I'm American and have never stayed in a hotel in Europe with mold or that was dirty, or was worse than I expected from its rating, price, and my research, nor worse than what I'd expect of similar American hotels I stay at. I don't rent old houses or very unique or peculiar accommodations, though, they don't particularly interest me. If I were going to rent such places, I'd realize it would be a gamble, especially if you are doing that based on two reviews and no other knowledge of the place.

What did you pay? "Top dollar" doesn't tell us much.

I am assuming it was a very large old house since it slept 11 of you. Why not give us the link so we can see how the owners represent it.

I have rented countless cottages/houses/flats in the UK. A few were over the top/posh/modern - but most are &quot;serviceable&quot;. Meaning they are clean, and have the equipment advertised. I never expect &quot;new build&quot; type properties, and old fashioned or a <i>bit</i> on the tatty side doesn't bother me at all. As long as I'm not paying posh prices for less than posh places.

But maybe because I lived in the UK for several years, I'm more tuned into what to expect just by reading between the lines and carefully examining the photos. There are words/terms that are definite signals.

britain has very low standards for hotels and rented accomodation. even eastern europe (which we consider barbaric) has much better standards. unless you get a luxury place, it is typical to find horrible exposed piping and mysterious plumbing features, wooden toilet seats (nice and sanitary in a hotel!), carpet in the bathroom (see last item), toilet seats that must be held up during male use (we ALL love to touch toilet seats).

as for the reviews, you need to understand britons. we have a saying 'that's lovely' that is used no matter the situation. we can go to a restaurant, wait 2 hours for our food, be treated like crap, be served frozen food and our review will be 'it's lovely'. we will even tell the owner that everything was lovely as we leave. we accept low standards with our trademark stiff upper lip. the more we accept, the more standards slip. most countries are far more demanding (certainly americans are) so the standards of things are not nearly as bad as ours. most european countries also have higher standards.

but of course some cultures have higher standards for some things and not others. for example, i think germans have a higher standard for housing but they seem to accept crap food without much complaint. britons tend to accept lower standards for most things - food, our housing, etc.

Without generalizing too much, I think many Americans are use to the Holiday Inn style of accommodations found throughout the US. It is difficult to find many hotels or inns that have a great amount of character or uniqueness.

In the UK, many hotels, gueshouses and/or inns have been in place for hundreds of years. While some have been completely modernized over the years, many have not. Europeans are use to not always having a private bath, Americans not so much.

I think it's just a difference in expectations.

While I prefer to have some amenities, I do want to stay in a place with some charm and character that doesn't look like every other hotel at home.

It can be difficult trying to book accommodations on the internet. While a great tool, people only have to reveal what they want to about their property.

That is why sites like Fodor's are helpful because you can ask questions about places where people have stayed and find out if they recommend them.

I think you were unfortunate. Self-catering places in England have improved enormously in the past twenty years, and I cannot think why Scotland should be different. Did you rent through an agent? The booking companies often have very high standards, and will not deal with properties which do not come up to their specification. We stayed at a place on a farm in Devon a few years back, and the owners told us they were expecting an inspection visit. We thought the place was OK, but it was not listed the following year.

Scotland may have a shorter season, and many visitors may not be looking for comfort but access to good walking country. You say you paid top dollar, but one general comment I would make on many Fodor postings is that people expect to get quality at low prices, and do not realise there is usually trade-off to be had.

As a final comment, can I say that we have been surprised at the very primitive facilities in accommodation at US national parks. Travel is sometimes about things not being what you expect.

betty, i don't think it's a fair comment to put this down to americans preferring holiday inns and not appreciating charm and character.

the standards are quite bad overall in the uk. in the rest of europe, it is much more common to find very old, charming, character filled places that have been modernised to a good standard - smartly designed bathrooms, refinished original flooring rather than carpet laid down everywhere (including the bathrooms), buildings' characters not destroyed by ugly fire doors, etc.

it might be tempting to blame the americans for not having the taste to appreciate 'character' but i think this misses the mark. anyway, if anyone wants 'quaint' and charming when visiting europe, it's certainly the americans!

Chartley's comment about US National Parks strikes a cord. Yosemite Lodge is not a budget hotel by any means. It is downright expensive for what are essentially worn, motel-type rooms. If it was outside of Yosemite Valley - in say Fresno, it would cost a fraction of the rates it charges. Those of us who stay there and love it just understand the trade-off - priceless location/so so accommodations.

But a LOT of people post scathing reviews of YL - expecting more for the money.

Excuse me, walkingaround, but you are putting words in my mouth.

I never said that Americans &quot;prefer&quot; Holiday Inns. And I did not say that American do not appreciate charm and character. I said it is difficult to find accommodations in the US that have charm and character. I suggest you read my first paragraph again.

And in no way was I blaming Americans for not having the taste to appreciate character. What I did say was that we are not use to the very old buildings that they have in the UK and Europe. Most of our hotels are modern, except for the rustic facilities at the National Parks which have already been noted.

Because so many of our hotels do lack age and character, I'm sure that is why many seek it when travelling to Europe.

Keep a stiff upper lip and everything will work out.

<i>Are Americans too picky about accommodations abroad?</i>

Umm, No.

Walkinaround is right, British lodging standards are just low. The situation doesn't improve that dramatically on the continent either, but it is better. Basically, I find knocking everything down 1 to 1-1/2 stars usually gives a better idea of what you are going to get.

Christina,
Because of the size of our group, we don't have as many options as a group of 4 would have. All in all, we are 21 strong if everyone in our immediate family comes and we try to find a place that will accommodate everyone who might come.
BTW, our rental in England, which dated from the 13th century, was not perfect but but we enjoyed our stay there very much.

janisj,
First, let me thank you for all the advice you gave to Neal623, who was a member of our group!
The weekly rental for the house was $3300.
The reason I didn't give the link to the house was because I was advised by another member of the group, a lawyer, to be very careful about what I said. However, if you type my user name into the search box I don't think you'll have any trouble in identifying the house...

walkinaround,
Interesting comments! We were talking to an Englishman who commented on some of the British laws and my husband asked him why the British put up with such a punitive system. He replied that the English are much more likely to accept what is handed them as opposed to the Italians (did he use them as an example because he didn't want to offend the Americans?) who are much more demanding and aggressive.

bettyk,
This goes back to my question about Americans being too picky. I agree that the expectations are very different.

chartley,
This was the first - and definitely the last - time we rented directly through the owner. We wondered if he is just oblivious to the condition of the house.

Also, charm and character is something we definitely want in a vacation house. I don't want to feel that I traveled all the way to Europe to stay in a place that is like my own in the US.

I have a friend who owns and, in between her own vacation periods, rents a cottage in Scotland so I shall query her as to her opinion.

What was 'top dollar?' Was this a rural or urban destination? The UK is not a cheap destination, as a rule, but on the other hand if you paid above average for that type of accomodation in the market area in question, then I think you have a right to be disappointed.

Cracked window panes wouldn't cause mold, necessarily. Mold comes with high humidity, which can come from a house too tightly sealed as from one with air leakage. If the heating is turned off in the wintertime, this could be the cause.

&quot;Picky&quot; is a subjective term. What was promised in your contract? Unfortunately with house rentals one has to pay closer attention to those sorts of things (sometimes bed linen rental is extra, for example.)

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with your place in Scotland. To answer your question, no I do not think Americans are too picky.

Recently I have been renting apartments/flats for vacation (2 times) and have already experienced one disappointment, which was in Paris. When I stayed in Scotland, the flat was very nice and clean. In Paris, the flat was dirty. There was mold on the bathroom vent, the bathroom ceiling paint was peeling and falling on the floor and in the tub. Broken glass light fixtures, cracked mirrors and bugs in the kitchen. These are only some of the things I found to be unacceptable. I had never stayed in such a filthy place. I can deal with most things but this flat pushed me to my limit.

Like any seasoned traveler, I did my research but one just never knows. Reviews sometimes can be fixed and I try to take them with a grain of salt. The Paris flat looked like the pictures but they didn't show the ceilings or broken things. Of course they wouldn't right?

If this place was/is a &quot;true dump&quot;, maybe the positive reviews were shills or written by someone with an interest in pushing the property.

RmKelly

When you spread out how much each person per week, it's only 101 &euro;. That gives you about 14 &euro; per day.

Where can you find anyplace in the US for 14 &euro; (roughly $20) which will be similar.

You cannot expect this place to be a palace for 14&euro; per day. In fact, this looks pretty good.

I'm a rentor and I expect to collect a little more than what you want. I charge roughly 168 &euro; per person/week in the high season. But, we don't include any mold.

Blackduff

Did you contact the owner or caretaker of the house with your complaints? I would have done.
I have never had a problem with renting houses and cottages for varying sized groups anywhere in the UK or mainland Europe, through an agency or direct from the owner. If I had found the property to be as bad as you say I would most certainly have put in a complaint on day one and made it clear it was unacceptable. I see there is a terrible review of the house on Trip Advisor dating from last year, and a rebuff from the owners. Maybe you should have done a bit more research into the house?

There's a terrible review of the house in tripadvisor with a reply from the owner. It's interesting reading.

http://tinyurl.com/4yk62r

I've traveled in Europe for many years and have not recently encountered accommodations such as you described, though, of course, I've always gone with just one other person, so I haven't rented an apartment.

When I travel, I want comfort,and of course, cleanliness, but also charm--most certainly not Holiday Inn type accommodations. When I've traveled alone in the U.S., I have sometimes stayed at Motel 6, just because I've been too cheap to spend even $50 on a room, but on those trips, the purpose was simply to get from one place to another.

In Europe, on the other hand, I want to enjoy myself and enjoy my hotel. I don't want to share a bath, and I don't want to walk down the hall at three a.m. to find a toilet. I don't want to see spots on the carpet or flies in the breakfast room. I don't want to see mold or smell mystery smells.

This is not to say that I haven't roughed it. I've camped through Denmark, France and Spain in a U.S. Army shelter half that we held together with giant safety pins, I've camped through Italy, Yugoslavia, Turkey and Greece in a better tent, but it was no picnic either. That, however, was in my (relative) youth.

Years ago I stayed in some questionable pensions, but I think as people in general, not just Americans, have become more affluent, we expect more.

While in general I would normally say you can't expect perfection in an older house (e.g. the water pressure issue), but the lack of sheets and mattresses does seem unacceptable (and rather surprising). Mould is bad, too. Disrepair is one thing, lack of cleanliness another.

blackduff,
I did the math and came up with 2X as much per person. However, that's neither here nor there. We paid approximately the same price for our rental in England and the house was infinitely more livable.

hetismij,
My husband made it very clear to the owner within the first five minutes that the house was not what we expected. The owner's response was to accuse us of being imposters (!!!).
We did try to get more information about the house. I posted on Fodors and on several other websites and didn't get any helpful feedback.
As far as the review on Trip Advisor, let me just say that the &quot;poor photographs&quot; included in the review were definitely not &quot;fraudulent&quot;. I took the same pictures just to back up what I am saying and some even worse. I even made sure the coat of arms was in one picture so there could be no doubt where I was.

that is interesting schuler. i would not doubt that such low quality accomodations would still get good feedback for the reasons i already mentioned.

the english are also much more likely to accept inferior accomodations in scotland as we generally feel bad for them. we never complain about anything anyway but we would certainly never complain in scotland as we know they are very sensitive to taking criticisms from englishmen. generally, we walk on eggshells with the scots. just a cultural attribute that you need to understand if you want to make sense of all of this.

I object to use of the term &quot;abroad&quot; and what you are really talking about is the UK, and I gather there truly is a problem there. However, the UK is not &quot;abroad&quot; -- there are dozens of EU countries, and they are highly individual. I think you could take them country by country -- and then there would be a useful discussion, not comparing apples/oranges.

I post on many Greece travel forums in which people from all over Europe and a number from Australia and Asia, as well as from the USA, post queries and give feedback and comments about their trips &amp; accommodations.

In their reactions many US travelers DO come off as being inexperienced with lodgings outside the US, and lack of understanding about WHY things are different, i.e.
-- Constant complaint about size of rooms in older buildings being small
--complaint about bathrooms being small (not understanding that they must often be retrofitted into the existing room -- this is not a brand new Red Roof Inn but a 300 year old building).
-- whimpering because they have to hold a telephone shower in 1 hand (&quot;how can I wash my hair!!&quot;), with never a word of praise for the marble floors, hallways and stairs.
-- insistence thay they want &quot;a clean hotel&quot; -- as if dirt abounds; when I always stay in small budget pensions and they are SO clean they squeak.

Comments like this I put down to lack of travel experience, but it does give Americans a rep for childish whining.

My take on this:

a five bedroomed baronial mansion sleeping 12, in the Brae of Balquhidder - $3300/&pound;1650 per week would tell me right off -- Very reasonable price so is probably not totally up to date nor w/ the poshest of decor/facilities. A house that size - if it was done up - would probably run &pound;2500-&pound;3000 per week. So I would assume it was homely (in the brit sense) rather than deluxe.

Re the sheets - I assume there were duvets on the beds. If so they usually do not use a top sheet. That is just normal.

As for the TA complaint about the &quot;brown water&quot; - brownish water in Scotland is not undrinkable. The water runs through peat often giving it some color. Heck - whiskey distilleries kill to have a natural source of that sort of water.

One thing - in the States, many vacation rentals are done up to a very high standard - maybe better than the owners year-round home. In the UK - especially country properties, tend to be more like the family's &quot;holiday home&quot; w/ mismatched linens, old but serviceable furniture, etc. Just a different way of doing things.

Mold isn't acceptable anywhere. Call that a whimper.

There are two websites for Stronvar House. One offers self-catering accommodation and the other bed &amp; breakfast.

The bed &amp; breakfast rate is &pound;29.50 per person and seems not to vary by season. There are four rooms available. The self-catering accommodation consists of five rooms, and is &pound;1650 per week. Again, this does not vary by season.

Both websites stress the quality of the accommodation, but I would have thought that the prices do not indicate great luxury.

I think it would certainly be wise in future to book through an organisation which would enforce standards, and be prepared to mediate in the case of complaint.

As for cultural differences, these are determined by all sorts of factors. Whenever we travel, we are surprised by what is accepted by the inhabitants of other countries, which we would reject, and the things they take for granted which we do not enjoy. It's all part of the fun.

I've stayed in inexpensive 700 year old forester houses in Germany that had superb fittings. Simple but everything made with precision and working perfectly. Ditto for centuries old buildings in Flanders, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden and France (outside Paris).

So enough with the lame &quot;it's an old building&quot; excuses for mold, peeling wallpaper, tatty bedlinens, brown water, cracked window panes, dirt, and bad smells.

As my British MiL says, &quot;when things in the UK are good, they're very good and when they're grotty, they're VERY grotty.&quot;

And as for the claim that Americans are &quot;childish whiners&quot;, I can assure you that our German relatives would be appalled at the conditions the OP described and they wouldn't hesitate to say so. No matter how little they paid.

As for the brown water, janis, please. At the very least the homeowners should have warned visitors to expect this! Not just blithely chirp that &quot;it's normal&quot; for Scotland.

(Bad decor is one thing--I can easily forgive cabbage rose curtains, tartan plaid sofas, ugly rugs, garden gnomes, avocado green and brown bath tiles, angel knickknacks, what have you. Disrepair is quite another.)

And FWIW, in the American West, rural accommodations with &quot;lodge&quot; in the name is code for &quot;better than camping, but not much.&quot; And doubly so if the &quot;lodge&quot; says it's in a perfect spot for fishing and/or hunting. That means its regular guests don't give two hoots about the quality of the rooms or service as long as there are wild trout in the water and wild elk in the woods.

Janis wrote&quot; As for the TA complaint about the &quot;brown water&quot; - brownish water in Scotland is not undrinkable&quot; Oh Janis how can you make excuses for that? Really! The owners should nake that detail very clear to the renters.

&quot; Europeans are use to not always having a private bath, Americans not so much.&quot;

that's bullsh.. at its best!

time out please!

O.K ....BREAK....this has been beaten to death!

I can't speak to rental accommodations in Great Britain, though I have heard negative feedback from a few Americans who've rented there, but I have 17 years' experience renting an old house in the country in France.

I have a guest book for comments, and of course I have been in touch with renters by email and phone over the years.

I haven't had enough European renters to do a scientific study, but here's what I've noticed about Americans' comments compared to Europeans':

Americans are much more likely to note things like: &quot;It would have been nice if all 10 of us could have taken a shower before dinner some nights.&quot; &quot;We couldn't figure out the washing machine (copious instructions provided in English), so we had to hang our clothes out to dry and they took a couple of days.&quot; &quot;It would be great if you were closer to a gas station. We had to drive all over on a Sunday to gas up the car.&quot; &quot;We couldn't communicate very well with the neighbor lady, but we did manage to get some eggs from her one morning.&quot; Mostly stuff that they were well advised about in advance, but somehow got a bit taken aback by when on location. They almost all write about how gorgeous the area is and how nice it is to &quot;make a home&quot; in a village and &quot;live like a local.&quot;

European comments are generally more about the area, its history, its attractions. Generally they remark that the house is much better equipped than some they've rented (and having rented a lot of European houses, I think that's probably true). They wax poetic about the terroir and the prehistoric cave down the lane and how friendly the neighbors were. There is never a hint of not being able to &quot;manage&quot; appliances or worrying about getting gas or anything practical. But that's to be expected - they grew up on continent with plenty of old houses and small villages and unless they've been very sheltered, a week or two in the countryside in France doesn't pose a lot of major challenges.

It's interesting to see the differences, though, and I suppose on a superficial level one could deduce from them that Americans are &quot;pickier.&quot; But I don't read it that way - they're just out of their element to some extent.

Rmkelly313

I went back to the original and you mentioned about 11 people in the group. Later, when you spoke about the prices, it sounded like there's 21 people in the group.

My comment this was based on the 21 person group. But if it was only 11 people, it's still cheap. You didn't pay for palace prices.

Blackduff

I agree that we are to an extent out of our element. And I also think that, as several have mentioned, that we should have gotten more information about the house, although I'm not sure what more we could have done. In the future, we will definitely use an agent as we have done in the past.

Two things I would like to add: I definitely do not consider myself an inexperienced traveler. We have done this type of trip for a number of years and even my grandchildren are well accustomed to self catering vacations in Europe. We don't complain about washing machines and we've dried our clothes on clotheslines more than once. We even replaced our shower heads in our home with the hand held type because it was much easier to clean the shower with them.
Secondly, we ourselves have been owners of vacation rental properties in the US for over 20 years. I can honestly say that the only complaint we have received in that time regarding the house itself came from an Englishman who complained that his wife was unable to make a salad because there was no salad spinner in the house!
Ah well, to each his own.

There are several things you need to consider:

Prices - you say top dollar - but what does that mean? I would think for top dollar you would get a manor house with live-in staff

Age brings with it certain problems (uneven floors, low ceilings and doorways - and often plumbing and kitchens that are not what you;re used to in the US).

I'm always amazed by the show &quot;Keeping up Appearances&quot; in which Hyacinth is middle class with pretensions of trying to be more - but is living with kitchen appliances that you would find only on a boat in the US (tiny under cabinet fridge versus full size side by side, mini sizes of all other appliances).

A lot of that is expectations - and you must realize that in europe you're going to get european style facilities. (I have a friend who lives in Switzerland and says houses and apartment don;t have closets - at all - you have to buy giant cupboards to store everything in - and that's just how it's done).

But - broken windows and moldy walls are clearly not acceptable - under any circumstances. Unless you're getting it practically free - that you know what type of chances you're taking.

Separately, in trying to guide travelers to NYC looking for super budget accommodations I often look at tripadvisor reviews and find that many european travelers seem happy with places that Americans make numerous complaints about. I follow the American ratings - figuring our * expectation standards are just different.

Hi again Rmkelly.

Sorry, looks like my first post went through almost exactly when you were posting, so I missed your information about what you paid.

I see that as a BandB the place charges &pound;29 per person, or about &pound;60 per room double occupancy. Four rooms at the BandB rate would be about the same as what you paid for five rooms (plus an 11th person) and kitchen access by the week (but with no breakfast.)

Quickie market analysis of Perthshire, Scotland (location, apparently, of your house rental) reveals that these rates are typical of modest bandbs in that area - in other words, rates are more than one would pay for a youth hostel, but considerably less than what one would pay for 'country manor' style accomodation. So on the one hand, yes, perhaps you were expecting a bit too much.

On the other hand, do I have it right that your greatest concern was the mold and peeling wallpaper? If the tripadvisor review photos are reliable, then I have to agree that even at the reasonable price, this was a disappointment. However, mold is also not typical of UK bandbs - at least not the ones at which we've stayed - even in North Wales, where prices are similar to Perthshire. The furniture might be simple, the linens and wallpaper a little faded, but all have been clean and in good repair.

Chalk it up to experience - and the mold to the resident ghost leaving the windows open on rainy nights.....

Folks may not believe that peat gives water colour - but it does and it is <u>totally</u> normal in lots of parts of Scotland. The water is not normally <b>Brown</b> brown, but really almost caramel colored.

I was not excusing cracked window panes or mold (which the OP only said it &quot;looked like mold&quot;) -- definitely mold/mildew is not acceptable.

But I wasn't commenting about that - I mentioned brownish water (not an issue IMO), explained probably why there were no top sheets, and that it was a very moderate price for a house that size - that is it.

Those issues and old-ish furniture would not bother me at all.

Mold/musty odors is an entirely different thing. . . . . .

&gt;&gt;British lodging standards are just low.&lt;&lt;

They are? I've stayed in 2 different places in the UK, one in London and one in Bath and also saw the hotel room that my parents stayed at in Londo. None of those rooms were at low standards at all.

So I don't know what all of you who say that the rooms in the UK have low standard are talking about...

Well besides everything else Rmkelly stated that they had to sleep on the dust ruffles since there were no sheets (or mattress pads). That alone would not be acceptable to me.

I a few times have slept in a one star or two star place in Italy (driving around for two months without any room reservations) and never once did we have a bed without proper bed linens.

The place in Scotland sounds awful..just my two cents worth.

My hunch about the sheets is - they were probably a sort of fitted bottom sheet that has a dust ruffle trim attached. I had a set like this when I lived in the UK - had never seen anything like them before I moved there. Then w/ a duvet most of the time you do not get a top sheet. The Duvet cover is sheeting material and removable for laundering.

Making a bed w/ a duvet is two steps - put on fitted bottom sheet, fluff duvet and throw on the bed. That is it.

&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;
(I have a friend who lives in Switzerland and says houses and apartment don;t have closets - at all - you have to buy giant cupboards to store everything in - and that's just how it's done).
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;

uhhh....much of europe is like that. i've lived in many, many homes in europe and most have not had proper built in closets. &quot;i have a friend who says...&quot; sorry this sounds very funny. like saying &quot;i have a friend who says that most americans drive cars with automatic transmission.&quot; duh.


lyb...standards are low in the uk.
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;
I've stayed in 2 different places in the UK.....So I don't know what all of you who say that the rooms in the UK have low standard are talking about...
&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;

sorry but staying in 2 places in the uk and you're qualified to judge? i've travelled all over the country for decades. we have a certain talent for assembling hotel and b&amp;b rooms that just don't work....often multiple problems i one room...serious design flaws, mysterious decor decisions, unsanitary items that have no place in a hotel (carpet in bathroom, wood toilet seats, etc), in-your-face plumbing, fugly fire doors and structures (well aware that fire doors are building regs), etc, etc. and i'm not talking about budget places, nor am i talking about anything to do with the buildings being old. we do have a natural tendency for getting mould because of our damp climate. however, why then do we put moisture trapping carpet in the bathroom?

and i agree with everything btilke says in her post. and st cirq, i still can't figure out how to use my washing machine after having it for five years (and having similar euro machines for decades). it is the most awkwardly designed device...rows of cryptic knobs with numbers that do who knows what. it's made in italy where they specialise in designing mysterious machines.

carry...how dare you &quot;whimper&quot; about mould. &quot;damp on the walls&quot; is one of the most endearing cultural features of old britain. how dare you americans come over here and try to interfere with one of our cultural icons.