linda_j

I admit I'm phoebic about bugs but with all I've been reading and seeing on tv lately about bedbug problems in London hotels do you think it would be wise to email the hotel I have booked and ask if they have had any problems with bedbugs? Do you think a hotel would admit it if they have?

linda_j

lizziea06

Doubtful. Where have you been seeing this? I know it's a big problem in NYC, but I live in London and honestly haven't heard anything about a local outbreak.

ParisAmsterdam

Sure they'd tell you... and the check is in the mail... ;^)

NanBug

A hotel will not tell you.

If you're truly phobic, there's lots of info online on what they look like and where to look for bedbugs -- ie. boxsprings, mattress piping, etc. Educate yourself, then inspect the hotel room when you check in. You should be fine.

PatrickLondon

There were some news reports early in 2009, and one hotel was sued by a New York lawyer in 2007. If there were a major problem at the moment, it'd be hard to keep it out of the papers, I reckon. Besides, how's a hotel to know you're not bringing bedbugs with you?

P_M

I can just see it now, the reply from the hotel:

"Yes we've recently had serious problems with bedbugs, we were even sued by a NY lawyer. But our rooms are otherwise clean, comfortable and in a great location. Breakfast is included."



OK seriously--Nobody likes bedbugs, the best advice I can offer is to follow NanBug's advice and learn how to spot bedbugs. If you check into your room and discover you have them just ask for a new room. Good luck and please enjoy your trip.

PS Isn't it kind of funny a poster named NanBug has such good advice about bedbugs?

diann24

There is a site you can look up and you can put in the hotel name and it will tell you. Google the site. It is nation wide and has become a huge problem everywhere even in the best hotels, stores, etc. I would check it out. Even then one can not be sure. They are very difficult to get rid of. I would also have a concern.

cynthia_booker

Google whatever but hotels might just have someone enter that their competitors have bedbugs, to get the business themselves, so whatever you read, be skeptical. This is bedbug hysteria season. Mass hysteria, you know.

Micheline

I am going to London, Prague and San Sebastian in September and this is getting very close to ruining my trip!

BigRuss

What bedbug reports? I understand that with 8+ million people and a native tongue of English, NYC and London have certain similarities, but the bedbug issue is a problem in NEW YORK CITY.

travelerjan

Oh Micheline, calm down. If so easily "bugged" then safest to stay home --- after all, mosquitos may carry a virus, a restaurant might cause food poisoning, one might slip on the cobblestones in Prague & break an ankle... the list goes on.

nytraveler

Bedbugs are NOT an NYC problem. they can be found in hotel anywhere. A friend of mine and her family were bitten in a 4* hotel in Orlando. (The data saying that NYC has a massive infestation came from a local exterminator trying to drum up business. There have been reports from everywhere - no one knows why. Perhaps a mutated strain no longer susceptible to whatever was keeping them in check where they start out from.)

It's easy and takes about a minute to check if a room has bedbugs- which you do BEFORE you bring in your luggage. I have only done so once ( in a hotel we were forced to use that was definitely subpar in terms of cleanliness (there were none).

And if this fear is going to ruin your trip I really suggest you not go - since you will have at lest one problem more challenging that a bedbug on almost any trip.

The problem is people that check in with them and infest the rooms - but I can;t understand how people don't know their clothes or things are infested.

NanBug

PM -- Funny! I actually named myself after my VW Beetle. I swear.

suze

The hotel is not going to admit a problem. I'd use Trip Advisor reviews for a start.

linda_j

Thank all of you for your comments. I did find a website that claims to research any hotel to see if any complaints have been made about bedbugs. I have also read all reviews on a number of websites about the hotel I've booked. All reviews have been wonderful - except one person said she had found some "bugs" in a drawer (didn't specify or elude to bedbugs). And you're right that it probably wouldn't do any good to just, point blank, ask the hotel. Guess I'll just take all the precautions I can and make a thorough check on arrival. What a bummer to have to worry about this. London is the most wonderful city in the world.

diann24

This site found on Google is reported by the health dept. who if a place is treated is reported. It is not a competitor trying to drum up business. The reason for there enormous comeback is we have gone "green" and and no longer use the pesticides (DTT)?? that we use to use. Yes do check trip advisor for reviews.

flanneruk

"What a bummer to have to worry about this"

Why do you "have" to worry about this?

You've failed to justify your bizarre comment about "all I've been reading and seeing on tv lately about bedbug problems in London hotels".

So I'll repeat another poster's question. Where, exactly, have you read anything at all about bedbugs in London?

lizziea06

NYTraveler - I wasn't saying the problem is limited to NYC in the slightest, but you have to admit there has been rampant media coverage about outbreaks in NY hotels and places of business. I haven't heard anything reported about a real or imagined outbreak in London.

Bedbugs are everywhere. Educate yourself, check the room, and take simple precautions. You'll be fine.

lizziea06

And....it appears the rational thing to do is to avoid Ohio altogether ;-)

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-a...most-infested/

kerouac

In most places, the roaches eat the bedbugs.