Comments from Reviews
Jan 10th, 2014, 09:32 PM
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Comments from Reviews
We are booking hotels for our upcoming trip to Belgium and Amsterdam. Here are some notable excerpts from hotel reviews:
Good for Travel (As opposed to an illicit tryst?)
Weather was Cold (And of course, the front desk did nothing to remedy it.)
Replace shower curtain with a glass door (Probably works for Home Depot)
Would not recommend this hotel "unless you are looking for a cheap night." (That should be a special category)
And there was one group that was in a constant snit when the hotel did not offer a breakfast like they made at home:
No English breakfast
I would have liked scrambled eggs with bacon
I would have liked fruit.
Not enough tea
Breakfast did not cater to English
Hot water not hot enough
Please add those you have found and we will continue more as found.
Good for Travel (As opposed to an illicit tryst?)
Weather was Cold (And of course, the front desk did nothing to remedy it.)
Replace shower curtain with a glass door (Probably works for Home Depot)
Would not recommend this hotel "unless you are looking for a cheap night." (That should be a special category)
And there was one group that was in a constant snit when the hotel did not offer a breakfast like they made at home:
No English breakfast
I would have liked scrambled eggs with bacon
I would have liked fruit.
Not enough tea
Breakfast did not cater to English
Hot water not hot enough
Please add those you have found and we will continue more as found.
Jan 11th, 2014, 12:48 PM
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I usually stay in cheap places, preferrably under 50 Euro/night. And of course the quality of the rooms is not perfect. But I know that even before I book. So I read the reviews with that in mind.
People complain the rooms are small. Well, what do they expect for 30-50 Euros?
People complain about the breakfast. I don't usually eat breakfast so I don't care.
People complain the TV is old or non-existent or has no English channels. I'm not there to watch TV. And if you want English TV channels you're going to have to get a more expensive room somewhere else.
People complain about the lack of an elevator. Or the size of any existing one. Yes, I know some people have difficulty walking on stairs, but if an elevator is that important to you maybe you should have asked about it before you booked.
People complain that the staff doesn't help with luggagge. Well, cheap places usually don't have lots of staff and there may only be a single person on duty when you arrive.
And of course there is the complaint about thin walls. I'll mention it in my own reviews sometimes, but only to balance if I have lots of positive things to say.
The complaints I do care about are the ones about the place being dirty or the area being unsafe. Or about the WiFi being really bad. Anything else is to be expected for such a cheap price.
If people actually read the hotel websites and maybe e-mailed them about the truly important things (like elevators if you walk with a cane) before booking, maybe there would be less complaints. Or maybe some people complain for the sake of complaining.
People complain the rooms are small. Well, what do they expect for 30-50 Euros?
People complain about the breakfast. I don't usually eat breakfast so I don't care.
People complain the TV is old or non-existent or has no English channels. I'm not there to watch TV. And if you want English TV channels you're going to have to get a more expensive room somewhere else.
People complain about the lack of an elevator. Or the size of any existing one. Yes, I know some people have difficulty walking on stairs, but if an elevator is that important to you maybe you should have asked about it before you booked.
People complain that the staff doesn't help with luggagge. Well, cheap places usually don't have lots of staff and there may only be a single person on duty when you arrive.
And of course there is the complaint about thin walls. I'll mention it in my own reviews sometimes, but only to balance if I have lots of positive things to say.
The complaints I do care about are the ones about the place being dirty or the area being unsafe. Or about the WiFi being really bad. Anything else is to be expected for such a cheap price.
If people actually read the hotel websites and maybe e-mailed them about the truly important things (like elevators if you walk with a cane) before booking, maybe there would be less complaints. Or maybe some people complain for the sake of complaining.
Jan 11th, 2014, 01:35 PM
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This review was always my favorite. Unfortunately Trip Advisor has pulled the listing for Willy Wonka's vacation rental, but I saved the review.
"I wanted my own boat for my own chocolate lake and my own Oompa Loompas to row me around, but Mr. Wonka wouldn't let my dad buy them for me. Most of all I wanted a squirrel. Overall bad, bad customer service."
"I wanted my own boat for my own chocolate lake and my own Oompa Loompas to row me around, but Mr. Wonka wouldn't let my dad buy them for me. Most of all I wanted a squirrel. Overall bad, bad customer service."
Jan 11th, 2014, 03:41 PM
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JulieVikmanis, I always smile at that one, too.
So many of our expectations are so culturally embedded; I know that I am always mildly annoyed at getting only 1 set of towels per person at weekly house/apartment rentals in France. My experience here in USA is usually lots of towels in rentals, and my Brit friends laugh at me for grousing about this lack in Europe!
Re breakfasts, English or otherwise, I've seen Americans complaining about continental breakfasts in Europe, and I wonder just how many of these same people eat a "full breakfast" each day at home? A continental breakfast that includes a croissant and half baguette is more than I eat here most of the time, and seems that a lot of people I know start out the day with coffee alone.
So many of our expectations are so culturally embedded; I know that I am always mildly annoyed at getting only 1 set of towels per person at weekly house/apartment rentals in France. My experience here in USA is usually lots of towels in rentals, and my Brit friends laugh at me for grousing about this lack in Europe!
Re breakfasts, English or otherwise, I've seen Americans complaining about continental breakfasts in Europe, and I wonder just how many of these same people eat a "full breakfast" each day at home? A continental breakfast that includes a croissant and half baguette is more than I eat here most of the time, and seems that a lot of people I know start out the day with coffee alone.
Jan 11th, 2014, 05:05 PM
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The problem with a "continental breakfast" for many americans is that while we generally do not eat large cooked breakfasts - we do expect fresh orange juice and many people want some form of protein - but are usually happy with yogurt or a boiled egg.
I can't eat big greasy meals at any time - esp in the morning - but I do want orange juice - real juice - not defrosted anything. (Don't understand why hotels don't make fresh OJ every am but at least they could do Tropicana versus the frozen stuff or orange "drink".)
But them I was once told I could only have frozen french fries - in a hotel in Dublin - because "potatoes are out of season"? Was there a worldwide shortage of potatoes? We have multiple kinds in every supermarket every day - never mind what you can get at the local greengrocer.
I can't eat big greasy meals at any time - esp in the morning - but I do want orange juice - real juice - not defrosted anything. (Don't understand why hotels don't make fresh OJ every am but at least they could do Tropicana versus the frozen stuff or orange "drink".)
But them I was once told I could only have frozen french fries - in a hotel in Dublin - because "potatoes are out of season"? Was there a worldwide shortage of potatoes? We have multiple kinds in every supermarket every day - never mind what you can get at the local greengrocer.
Jan 11th, 2014, 08:44 PM
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What''s so odd about the "Hot water not hot enough" comment on breakfast?
It's impossible to make a decent cup of tea with the lukewarm water far too many hotels outside the British Isles try to get away with. And it's not breakfast without a decent cup of tea.
This obviously doesn't worry hotels in insular countries like America, where they worry only about their fellow-citizens' degraded tastes.
But if Belgian hotels want customers from the country next door, insulting them at breakfast is a bloody stupid way of doing it.
It's impossible to make a decent cup of tea with the lukewarm water far too many hotels outside the British Isles try to get away with. And it's not breakfast without a decent cup of tea.
This obviously doesn't worry hotels in insular countries like America, where they worry only about their fellow-citizens' degraded tastes.
But if Belgian hotels want customers from the country next door, insulting them at breakfast is a bloody stupid way of doing it.
Jan 11th, 2014, 09:02 PM
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I thought the hot water comment was referring to water in the shower or bath. But if it is about making tea, I am in full agreement with you, flanneruk. Often here in the US, the server will bring a cup or small pot of "hot" water, then return a few minutes later with a choice of tea bags, and by then the water that was not hot enough in the first place is truly lukewarm. Even the best restaurants don't get it!
Jan 12th, 2014, 01:26 PM
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Someone once wrote in our Guestbook at the house in St-Cirq: "A dishwasher would have come in handy."
If writing back had been an option, I would have written: "That's precisely why we have one."
If writing back had been an option, I would have written: "That's precisely why we have one."
Jan 12th, 2014, 02:22 PM
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It is always a laugh when you see so many who have never heard"when in Rome"..English tea.not! Decafe coffee, not! Large rooms, not!! the beat goes on..enjoy what is there, adapt ro what you see/get/experience and then decide to come back or stay home..That's what travelling is all about. Clean rooms, clean bathrooms, and a smile from the front desk can make your trip!! BTW one can heat water in their room if one has the foresight to bring a small immersible heater..OMG the plug won't fit the socket!! What will I do??? Hate the whiners with their "but at home" mentality.
Jan 12th, 2014, 05:35 PM
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"When in Rome..."
Actually, when the ancient Romans weren't in Rome, but rather 'visiting' other countries, they rarely accepted things as they found them. They constructed a lot of plumbing - that Pont du Gard, for example. Such cultural insensitivity, whatever were they thinking? Then there's the spa they built in Bath, England, complete with hot water sections. So if Brits complain that the water runs cold in Italian hotels, the Italians are in no position to be grumps - they started it all!
Coffee is no more native to any European country than is tea: I guess that's it for the cafe au laits and the espressos and capuccinos: along with the tea, it must be denounced as inauthentic, to say nothing of being a remnant of European imperialism (consider the Dutch East India company and its plantations in Sumatra, etc.) All Europeans should, to a person, cease expecting things at breakfast to be as they are in Arabia or Brazil, let alone in Darjeeling, India or Kyoto, Japan. They, and us tourists, should quaff wine or beer instead, I hear the latter in particular makes for a breakfast of champions. Besides, once one is drunk, one won't even notice the condition of the mattresses in the rooms upstairs.
Cheerio, happy travels!
Actually, when the ancient Romans weren't in Rome, but rather 'visiting' other countries, they rarely accepted things as they found them. They constructed a lot of plumbing - that Pont du Gard, for example. Such cultural insensitivity, whatever were they thinking? Then there's the spa they built in Bath, England, complete with hot water sections. So if Brits complain that the water runs cold in Italian hotels, the Italians are in no position to be grumps - they started it all!
Coffee is no more native to any European country than is tea: I guess that's it for the cafe au laits and the espressos and capuccinos: along with the tea, it must be denounced as inauthentic, to say nothing of being a remnant of European imperialism (consider the Dutch East India company and its plantations in Sumatra, etc.) All Europeans should, to a person, cease expecting things at breakfast to be as they are in Arabia or Brazil, let alone in Darjeeling, India or Kyoto, Japan. They, and us tourists, should quaff wine or beer instead, I hear the latter in particular makes for a breakfast of champions. Besides, once one is drunk, one won't even notice the condition of the mattresses in the rooms upstairs.
Cheerio, happy travels!
Jan 12th, 2014, 05:49 PM
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Point being, that if the Europeans were as mind-numbingly accepting of the status quo as we tourists are always being exhorted to to be, they would never have produced the customs that we today admire -- sometimes, for some of us, to the point of absurdity.
Jan 12th, 2014, 06:09 PM
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Actually, when the ancient Romans weren't in Rome, but rather 'visiting' other countries, they rarely accepted things as they found them.
_______
Conquerors have that curious advantage.
__________________________________________________ _______
Point being, that if the Europeans were as mind-numbingly accepting of the status quo as we tourists are always being exhorted to to be, they would never have produced the customs that we today admire -- sometimes, for some of us, to the point of absurdity.
HUH?
_______
Conquerors have that curious advantage.
__________________________________________________ _______
Point being, that if the Europeans were as mind-numbingly accepting of the status quo as we tourists are always being exhorted to to be, they would never have produced the customs that we today admire -- sometimes, for some of us, to the point of absurdity.
HUH?
Jan 12th, 2014, 06:31 PM
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Ancient Romans really don't have anything to do with the expression "when in Rome" do they?? They were not tourists..If you are visiting and can't adapt to preceived inconveniences then stay home and miss wonderful sights and sites..
Jan 12th, 2014, 06:47 PM
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To state the obvious-every country, almost region has their own customs and eccentricities. To continue down the path of the obvious-some customs are admirable, some quaint, and some abhorrent.
One of my intentions when I travel to learn and observe the customs of others, not change them. That is because I have limited superpowers.
If a hotel attracts an international clientele it is impossible to cater to the whim and fancy of every group, let alone an individual previous to their demands. It is egocentric and solipsistic to think otherwise. For those of you unfamiliar with solipsism, in one sense it means that the world and other people's minds do not exist.
One of my intentions when I travel to learn and observe the customs of others, not change them. That is because I have limited superpowers.
If a hotel attracts an international clientele it is impossible to cater to the whim and fancy of every group, let alone an individual previous to their demands. It is egocentric and solipsistic to think otherwise. For those of you unfamiliar with solipsism, in one sense it means that the world and other people's minds do not exist.
