Paris,What exactly is a minibar?
 

I am in the process of booking a hotel in Paris. This is probably a very silly question, but I don't understand what a minibar is! Is it like a little empty fridge where one can put their own cold drinks in their hotel room, or is it a little fridge stocked with drinks that one has to pay for each time a drink is taken (like I've experienced in New York). I've already asked a French hotel and they didn't understand what I was talking about because I don't speak French. I thought that I would get a better and quicker response this way.

It's just like NY. What's stocked depends upon the hotel. You typically have to remove items to store your own.

Also I wouldn't leave items in the minibar during the day, the maid/hotel probably wouldn't say anything but it would be wrong. But I usually buy soda/wine/cheese at the end of the day and put it in the minibar for that night. I remember in one Paris 3* hotel it was ~$17 for a shot of whiskey and a can of coke!!! Regards, Walter <BR>

Walter makes a good point. In some hotels, they count what's "missing" every morning and add it to your bill immediately. Some hotels do not appreciate your storing items you've purchased elsewhere in their mini-bar. When in doubt, you can always purchase the exact same brands and sizes at a nearby grocery and keep swapping them. But, some mini-bars are stocked with strange brands and/or sizes (perhaps from hotel mini-bar suppliers). More and more hotels have "private label" bottles of water, perhaps to prevent you from chilling your own to avoid contributing to their profits.

Its even worse than you may have imagined. I stayed in a hotel that was in a quiet residential area. Not too far away was a convenience store. So instead of paying the exhorbitant hotelprices for the 'convenience' of the mini-bar...I bought my own cans of pepsi or coke. My mistake was that I left them in the wastebasket in the hotel room. When checking out I noticed that I had been charged for the two cans of soda. I immediately protested and even suggested I would cancel my next booking to the hotel if the item wasn't immediately removed from my bill. <BR>The hotel demurred at first...but then when I challenged them to come with me to the store - they then relented. <BR> <BR>NEVER USE THE MINIBAR - unless money is no object and you don't mind being overcharged for something you can buy virtually across the street.

As Donna mentioned, it all depends upon the hotel. Usually, I half empty the mini-bar, neatly arranging everything to the side, and use it to chill milk, soda, water, I've purchased elsewhere. Most of the time, this is no problem at all. Any time I've been mis-charged for something, there's been no real difficulty having it removed from the bill.

Be sure to check the prices in the minibar.. in some cities. such as Budapest... while the price is more than the store... it is less than you might expect at home. At the end of a day an orange juice or bottled water may be worth the freight.

Good point Susan. In San Francisco, I asked at the front desk where I could buy soda and water. "Right around the corner." Yup, and a 65% grade. After huffing and puffing up and back, most of what I bought was left over, and the prices for the mini-bar were actually quite comparable.

What you DO need to watch out for are the minibars which use sensors. YOu take something out to look at it more closely and the charge is recorded automatically. My policy with these is to close the door carefully and leave it closed.

I remember reading about someone who when they arrived at a hotel asked that minibar be emptied. They then used it for their own supplies! Has anyone tried this? If so what was the hotel's response?