topping for fussy fodorites

This is funny, Sea. I haven't read every post, but I can see only one reason to travel with bed sheets: if I thought I might have to kill somebody.

LucieV - in that case, be sure to get those waterproof sheets!

Excellent advice, toed.

Oh, SeaUrchin, it's still too funny! Thanks!

How about this; does anyone travel with their own pillow? We took a cruise and I folded my body pillow in half and it fit neatly into a cloth carryon. I don't think I would do it if I had to trek to multiple hotels, but on a trip where we take the car; it goes everytime. I sleep like the dead, but no body pillow, and I get lower back pain.
Anyone else with a similar quirk?

I know I shouldn't contribute to this over-long post...but what the heck.

I stayed at the Village at Squaw recently and the beds were so miserable that we could not sleep at all. We had reserved for a week, but three nights was all we could handle. We were so exhausted. The sheets were polyester. The mattress was cheap, thin, springs poking up all over, you could feel every spring. And it was topped by one of those polyester cheap mattress covers that are held on by little elastic bands.

Can you believe it? this place is not cheap. I check with several other people in other suites or rooms and they all had the same beds and sheets.

I usually bring along a nice pillow case, but now I have to bring sheets.

And I will never return to this resort at Squaw Valley....even though it was in every other respect a pretty good place to hang out.

I don't think you are crazy....

As a hotel room germ freak, this discussion is more than I can resist! I don't bring my own sheets, but don't have a great feeling bedding down in a hotel room. Upon entering, I turn down the bedspread with a tissue, and try not to touch it again. Sometimes I've removed it alltogether, with a note to leave it off. (If they really want to put this traveler's mind at ease, it would be great knowing that the bedspread and blanket had been washed after each guest--never mind thread counts). Anyway, here's how I Imagine things at a hotel: The room attendant removes the used sheets, towels, and washcloths, and puts them in the cart. Then she takes the new ones and puts them into place. Maybe there's a lot of hand-washing involved, but I've seen too many women leave a restroom without washing their hands to be confident of this. Anyway, I take a roll of paper towels for a little face washing and drying, and old hand-towels for showers, which I leave behind. I put the hotel's handtowel on a chair before sitting. Plenty of people would laugh at this, and that's fine! I cringe at others' nonchalance at flopping around a hotel room filled with that many strangers' germs. A little off-topic: there are grocery stores in our area who are supplying anti-bacterial wipes to clean the cart handle before shopping!

Evidently so. On the Unclaimed Baggage website, there's a brand new set of Michael Kors' sheets in a giraffe pattern for sale.

There is absolutely no need to supply wipes for door knobs, handles on grocery carts, etc., since the issue is whether or not you wash your hands frequently enough to eliminate at least some of the millions of pathogens picked up on a regular basis, even in those "clean houses" everyone swears they keep.

Fussy Traveler, you said you were repulsed by "most hotels' bed linens" and that you didn't think you were "expecting too much..." etc.

I would agree that you aren't expecting too much for your money. Unfortunately, I do think that your elaborate travel arrangements, even if they are just like Diane Sawyer's, are doing little, if anything, to preserve your safety but if doing so makes you feel better then that's fine.

Please don't forget that you are the one who keeps talking about "having a problem" and obviously your attempt to convince yourself that you don't was unsuccessful.

I rarely worry about filthy linens. I'm too worried about the comditions in the kitchens that prepare my food...chicken "juice" dripping on my salad greens and worse. And being home doesn't help much when you know that many farm field workers do not have access to "restrooms" while picking our fruits and vegetables.

topping

let's see--august of 2003----
to June, 2007---
could this be a "record" for the longest going post??????
hmmmm

well it's right up there for one of the most funny ones.

No, someone revived on from 2001 the other day.

I think some people that carry their own sheets are not going to use them for sleeping eh?

I am the originator of this thread, and I think it's pretty funny that people are still commenting, but then it is still a relevant issue because the sheet situation is NOT GETTING BETTER !

I still do it. In fact, when I travel by car I take a flat sheet and twin-sized lightweight down comforter and sometimes a pillow or two, too ! It helps me sleep better. What can I say ... my sheets at home are really nice and I am disgusted by hole-y, stained, rough, or threadbare sheets. It really has nothing to do with germs, but I did read the post about the crime scene investigators who have seen enough crap on bedding to now take their own !

For me it's a quality issue. If I am staying in a moderately expensive or expensive hotel, the sheets should be nice IMO. I still think the best bed I ever slept in was at the Hotel Bristol in Vienna. I did not even have the top-quality room there. The bed was absolutely pristine.

Now here's something I do that IS related to germs ... I put the remote in a baggie and use it that way for the duration of my stay. I read that the remotes are never cleaned and testers have found feces and other crud on there. Having been a victim of the norovirus last year, I understand the power of a microscopic piece of infected poo. (I think I got mine in a salad, which is even more disgusting than getting it from a remote.)

And for the record, I did buy some nice Aquis microfiber waffle-weaved products ... bath towel, hair towel, and washcloth, and would consider taking them on a trip if I had no choice but to stay in a crappy hotel, but I haven't yet used them. I don't usually have an issue with hotel towels.

Btw Dukey, I don't think I ever said I had a "problem". I'm perfectly comfortable with taking my own sheets on trips, and in fact I've converted some other people merely by mentioning that I do it. (They have a "that's a good idea" reaction and don't think it's aberrant.) I don't need validation, I was simply wondering if anyone else did it, that's why I posted. I was amazed at how many people attacked me and required me to defend my practice. Why would they care what I do ? Bizarre. But if it makes you feel better to think that I have a problem and that I'm deceiving myself, by all means go ahead. And good luck in life and relationships with that kind of presumptive a-hole attitude. >

fussy, you have initiated one of the most interesting threads in fodorite history. thank you for coming back.

FT: If I had room in my suitcase I wld BMOS...for sure! About the remote: I don't "bag it" but that's a good idea....I do clean it. And the phones too. The phones gross me out.

ttt