hotel room coffee makers
 

We just returned from a stay at the Fairmont in Santa Monica.
Our one frustration (admittedly not a big one) was that there was no coffee maker in the room (even though the web site said there would be). When I asked, I was told they had just been taken out as part of upgrading the hotel's image.
Since when does removing a popular room amenity improve a hotel's image?
Are room coffee makers becoming a thing of the past to save money for the hotels?

Well, I see what they're saying. I expect a coffee maker in my room at a Fairfield Inn or LaQuinta, but not if I'm staying in a 5 star resort or hotel.

The last coffee maker in my room at a LaQuinta made undrinkable coffee. I couldn't figure out if they ran some chemical cleaner through it or what, but what came out was NOT for human consumption. After reading the stuff about how those things are never cleaned and are simply wiped out, my love for in-room coffee makers has pretty rapidly diminished anyway.

This year we stayed at two 5-star hotels-resorts, Enchantment and the Broadmoor--both offered in-room coffee makers.

I'm afraid that if I read, or hear, too much of the "behind the scenes" info on hotels, etc. I may never leave the house again. And watching Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares was a big mistake! :-)

I stayed at a couple of 4 star hotel this year with a coffee maker.

Maybe I'm now out of the loop. I haven't stayed at ANY 4 or 5 star hotels in the last couple years. I always thought of the in-room coffee makers more of something I'd find in an on-the-road motel than in a fine hotel. Maybe that's changed?

I accumulate over 150 night hotel stays a year in various classes of hotel. As a coffee-aholic I travel fully prepared for the quest for coffee every morning. I carry my own coffee and depending how long I will be in one place - I occassionally carry my milk frother with me!

Very rarely have I experienced a hotel without a coffee maker - though sometimes I do have to talk to the house-keeping manager and request an "old fashion" coffee maker instead of one of the new one-cup coffee makers (egads - what terrible coffee they make).

A couple of hints - 90% of Las Vegas hotels do not have coffee makers in guest-rooms. If I am in one of the hotels that do not have one I go to Walgreens or CVS and pay the $10 for a cheapo coffee maker and just leave it in my room when I check-out. It's a lot cheaper and more convenient than going down to the Starbucks and waiting in line with the other 100 people who want a quick coffee.

I use 1/2 & 1/2 w/my coffee and milk just will not do - so I always go out and buy some and put it in my mini-bar (be sure to check to be sure your not charged for anything upon check-out).

A few of the more up-scale hotels will actually deliver coffee to your room - free for the asking. The Ritz Carlton's I believe will do this (this was true at the 4 Seasons Laguna and Sanata Barbara this last year when I stayed there).

Also - if you join the Omni's Frequent Guest program you can request one item be delivered to your room during each over-night stay. I receive a free capucinno that is delivered piping hot with extr-foam, just the way I like it. They throw in fresh pastry with the coffee each morning as well.

Be sure before you head out to any hotel to do your research on the hotels home website and join any of the frequent guest programs - even if you think you will only be there for one visit, it might have some benefits that you can take advantage of.

I usually stay for the most part at 4-5* hotels and the La Quinta's too and I find them more at the LQ vs. the nicer hotels..
Have you all really looked at the coffee makers in the room...Nasty!
There is no way, I am going to drink a cup of watered down coffee in that thing.
I find most hotels/motels have the free breakfast with all the coffee you want..or there is a Starbucks.
I do think the coffee maker is a thing of the past.

If something is advertised, but not delivered, send a complaint to the Fairmont for a discount.

And next time, bring toilet paper with you, you never know what will be the next item to remove :)

I think it's ridiculous that an expensive hotel will not provide free coffee in the morning, whether it's in the lobby (FREE) or in the room. And then some of them have the nerve to charge a $20 to $25 resort fee on top of that. Coffee is definitely something that I look for in a hotel. Hyatt is pretty good about including coffee makers, even in the Hyatt Regency hotels.

If they had advertised in room coffee and not provided it I probably would have suggested that they comp me a cup.

I must be odd person out here but I have NEVER liked to brew coffee in my room as I don't like the room to smell like coffee all day. When my DH HAS made coffee a few times in the room, we always find the packet of coffee too large for the size of the pot, and the coffee is grossly strong.

The Charleston Place Hotel did not have coffee makers (few years ago, cited fire codes), and the HarbourView Inn there does not. I'd say cheaper hotels always have them, many higher end ones do not, from my experience.

I really prefer free coffee in the lobby. I too wonder about the cleanliness of the room pots.(Although I guess we never know much about cleanliness whenever we eat/drink stuff we haven't actually prepared...)

The Fairmont in Santa Monica did not offer free coffee in the lobby when it removed the coffee makers from the rooms. The coffee had to be purchased from a small breakfast bar in the lobby for $2 a cup plus optional tip.
However, my annoyance is with the aggravation of having to throw on clothes early in the morning to go downstairs to get the coffee to take it back up to my room where I could enjoy it in private with my newspaper that the hotel provided (are papers the next perk to go).

I think that is a rip-off. I was at a hotel recently where the only available was in the lobby Starbucks shop! We want FREE coffee!!!

Some places like Vegas have agreements that no in room coffee and no in room microwaves will generate more $ for the lobby shops and restaurants.
When we do get an in room coffee maker, my wife always finds the maid and wait staff to get much extra coffee packs!
We are in room coffee people.

The in-room coffee makers at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco and the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, for two examples, do very well to fuel my early-morning coffee addiction. Sadly, I cannot get out of bed with at least one cup of coffee in my gut. I hate calling room service, as I had to do at Amangnani (Jackson Hole) recently, in order to get my fix.

The last two 4-5 star hotels we've stayed in ( Amway Grand in Grand Rapids, Mich. & Hilton Hawaiian Village) both had coffee makers.

Years ago, before individual coffee makers were the norm, I packed my own 1 cup maker, coffee & mug. That's how strongly I feel about my IN ROOM coffee.

You really DON'T want to see me schleping down the hall or stairs or elevator for coffee before I'm fully awake & therefore, dressed!

I don't really drink my coffee exceptionally strong, but I find that I require two of the bags to make a four cup pot. Otherwise, it looks like tea. In my experience,
I've never found the coffee in one pkg. to make the pot too strong.

I still have my little one cup maker. So, if they do away with this amenity, I'll find myself carting it about again.

"though sometimes I do have to talk to the house-keeping manager and request an "old fashion" coffee maker instead of one of the new one-cup coffee makers (egads - what terrible coffee they make)."

Have you tried the Keurig one-cup coffee maker? It's awesome! I even converted my aunt to one and she was still using the old-fashioned stainless perk-o-later (sp?) because she didn't think the "Mr. Coffee" type machines made good coffee.

Maybe it's just the Green Mountain K-Cups that make the Keurig machine so good.

I wish all upper end hotels would put these in. ((i)) They are sanitary and you can get the K-cups in 100's of coffees and teas. I think I'll go make myself a cup of hot tea right now! :-d

My wife and I were discussing this issue while riding north today from Virginia on I-95.

I am addicted to coffee when I wake up, and I often have to get up at 3 or 4 AM to work on projects.

In my experience, the coffee in areas where people drink it with meals (Midwest, South)is much weaker than in the northeast or on the West Coast.

Our most recent hotel in Richmond had coffee that was much too weak in the breakfast room, and the only way we can stand in room coffee is to tip the maid, get extra coffee packets, and use one "pillow" of coffee for each cup! Elsiemoo, you and I are not on the same wavelength!

I have a small portable espresso maker that I will bring when we travel by car again, and my wife has a small cafetiere, so we can have French Roast in the future instead of spending our day caffeine starved -- or ripped off by lobby coffee shops.

The last two Westins I've stayed in both had coffee makers in room with Starbucks coffee.

When we stayed at the Marriott Harbor Beach hotel ( a really nice place)in Fort Lauderdale, there was a Starbucks in the lobby and a coffee maker in the room, BUT you had to pay for each packet of Starbucks coffee you used! When I asked about it, I was told it was a deal they made with Starbucks to get them in the hotel. I have since stayed at several hotels that have Starbucks in the lobby but the coffee with the room coffeemakers is free. So obviously the Marriott was telling a little fib.