ksucat

Wife and I are huge Benjamin hotel fans in NYC and the one thing she loves to do is ring up the pillow concierge and get her 12 different types of pillows.

On the coffee maker..sorry for being so blunt on this but I have seen stories where people pee in the carafe and pour it through the coffee maker..so gross!
Can't look at a coffee maker the same way.

hopingtotravel

eeuw, maybe I didn't want to know.

TC

Many excellent ideas here. I, too, hope that some hotels read and take action. In this economy, every little thing will help them fill rooms.

On the issue of coffee makers. I've heard some of the horror stories too, but I use the coffee makers and like others, I'm still here to tell the tale. I always figure I'm running boiling water through the machine which must do some good toward cleaning it.

While your story of urine is truly gross, I believe its a fact that even that wouldn't kill a person. Some things are just better left unsaid....or unknown. If one wants to travel, they have to be willing to put up with a few germs. Honestly, we've eaten in "restaurants" in China, Thailand, Mexico and other places that would have instantly been closed down by the US Department of Health. But it was some of the best food we've ever eaten and some of the best travel adventures and some of the nicest people and again....no one got sick. Life is too short and there are so many places to see to worry about such things.

MRand

Two more "small features" to add to the list:

1. An accessible electrical outlet near the bedstand (to recharge phones, iPods, etc. overnight but still be within reach).

2. Hooks in the closet, in the bathroom, on the walls, to hang hangers, clothes, or towels on.

Kailani

I wondered if I could possibly think of something that hasn't already been mentioned.

I love the hotel stationary that is often in desk drawers, in a folder with a pen and postcards, preferably with an etching of the hotel.

I use the paper for an informal journal or planning list, to write a complimentary letter to the hotel staff, to send letters to friends, but most of all, to take back home as a easily packable souvenir.

Right now I have Chateau Marmont and Hotel Laguna notepads by the phone.

PamSF

good towels
great shampoo, mositurizer etc
a place to sit
a magnifying mirror with light(my dream perk)
extra pillows
good temperature control and windows that open

I also like the notepads. They remind of the places I have been. Right now by our phone I have:
Hotel Henry IV-Paris
Dominion 1912-Quebec City
The Beekman Arms-Rhinebeck,NY
the recollections of any and all sure beat an average day in Oakland,California.

hopingtotravel

Oh yes! Still have a piece of stationery and notepad from Craigellichie in Scotland, and St. Clerans in Ireland.

Austin

Conditioner! Why is it that some hotels only have shampoo?

MRand

Window curtains that cross rather than meet in the middle to insure no light gets in.

emd3

It depends on whether I am on my own dime or on business.

On my own dime, I just want a clean, quiet, rm. w/a comfortable bed, and I must have a coffee maker as I can't even get in the shower in the morning without coffee. Free internet is great, as is free breakfast of whatever kind. I am thinking of Sage Inn in Santa Fe as I write this. All the fixins for a great hotel for me.

MRand- take a few wooden clothes pins along- fixes that problem.

emd3

and on business, I could go on and on...it takes more to keep me happy when I have to travel for work...

Peter_S_Aus

An alarm clock that is simple to use! Oh, and the hotel located in a place that I want to visit.

Kailani

A wine opener or corkscrew. You can't carry them on a plane anymore, and they can be hard to find or very expensive.

I also like little packets of q-tips. I would like a little packet of dental floss.

And another amenity that I don't use at home, but I do use while traveling are the spongy shoe shiners.

I like the drawstring laundry bags as souvenirs when they have a logo for a hotel I like.

I like when there are apples in the lobby.