Hotel Central Editor Susan O'Keefe wants your take on televisions in hotel rooms. Is bigger really better?
Travel Agent Central recently reported that Sandy Lane, the luxury resort located in St. James, Barbados, where celebrity guests have included Mick Jagger, Frank Sinatra, and Jackie Kennedy, will close on August 31 and reopen on October 3, to undergo a $6-million makeover. Renovations to the hotel will include new outdoor patio furniture, new guest room bedding and drapes, and TVs—all 112 rooms and suites will upgrade from huge 55-inch TVs to 70-inch monsters.
Reader, I don't know about you, but if I'm going to the Caribbean, I'm not really planning on spending much time in my room, let alone flipping through channels with a remote. Have we gotten so caught up in bigger being better when it comes to flat-screens and plasmas, that 15 inches will really make a difference, especially in a bedroom?
Don't get me wrong, I like my TV when I'm traveling for business and sitting in my characterless room eating bland food from room service. And I like giant TV screens during events like the Super Bowl, when I can leave the family room to refill the chip bowl and still see the game from my kitchen. But the Caribbean is a getaway. It's where you go to dig your toes in the sand, plunge into the crystal-clear water, and lounge beachside for long periods of time with a fruity drink and a good book. At Sandy Lane, outdoor recreation includes kayaking, sailing, state-of-the-art golf courses, tennis, and swimming with Hawksbill turtles that play and feed along the inshore reef. So, tuck the TV remote in a drawer and get outside. But I wonder, what amenity must you have in a hotel room? Mini bar? Stationery with the hotel's logo? Slippers? Q-tips? We'd like to know what you can't live without, whether you're at a resort in the Caribbean or a motel on the side of the road.
I MUST HAVE a coffee maker. Well, not must...but I really like it.
Can't stand padding downstairs with crusty eyes to get that first cup of life from the crowded breakfast room.
Boo-yah. Caffeine over MTV.
Posted by: Lee Ann | April 24, 2008 at 04:33 PM
A coffee maker really makes my stay.
Posted by: LadyExpat | April 25, 2008 at 01:57 AM
I always look for a small safe. I like to travel light while sightseeing, so I leave my portable DVD player, iPod, and "dress up" jewelry in there. If there's no safe, I'm forced to be creative: Leaving things at the front desk is just too inconvenient.
Posted by: DinoLady | April 25, 2008 at 09:35 AM
coffee-maker dows it for me-slippers are nice too!
Posted by: NANA RUTH | April 25, 2008 at 03:31 PM
a soft pillow. without it, i can't sleep!
Posted by: ilovermont | April 30, 2008 at 03:35 PM
I don't mind going without all of it - and I actually tend to prefer it that way. Actually, I kind of prefer my tent over hotels at all!!
One of the things I'm most looking forward to about our upcoming bicycle trip from Alaska to Argentina is getting the kids away from the TV. They will play with sticks and stones and pinecones - Mother Nature's playthings - over all the manmade technology so prevalent in today's society. And that's a good thing.
(You can read about our upcoming journey at www.familyonbikes.org)
Posted by: Nancy Sathre-Vogel | April 30, 2008 at 09:47 PM