26 things hotels should stop doing now
Hotel horrors

While we love and look forward to a good hotel stay, there are more than a few quirks about them that can, quite frankly, annoy us. Towel art, for one. Why, hotels? Why? We think our overnighters would be slightly improved if they cut out the following irritating things. See if you agree...
Key cards

Quickly lost, hard to activate and oh-so-easily deactivated. Key cards seem designed simply to stress hotel guests out. While we realise that they're safer, easily programmable and cheaper than actual keys to replace, we've lost count of the amount of times we've struggled to see that magic green light and it's not just because we put it in our pocket by our phone. They're also incredibly easy to lose. Until we get home and find several have slipped behind something in our wallet...
No kettle

Pathetic pillows

Even more pathetic hairdryers

Mirror, mirror on the wall…

Putting plugs in the wrong place

Too many remotes

Another "fun" hotel room game to play is match the remote control to the device. We're often puzzled by the sheer number of remotes that a small hotel room seemingly needs. Sticky, slow remote controls are another issue, as is the alarming news that they are the most contaminated items in a hotel room. Actually, maybe we'll skip trying to turn on the TV/air-con altogether.
Complicated lights

Ineffective curtains

Pushing beds together

Charging for water

Keeping quiet on refurbishment plans

Charging for Wi-Fi

Charging corkage

Lack of luggage storage

Early check-outs

Breakfast charges

Single supplements

Too many scatter cushions

Shocking showers

Impractical bathrooms

Too cool for school

Not having decent family room options

Decent-sized and well-priced family rooms are few and far between. Some hotels offer families adjoining rooms, which can be ideal with older kids, although expensive. While in many hotels, a super-expensive suite is the only option and even then some simply open up a sofa bed for the kids to sleep on. When it comes to travelling as a family, it’s often a far better idea to opt for an apartment instead.
Claiming to be boutique when they’re no such thing

The word “boutique” has been a hotel buzzword word for several years now. So much so that its overuse sends a red alert. Any hotel that uses the word “boutique” within its name, for example, is more than likely no such thing. It's probably either a hotel chain masquerading as individual and independent or an independent that's actually just small and poky with aspirations.
Read more: Time warp hotel rooms: untouched stays from a bygone era
Unrequested turndown service

The turndown service continues to perplex us. It always seems to happen when we’ve returned to our room and are relaxing or getting ready for dinner and would rather housekeeping didn't come in. We don’t need any help getting our bed ready (after all, we’ve already chucked the surplus of cushions off) and can do without a free chocolate just before bed, thanks all the same.
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Towel art

We don't want to be mean, but do we really care if our towels have been lovingly crafted into swans while we've been out for the day? No, we don't. In fact, it's actually a bit annoying. We just want a clean, fluffy, and flat towel that we don't have to shake back into shape. And, while you're at it, don't spare the bathmats for that inevitably leaky shower.
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