As we travel the world we get to stay in some wonderful properties and have had some truly life changing experiences in great hotels. A brilliant property is in fact a world unto itself. And so while we’ve been crisscrossing the planet producing Going Global our team has been keeping notes on the best attributes of the hotels we call home. And so here is our list of the Top 5 things that EVERY great hotel needs.
Number 1: Fast, Reliable and Free WIFI
Believe it or not some hotels, may in modern urban areas, still mis up in providing this basic amenity. After all if I can post to Instagram from a mountaintop in the Himalayas it just doesn’t feel right that I can’t upload a spreadsheet from my convention hotel. Our crews have connected on all seven continents but the best was from our ship Le’Boreal as we sailed the Antarctic waters. During our production we were able to shoot, edit and upload HD videos from the white continent. Pretty cool (err literally and figuratively).
Number 2: Corkscrew
Ok it sounds obvious but when our crew also produces a lot of wine lifestyle programs, a decent corkscrew in our hotel rooms seems like a basic necessity. However many 5-star properties fail to provide one. In a world where TSA Agents are only too anxious to confiscate anything that looks dangerous, the classic corkscrew has become a checked bag luxury. We particularly liked the Luna Hotel Baglioni in Venice which had a wonderful corkscrew and two Riedel glasses always on the ready. This compares quite favorably to a hotel we stayed at in Kenya where they proudly sent us up an ancient wine opener that looked like a medieval torture device. They also included two paper cups. Good times.
Number 3: Coffee Maker
It goes without saying that if you spend your days tasting great wines from around the world and still use a corkscrew and glasses in your room at night, then you’re going to need a good coffee maker. And that also means great coffee and tea in the room. Kudos here to the Grand Hyatt Taipei which not only had excellent in room coffee but they also had a hot water machine and a selection of teas and noodles. This is perfect for the jet-lagged traveler. Our entire team had stories about late night noodle fests watching kitschy Chinese soap operas.
Number 4: Health Club
We hate resort fees and extra costs to use a fitness room. Really? Guests don’t want to become a member they just want to workout and be healthy for the couple of days that they’re staying with you. Some hotels get this, others don’t but the Sanctuary Lodge at Machu Picchu was the star here. They didn’t need a workout room, they are on the grounds of Machu Picchu. So needless to say they have the best StairMaster in the world. When we shot at this luxurious property we called the trip the Workout of the Gods.
Number 5: Bathrobe
There’s an unwritten law in hotel operations that says you send the maid, bellman or maintenance man to guest rooms only when the guests are exiting showers. And for this reason alone all hotel rooms should come with large, comfortable and cool-looking bathrobes. Trust me the maids, bellmen and maintenance guys will appreciate it as well. The best we’ve seen so far was at the Mandarin Oriental in Shanghai. The bathrobes were in a word epic.
OK we could go on, but I will save this for another blog. Suffice it to say we love great hotels and always enjoy staying with a world class property. There will be a Part Two to this post so send us in your thoughts. What do you think we’ve missed so far on this list of what every great hotel should offer?
