There's something about the combination of traveling and staying in a room that's not our own—plus the word 'free'—that just clouds our judgment and leads us to do some not so smart things. Many hotel amenities are designed to enhance our comfort or to make our stay enjoyable, but others are confusing, risky, unsanitary—or, worst of all, not actually free. Whether the hotel room is a one-star dive or a five-star palace, guests universally find themselves tempted to take advantage of all the little extras the hotel has to offer, but sometimes a free amenity can really backfire.
One reason that travelers use to justify using up every amenity available is that it's all included in the price of the room. Sometimes that's true, but the excitement of free stuff might overwhelm a person's common sense and lead them to overlook something they heartily regret dismissing later. Most of the time, it's better for hotel hoppers to just pack themselves an emergency travel kit and avoid many of the amenities out of an abundance of caution, for a safer stay. Here are 25 Free Hotel Amenities That No One Should Use.
25 Jacuzzi J'Accuse
For the most part, pools at the top chains consistently show little to no dangerous bacteria when tested, but hot tubs are another matter entirely. Even though the hot tub water is treated, the difference in the water temperature and the smaller size of the tub make it a ripe incubator, and many hot tubs even at high-end hotels test positive for the bacteria in human feces, explains Today.
Hot tubs can also contain the organisms that cause 'hot tub rash,' or even serious infections like Legionnaire's disease.
24 Don't Sweat The Workout Gear
Some hotels want their guests to feel like they want for nothing—including a good workout. More and more upscale hotels are providing workout gear for rent or even complimentary with a guest's stay, as per Popsugar.
It seems like a good idea in theory, until we start thinking about other people's sweat and the parts of the body that sweat a lot, and then it just seems like no matter how good the hotel says they clean those clothes, we'll never really feel clean after wearing them.
23 Skip The Scented sheets (Or just all the sheets)
As if a pillow menu card right next to the bed isn't over the top enough, many hotels are now offering aromatherapy-scented pillows and bedding for the stressed-out traveler, as per The Travel.
Many people are actually very sensitive to scented products and could awaken to a stuffed nose and allergies.
It might seem like a great and relaxing idea until the smell gets overwhelming right around two in the morning and the guest can't find any pillows in the room that don't smell like coconut tanning lotion.
22 Gym Equipment not well-maintained
One thing that many travelers dislike is the disruption of their usual gym routine, so hotels that offer gym equipment included in the price of the stay seem like problem-solvers.
For some guests, however, these hotel gyms create more problems than they solve.
Equipment often isn't serviced or maintained as often as it would be in a fitness gym, as per The New York Times. The guest might not be familiar with the type of machine. The machines could also be harboring pathogens that could lead to serious infections.
21 Computing The Risks
Cybercriminals—even the less sophisticated ones—require very little information to crack into a person's important accounts, and the chances that a password or other sensitive information can be left behind is much greater when guests use the hotel's business computers, according to Forbes.
Even if a guest remembers to log out of all of their personal or business accounts, they could still be open to hacking if the computer is on an open or shared network. It's better to bring a laptop along for emails.
20 The Pillow Order
There are people who have traveled their whole lives and never knew that pillow menus exist—really. Some hotels offer guests a list of pillow types—buckwheat, foam, or even porcelain, in Singapore—as well as a range from firm to downy soft, as per CNN.
While there are always a few amongst us that require a very, very specific level of pillow firmness, most of us are just happy to sleep on a freshly laundered pillowcase we didn't wash, and there is such a thing as too many choices.
19 Changing The Hotel Channel
Right around the start of the new millennia, hotels debuted their own in-house or in-chain channel that plays music somehow more terrible than elevator music and repeats the same information over and over, as per Condé Nast Traveler.
Since all these hotels still employed front desk and concierge staff who ended up answering all the same questions that the hotel channel was supposed to answer, it seemed like a silly and seriously annoying waste of time. We just think most people don't go on vacation so they can watch a repeating loop.
18 Vending Machines offer more than you purchased
While we hope that most of our fellow travelers know better than to eat a slightly expired tuna salad sandwich from the hotel vending machine, we're often far less cautious when we send the kids to go get ice down the hall.
Many hotel ice vending machines are not very clean at all, and the ice might be making us sick, as per Safe Bee.
The machine might not be cleaned regularly, and a lot of hands might be touching all that ice and spreading things like norovirus.
17 Billed On-Demand
In many hotels, the very first screen that pops up on the TV is an invitation for the guest to browse the movie menu—just looking at the on-demand movies is totally free.
Many guests get confused when navigating the movie menu and end up purchasing something they think is free because it doesn't require inputting any payment information.
Other guests are upset to find that even though they didn't watch, they're saddled with a billing error to work out, according to Trip Savvy.
16 Phoning It In
It's unlikely that hotels will get rid of landline phones inside the rooms anytime soon. Guests don't just use the landline to call out, but often call guest services for various requests.
Despite regular use, the telephone is more often than not passed up when the room is being cleaned, according to Time.
People touch the phone and also breathe into it, making the phone a germ hotspot. Unless a guest has brought some disinfecting wipes, they might want to just walk down to the front desk.
15 The Glass Is Half Empty
The two sparkling glass tumblers arranged neatly next to the sink in the bathroom look very clean when we arrive in our hotel room, but apparently, we've been very wrong about that, according to House Beautiful.
Surveys of multiple hotels found that it's far more common for those glasses not to get cleaned at all.
If they are cleaned, some hotel maids were found to be wiping them down with harsh chemicals or the same washcloths they then used on the sink counter, floor or toilet.
14 The Coffee-Pot Cringe
After a long drive or plane trip and a questionable night's sleep in a strange bed, cracking an eyelid and catching a glimpse of the mini coffee-pot on the counter might at first seem welcome, but researchers say not so fast, according to Travel + Leisure.
The water reservoir might be harboring some icky germs, and they are just not cleaned out nearly as often as we think they are—sometimes not for months at a time.
Experts advise either giving it a thorough cleaning or skipping the machine altogether.
13 Turned Down For What
Those of us who tend to stay at establishments with numbers or the word 'budget' in their name probably haven't encountered turndown service, but it involves a maid coming into the room to neatly fold back the bedcovers for the guest, and sometimes includes leaving a treat waiting on the pillow, as per RepresentAsia News.
Many guests are baffled by the emphasis hotels often place on turndown and would rather they skipped this little ritual and invested in other amenities instead.
12 A Charged Visit
We're often more attached to our smartphones these days than any other travel item, so when we forget to bring a charger—or have somehow broken or misplaced it—we often turn to the hotel to help us out. Guests might want to reconsider this, according to Kaspersky.
Some chargers don't deliver the power at the right speed for the phone, risking data loss or even causing the smartphone to work poorly.
Data leakage can also be a concern when plugging into USB ports, increasing the risk of identity theft.
11 Shower Cap Trap
People are very particular about their hair, as evidenced by the incredible variety of hairstyles we sport. Some folks wash their hair every day, while others avoid wetting their hair and use shower caps for this purpose.
If the shower cap doesn't come in a tearaway package, it might be best to skip it, as per The Travel.
While chances are remote, an unpackaged shower cap—or one folded into a box—could have been used before and might transfer unwanted insect guests to the hotel guest's scalp. Yuck!
10 Bedspread Blues
More than one investigation has found that travelers likely clean their bedspreads at home far more often than hotels launder their rooms' bedspreads; considering how many people stay in a given hotel room in a year, that's not good at all.
In some of the hotels investigated, the top bedspread was only required to be cleaned once every three months, and the spare blanket might be cleaned even less than that, as per Oyster.
Even upscale hotels might have a policy requiring laundering only if the cover didn't “look” clean.
9 Discount Site Deception
Most of us have had to travel on a budget at some point, so discount sites that promise bargain basement prices on the hotel rooms are more than enticing. However, experts are frantically warning customers to watch out—they might be getting ripped off, according to Elliott Advocacy.
Hotels might be trying to unload their worst or most inconvenient rooms on that discount travel site, and customers might not even be getting a good deal—often, a guest can get a better rate just by booking directly with the hotel.
8 Ice Bucket Challenged
It's not just the ice machine that could be harboring icky pathogens waiting to infect the unsuspecting guest; the ice bucket itself could be to blame for the traveler's next stomach ache, reveals The Sun.
Ice buckets aren't always washed in between guests at a hotel because most hotels don't have any standing policy for regularly washing them.
Hotel guests should definitely make use of that little plastic bag next time they're too thirsty to resist and decide to risk the ice machine.
7 The Mini-Fridge Mix-Up
Most travelers know that consuming items in the mini-fridge is going to rack up the room price, but the charges could be more insidious than that.
Even moving items around inside the fridge could trigger a sensor that charges the room, as per Smarter Travel.
Some guests don't want to spend the money on the mini-fridge items but want to make use of the cold fridge for their own drinks and food, but this could also result in both charges for moving the items plus a restocking fee.
6 The Bathrobe Blitz
Many hotels who want guests to feel pampered often provide bathrobes as an amenity with the room, but it might be a good idea to examine the fine print on the list of hotel fees and charges before putting on that robe.
Some hotels could charge an exorbitant fee to have the robe cleaned or replaced, as per WCPO Cincinnati.
Hotel guests should double-check the terms of the hotel room before lounging around in the plush bathrobe, especially while consuming beverages or messy room-service meals.