8 hacks to make your hotel stay more enjoyable

A lovely night in a hotel, with crisp white sheets and a widescreen television at the foot of the bed, a stocked minibar and one of those inviting lounges where you can drink cocktails: wow, that’s the real holiday feeling. Experienced travelers share these tips to make your hotel stay even more comfortable.

Having seen enough hotel-room horrors and heard creepy stories about filthy bedspreads and people boiling their underwear in the kettle, you’d rather book a slightly more expensive hotel so you know you can sleep in complete comfort. But even there, it can sometimes smell a little musty. Or the curtains don’t quite close all the way, so at the crack of dawn you already feel a spotlight on your face. That’s what these hotel hacks are for. People who regularly stay in hotels shared their tips, and we can benefit from them too.

Fresh scent

A hotel room can smell a little musty. Maybe the cleaning crew doesn’t clean the radiator very often. Or their vacuum cleaner doesn’t smell particularly fresh. No problem: you can clip an air freshener onto the heater or air-conditioning unit yourself. Yes, just one of those little things you normally clip onto your car’s air vent, and your hotel room will smell much better right away.

Watching a series

Dubbed programs, Dutch television shows on at the wrong time, or nothing but schlager festivals and political talk shows: that’s not what you’re waiting for. Connect your laptop or phone to the television in your hotel room with a cable, fire up Netflix (just check that you’re on the hotel’s Wi-Fi network), and you can carry on watching the series you were watching at home.

Close the curtains

Beautiful, thick curtains, but there’s just a small gap between them. And you notice it when you feel the sun on your face at six in the morning. A sunny holiday is great, but this isn’t a pleasant way to wake up. Take one of those trouser hangers with clips and use it to pinch the curtains closed. Problem solved!

Humidity

The dry air in a hotel can give you stinging eyes and an itchy nose. What can you do about it? Soak a small towel thoroughly and place it in front of the heater. The water will evaporate, and in a small hotel room that can provide just a little relief. Doesn’t that help? Eye drops are great too, especially when you’re flying.

Holiday laundry

Of course, you can use the hotel’s laundry service, but that can get expensive. Want to do a bit of washing in the sink? Place a piece of plastic, such as part of a plastic bag, over the drain and put some coins on top. That way, you create a plug in the sink and can fill it with soapy water to quickly wash your favorite T-shirt with a little shampoo.

Rock-hard butter

The mini packets of butter at a hotel breakfast buffet can sometimes be rock-hard. They’ve just come out of the refrigerator, of course. Place them on the toaster for a moment, and they’ll be spreadable by the time your toast pops up.

Clean fingers

Of course, the room has been cleaned, but you also know that the cleaning crew has a maximum of fifteen minutes to do it. That means the remote control isn’t wiped down every time. Hotel shower cap? Brought along a plastic bag? Put it around the remote control, and you won’t have to worry about those dirty buttons anymore.

Toothbrush cup

All those extra toiletries: great! A mini bar of soap, a small bottle of shampoo—the bathroom shelf is full of them. Only, there’s no glass to put your toothbrush in. Often it’s a plastic cup or a piece of cardboard, and it immediately tips over when you put your toothbrush in it. Time to get a little McGyver-like: turn the cup upside down, make a hole in the bottom and place your toothbrush in it. It’ll stand firm, all done!

Read also:

• 13 hotel fails that will have you in stitches
• Book now: gin hotel in London
• This hotel has a chocolate room with lickable wallpaper