Image obtained from Flickr.com under Creative Commons (c) An Unreliable Witness

Listen, I’ve stayed in my fair share of hotels and hostels around the world. I’m no Michael Palin, but I have clocked up several hundred nights spent in various establishments over the years. These have ranged from dollar-a-night West African flophouses with concrete floors, no electricity and no running water to a couple of five-star places on last-minute deals.

Each with a story to tell, right?

True. I could tell you all about the place in Mali where I arrived in a malarial state after a long desert truck ride, head thumping and fever rising, only to find that while the hotel indeed was in the “light off, water off” category it had its own bonus concept. Upon opening the cardboard-thin door to my room I discovered that it was supplied with its own prostitute.

Wow. You know, a chocolate on the pillow always seems a bit over-the-top to me…

At the other end of the scale I could tell you all about arriving at a hotel which turned our to be rather classier than I thought with just a plastic bag for luggage; only to be greeted by a uniformed doorman with a hat, white gloves and a puzzled expression. But I digress…

Yes, I’m assuming that neither are examples of “small things hotels can do”?

No you fool. But these are: (more…)