{"id":20734,"date":"2022-01-27T14:19:28","date_gmt":"2022-01-27T14:19:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/?p=20734"},"modified":"2022-09-30T18:29:37","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T17:29:37","slug":"luxury-hotel-experiences-we-love-to-hate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/luxury-hotel-experiences-we-love-to-hate\/","title":{"rendered":"Luxury hotel experiences we love to hate"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”20772″ img_size=”1800 x 900″ alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_empty_space height=”50px”][vc_column_text]Picture the scene. You wake up groggy from the long flight and wander down for breakfast and a much-needed coffee. Before you know what\u2019s happening, a waiter takes you outside. Awaiting you is a lovingly prepared \u2018Insta\u2019 perfect scene. Your juice, coffee and a now rubbery poached egg sit tantalisingly out of reach in the middle of the swimming pool. The staff are so enthusiastic you don\u2019t want to offend, so in you get. Several soggy pieces of toast later and shivering slightly, you extract your coffee from the pool and start thinking about lunch.\u00a0 Welcome to the luxury hotel experiences we love to hate.<\/p>\n

So here it is \u2013 our roundup of \u2018things hotels do more for the effect than the experience\u2019. Instagram\u2026 you\u2019ve got a lot to answer for.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50px”][vc_single_image image=”20738″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

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Floating breakfasts<\/h2>\n

An elaborate, expensive breakfast on a floating tray, served in the swimming pool. It must be the most impractical hotel experience of all time. Do you like apple bobbing? Well, so do we. At Halloween. But breakfast? No. Save your money and as you eat your breakfast tomorrow, put your hand in the sink and grab a croissant.<\/p>\n

Instagram influencers are responsible for this awful trend. Floating breakfasts look inspirational in pictures, so they\u2019re in demand, and now hotels think they\u2019re what people truly want. In reality, surely even the influencers can\u2019t even enjoy them? Do they actually eat breakfast in the pool? No, of course not. They take the photo and then remove it from the pool, probably dropping a bit of scrambled egg in the process. Let\u2019s keep our breakfast on a table on dry land from now on.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”15px”][vc_single_image image=”20763″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

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Awkward Destination Dining<\/h2>\n

Someone creative once decided to set up a table on a concrete plinth picturesquely positioned in front of a spectacular view. The awkward destination dining experience was born. It\u2019s usually a special dining experience in an unusual, remote location that is meant to be the most enjoyable night of your life. But you can\u2019t shake the feeling that you\u2019re being watched. The poor waiter has been stationed close by to make your experience special and is hovering just out of your eye line. The poor fellow is poised, ready to pounce. You slide the knife and fork anywhere close together and your plate is gone.<\/p>\n

The lighting is either too dark, so you have to use your phone torch to see your food, or so light you\u2019ve attracted more insects than an entomologist could shake a magnifying glass at.<\/p>\n

Oh, and the food is cold as it\u2019s come from the resort which is 10 minutes away. By boat. And the candle blew out in the wind. And the bottle of wine you want to order is back at the resort. And they\u2019ve put white things over your chairs, with a bow. And it was about $350 ++ per person.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve been warned.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”15px”][vc_single_image image=”20742″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Floral Bed Arrangements<\/h2>\n

\u201cAhhh how lovely, look they\u2019ve put a rose petal heart on our bed saying \u2018Just married\u2019, that\u2019s so romantic\u201d.
\n\u201cYeah ok, that\u2019s lovely but they\u2019ve spelt my name Tim instead of Tom and we\u2019ve been married 20 years\u201d.
\n\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d
\n\u201cWell I want to get into bed and I don\u2019t want to wake up with rose petal stuck to my face\u201d
\n\u201cYou can\u2019t move them! Someone has spent ages doing that\u201d.
\n\u201cWell what do you want me to do? How are we meant to get into bed?\u201d.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know?, Let\u2019s move them somewhere else, we don\u2019t want to be rude\u201d.
\n\u201cI\u2019m putting them in the bin.\u201d
\n\u201cNo, you\u2019re not.\u201d
\n\u201cI am\u201d.
\n\u201cHmmmmm\u201d.<\/p>\n

Happy honeymoon people.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”15px”][vc_single_image image=”20736″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Over the top lighting situations<\/h2>\n

Don\u2019t get us wrong. The more luxury the room, the better the lighting should be. It\u2019s all about the ambience. But seriously, do we need to control every single one? And come to that, where even are they all? There is always at least one switch you can\u2019t find? Is this a cruel trick played on us by hoteliers?<\/p>\n

Ah, it\u2019s hidden in the bedside drawer. Of course.<\/p>\n

The holy grail is the master switch. One switch to rule them all. Find it. It\u2019s your friend. Your enemy is the electronic device\/tablet beside your bed, which controls all the lightning. See if you can find the \u2018I\u2019m a bit tipsy after dinner and want some soft lighting\u2019 setting. (NB: no hotel actually has this setting. Shame.)[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”15px”][vc_single_image image=”20739″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Baths in the middle of the bedroom<\/h2>\n

What? No. Stop this immediately.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”15px”][vc_single_image image=”20761″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Pointless Plunge Pools<\/h2>\n

The floating breakfast of the mid-noughties. A few years back, when any hotel said \u201cclosed for renovations\u201d it was code for \u201cinstalling plunge pools\u201d. A gimmick that sounded nice but one that no one really needed in practice. Unheated and in the shade. Small. And a magnet for dead leaves and insects.<\/p>\n

Never get fooled into paying extra for a room with one of these. Luckily, you\u2019re more likely to come across a dreamy private infinity pool these days, but beware, the originals are still out there, and their bigger, bolder siblings are laughing at them.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”15px”][vc_separator color=”black” border_width=”3″][vc_empty_space height=”15px”][vc_column_text]Well, there you have it.<\/p>\n

With apologies to hoteliers everywhere. And people who love rose petals on their bed. We don\u2019t mean to be rude. Apart from the floating breakfasts. We\u2019re deadly serious about them. Stop it. PLEASE![\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”15px”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

FANCY A LUXURY HOLIDAY WITHOUT THE LUXURY HOTEL EXPERIENCES WE LOVE TO HATE?<\/h2>\n

If you are interested in discussing a luxury holiday to Asia then do give us a call on 0203 993 2566<\/a><\/span>\u00a0. Or you can browse our\u00a0holiday’s page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Alternatively, fill out an online enquiry form to\u00a0start your journey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ever had any luxury hotel experiences that didn’t live up to expectations? We hear you. Floating breakfasts have got a lot to answer for!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":20772,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1394,1344],"tags":[1356],"coauthors":[923],"class_list":["post-20734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-luxury-travel","category-the-etg-take-on-travel","tag-luxury-hotels"],"aioseo_notices":[],"views":4555,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20734"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.experiencetravelgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=20734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}