Poll Results - Favorite Hotel Amenities

Posted by Jennifer W. Miner Jul 24, 2006

The polls are closed and the results are in! The July poll asked readers to think about what their favorite hotel amenities are, and the clear winner is free internet access (is it a coincidence that this column is found in a web magazine? On the Internet? Hmm).

My personal choice would be 24-hour room service, but really, more for "safety net" reasons than anything else. Tell you why: I've stayed at some lovely resorts with my family, and while I would be perfectly content with coffee and maybe a bowl of cereal first thing - in fact, that's all I really want - the rest of the gang gets excited about the room service menu and wants the whole shebang. We're talking French toast, omelettes, fresh-sqeezed orange juice, etc. Next thing you know, we're looking at a 40 dollar tab, and all I wanted was my cup of coffee! Spending as much on breakfast as I do to tank up my car just feels wrong. Let me amend that: almost as much as I do to tank up my car. Times (and gas prices) have changed, haven't they?

But then there's the safety net. Oh, yes, the safety net of room service! I remember once I spent a solid afternoon hiking amidst petroglyphs on Maui, and it was in the hot midland, not near the ocean. When the day ended, I was wiped out. We're talking, not even going to stand up to cross the room and get the remote control, wiped out. Fortunately, the phone was within arm's reach. Flash ahead one hour, and I'm in the middle of some of the best macadamia nut-encrusted chicken I've ever had. Now, if only someone would pass me that remote!