THAT Hotel!

I AM a freak of details. Sometimes I show that to people, sometimes they find the horrible fact themselves. How unfortunate of them. Hahaha.

So when I tell you these things, you can decide your own way of looking at me. Based on perceptions, facts or even personal conclusions. Be it. It's just about a hotel, actually. Yep. A hotel.

Being a trainer, I get to realize one of my childhood dreams: traveling without paying the expenses. Thus, I get to stay in hotels which I probably cannot afford or will not choose had I paid the expenses myself.

There is this one hotel I stayed in while I was in Bandung. A small one, but it has its own perk of being located in a shopping center area. They do pay attention to details like no other hotels I have stayed.

As normal hotel has, this one also puts tall trays next to two of its elevators. A normal hotel would put sand or rough materials in them. This one? COFFEE BEANS. WHOLE coffee beans.

Next? The minibar! I get naughty sometimes when I just can't resist having a bar of choc or a can of cool refreshing orange juice. So what? I work late and it's too late to go out and leave the building, right? Besides, I am a girl. I have a reputation to keep. Hahahaha. I would take what they have in the fridge, and then buy a new one to replace them. In this hotel, all minibar items are STICKER-ized. I guess, this way, a guest cannot substitute the item (even though they are exactly the same in size, brand or flavor). They outsmarted me ONCE. Ugh!

And the magnetic card key slider on the wall which functions as a controller for electricity? It has another feature on it. I cannot change the card function with a thick paperboard this time. Besides, the electric part of the card also gives a sign to people outside the room that there is the occupant INSIDE. There is a specific light signaling that to the waiter, bellboy or anybody in front of the room. I mean, I have had baaaad experiences when a waiter rings a bell once or twice and I didn't hear it because I was in the shower and he decided to enter. Sureeee, there's that extra door ring that keeps someone from coming in even though he had opened the door. But it was open and he could peek. Eeeeeks! You see what I mean by little details which are actually crucial for the comfort of being private?

Good facilities, good choices in their breakfast buffets (they provide virgin olive oils AND balsamic vinegar), but I am afraid I can not say the same thing for the human resources. They don't seem to understand English. There are signs to participate in saving-the-water project. You put the green sign on the bed when you don't feel like you need a change of bedsheet. You put your towel on the shelf when you don't want fresh towel everyday. I did all because I really don't need a change of towel everyDAY or a change of bedsheet everyDAY, but the housekeeping staff still change them. It is as if they didn't understand the instruction. My fear is the ability to understand English. If this carries on, I am afraid the program won't be as effective as the initial intention.

Still, this fact hasn't changed the way I see the service that this hotel provides. Though I don't know if many would also appreciate (OR notice) this as much as I do, I hope that the hotel still maintains its detailed identity the next time I visit.