Rant about fancy hotels
I have just arrived in Cambridge, MA for a week of consulting for Microsoft Research. They paid for my flight and hotel room so they put me in a fancy $200/night hotel. In this post I will try to explain why in my opinion, in general, the fancier the hotel the worse it is.
I have nothing against hotels as a service. Hotels provide a traveler with a clean place to spend the night, and with basic necessities. Hotels are useful when traveling, or when you need a clean neutral place to have sex. However, fancy hotels do not seem to provide these well, and charge a lot of money to do so.
Compare, for example, the fancy hotel I’m staying at now with a cheap motel for $40/night. The motel included a microwave and fridge, free parking, free wifi, and a free “breakfast”, which, admittedly, is nothing to feast over. However, the fancy hotel includes none of those (or least without caveats galore).
Here is a comparison of the cheap motel and the fancy hotel. I am purposefully omitting hotel names, as this is common for many hotels and motels.
| Amenity | Cheap Motel | Fancy Hotel |
|---|---|---|
| Price per night | $51 | $211 |
| Parking | free, right outside room | $20/day |
| Internet Access | free WiFi | WiFi free with loyalty program, otherwise $10/day |
| Getting there | free airport shuttle | 15 minute walk from subway station |
| Breakfast | free coffee and popcorn | $21 for continental breakfast |
| Refrigerator | free in room, empty | only mini-bar |
| Microwave | free in room | not available |
| Location | right off highway | near center of town |
| Storage Space | lots of empty drawers, closet | one drawer, small closet |
| Bed | Queen size, comfy, extra pillows on demand | King size, very comfy, useless decorative pillows |
| Power outlets | Limited | Limited |
| Phone | One phone near bed | Three phones (one cordless) |
| Phone Costs | Free local calls | $1/local call |
| Bath/Shower | Included, with fancy showerhead | Included, with fancy showerhead |
Given the above comparison, why would anyone choose the fancy hotel over the cheap motel? I’m really curious. If you blog readers willingly stay at (and pay for) fancy hotels, why do you do so?