Etiquette with toiletries in a hotel

[Holidayornot]

AIBU to pocket them?

I've been lucky enough to stay somewhere pretty naice for last few days and they have fancy assed brand name full size toiletries. My husband says it's not on to pocket them every day but I think it is. What's the etiquette?

It's usually obvious if they don't want you to take them (there'll be a note attached or they'll be chained to the shower or something).

Yours sound fair game. Enjoy.

The Hotel du Vin encourage you to take the toiletries away - and they are full size, specially made for them by Arran Aromatics (gorgeous).

I also stayed in a hotel in London (Montcalm?) where the Acqua di Parma toiletries could be taken "to remind you of your stay". They weren't giant sizes but larger than hotel size.

For me it would hinge on whether they are refillable or not. if they are refillable containers they will be larger than retail size.

Wasn't there a great thread once about someone who'd taken a full sized bottle of bath lotion or whatever then got billed for it?

I'd assumed that small toiletries and disposable slippers were yours for the taking and I do like to be reminded of a nice holiday when I'm at the gym using the handily transportable sizes of body lotion. I rarely take the shampoo as usually comes with no conditioner and is of poor quality.

I've had to stop DH from uplifting the wee sachets of tea and coffee that you get - we never use them and now have a full drawer of them slowly rotting away.

I read an article where they were talking about theft from hotels by nations and they didn't include toiletries, but did include stationary:
www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/hotels/11646110/Revealed-the-nationality-most-likely-to-steal-from-hotels.html

They're there for you to use. Sure take them.

I think it is reasonable to take them at the end of your stay but not a full size bottle every day. That just looks cheap and skanky IMO

These aren't in a posh container and they've been replenished every day we've been here.
I genuinely thought it was a perk of a fancy place that you got to take the toiletries.
I've gone down to sort out bill for extras (paid room in advance) and nothing said about toiletries.
Am I really being unreasonable?
If it matter, they're charging a pretty penny.

I dont think your being unreasonable to take them but by taking them every day you're showing you're not used to being in a hotel like the one you're in now. You're kind of letting yourself down. You're supposed to give the impression that you're used to hotels and a standard of living like it.

I think people are being a bit mean.

Hotels should state what their policies are, not leave customers guessing based on the size of the bottle. Getting a little treat to take home is for some of us part of the excitement of a hotel stay and whilst bigger bottles are more environmentally friendly, the hotels are doing it because it's cheaper for them not for any other reason.

why dont you ask?

"Decent-sized excellent toiletries are an Hotel du Vin trademark, and guests are encouraged to take them away"

www.libertylondongirl.com/2013/03/27/llg-hotel-reviews-the-hotel-du-vin-birmingham/

"You're supposed to give the impression that you're used to hotels and a standard of living like it."

why? who cares?

Who am I supposed to be giving that impression to? That isn't really a concern of mine.
I just wondered if it was acceptable to take them in the same way I drink the water and eat the biscuit.
I am who I am. I'm not trying to be anyone else.

Cross post

by taking them every day you're showing you're not used to being in a hotel like the one you're in now. You're kind of letting yourself down. You're supposed to give the impression that you're used to hotels and a standard of living like it.

What a load of crap

Im only repeating what I was once told but I can see my post didn't appear quite as tongue in cheek as I thought it did.

I would only take the mini ones if they were opened and I had been using them. No need to take unopened ones

It was Strattons Hotel in Norfolk who sent a bill to an MNer who removed refillable toiletry bottles. Think the bill was massive, like £100. She posted them back iirc.

Rookie I hope you're joking that's such a snobby thing to say

Sorry sansoora not rookie

Mini ones ok - you could have used all the stuff by now if super clean anyway so no real loss to the hotel.

I always used to take home the opened (and sometimes other )mini bottles .Wouldnt have taken full sized though .Then I found I had a huge collection taking up space (not very Kondo or whatever her name is ). . Donated to friend with holiday home abroad, as she provides them to guests who tend to travel with hand luggage.Don't bother now unless they are really nice
I find more and more hotels going over to refillable containers attached to the walls (even the posh ones) .Must be quite expensive to replace the minis . Unless manufacturers given them to hotels so you get 'hooked ' on them?

They are about £3 each retail uk.loccitane.com/6-piece-travel-essentials,83,1,29790,843063.htm

Lol you're better than me. I took the ones given to me, and then took nore from the cleaners trolley too (with their blessing). Friends got alot of L'occitane for Christmas that year!

Branded items get given to posh hotels on the basis that their customers will keep buying them. It's true to an extent - stayed somewhere recently that gave away Molton toiletries (almost full size) and am now hooked.

The famous thread
Shows how long I've been wasting time on MN!

"Branded items get given to posh hotels on the basis that their customers will keep buying them"

You must be joking.

"UK company Molton Brown, which produces high-quality skin and beauty products, has made great progress in the market for personalised amenities since it launched a dedicated hotel, travel and leisure division in the early 1990s.

"We’ve continued as we began, with a hand-picked group of the finest hotels around the world," says the company’s marketing and media manager. "The sector is surging in importance. As well as being a revenue stream, many of our long-standing customers first experienced Molton Brown in a luxury hotel.""

Gosh - I didn't join until 2009 and yet I remember that thread.