To take the body lotion and soap from a £250 a night hotel? They have asked for it back!!!

[mum2sons]

DH and I spent our wedding anniversary in a v expensive boutique hotel. I took the body lotion and soap home as I usually would do (sad, but I get v excited about these things!)Yesterday we received a letter from the hotel asking for us to send the 2 items back for the future enjoyment of guests!!! Talk about humiliation! Looking forward to MNetters views

is that the same hamster someone on here made a stew with?

that is the god's honest truth. mental health issues by the bucketload...

probably whould be more [sympathetic] than ...

I understood they were not in special containers but were the branded bottles?

AND I still thinks its crappy to write and ask for it back!

They could have just said, 'these items should not actually be removed from the hotel, however that aside we hope you enjoyed your stay and hope you will return soon.'

wouldn't that have been better?

send letter back "not known at this address"

oh i agree that it is disastrous customer relations. very poor. but i was more surprised at the responses than the OP iykwim?

I used to travel alot for business, and was fortunate enough to usually stay in 4 or 5 hotels. I would often take the sample size 'luxury' toiletries with me when I left.

'Shop size' bottles are another matter. But, must admit to once staying in one of the top hotels in Hong Kong for a few days. They had retail size Hermes bath products in the bathrooms. It never occurred to me not to take them with me - I assumed that the size was more generous, and products more luxurious because it was a top of the line hotel. I also assumed that the products would simply be thrown away if I left them as I couldn't imagine a 5* hotel 'combining' contents of toiletry bottles to 'refill' for the next guest.

Hotels are increasingly providing those large bottles, and I think it is fairly clear that they are not complimentary (sp?) with the room.

If they had been those large Molton Brown bottles, would you feel free to take those?

As has been mentioned, perhaps the hotel should put a little sign, saying that they are not to be taken - sadly, they probably thought that was unnecessary. I am sure they know differently now, particularly after receiving emails from non-guests on this matter .

I will probably get flamed for this, but £250 is NOT a vast amount for a smart boutique hotel these days, and just because it is considered expensive, does not entitle you to help yourself to things.

The website states that it is a small family run, independent hotel; that just makes the whole thing worse, to my mind.

I really am quite astounded by peoples reaction to this.

I would still be very interested to read the actual text of their original letter.

I completely agree lel. I can't believe that people have been emailing this hotel concerning something that has nothing to do with them.
It is very obvious that these types of dispensers are not meant to be taken. The presumption that everything is there for the taking is ridiculous.

Blimey, it's grapes and supermarkets all over again. When I used to have a Proper Job and do lots of travelling it seriously cut the amount of money I had to spend on toiletries. Never took large obviously refillable bottles though, unless there was a sign saying it was OK, only the miniatures.

lol edam. Whats the grapes and supermarkets thing?

Not flaming LEL, but I do think £250 a night is a lot - considering dp and I stayed at Malmaison in Manchester in an upgraded room for £120 b&b.

Infamous MN thread on the ethics of allowing your children to eat grapes as you traipse round the supermarket. Got very heated.

but malmaison is a very specific chain, to be fair. as i said, i recently interviewed ken mcculloch, who started the hotels, and he's all about the customer service at a medium budget. malmaison therefore is not a great example. (actually i don't even think it's that great a chain, tbh, but i liked ken).

Oh it's definitely not cheap, but it isn't something that makes me go . Places like 42 The Calls (in Leeds) are a similar size, I think, and have similar tariffs.

And actually, if you look at their rates , Strattons' rooms are actually around £150... even the suite is £225.

Oh right, well i wont give my views about that then. How about opening a multipack of crisps before paying for them?

My DH went MAD at me for drinking from a bottle of water in Waitrose the other day before paying for it (but I was gasping )

Maybe the hotel's biggest mistake here then was to overestimate its guests' usual experience - eg to me £100+ a night is a lot, £250 a night is incredibly serious money.

If they assume a certain level of savoir faire in their guests they assume wrong

oh i do that all the time, powder. sticking it to the man Gary Lineker...

really, ll? i often open things before paying for them, particularly for dd. but i always pay for them so therefore am happy to do it right under the noses of staff etc.

gosh i could never hope to stay in a hotel that cost 250

don't most people think that is a lot?

the hotel says the empty plastic refillable containers cost them 17.50 each and they rather recklessly leave 6 in each room

now i think they need to find a different supplier and probably get fixed ones

Yes, we (ie kids) open multipacks of crisps before paying for them - we (ditto) also eat chunks of bread - as long as the packet has the barcode on and the full price is paid, what's the prob?

This is a natural consequence of self-service in grocery shopping.

am pmsl at myself here, but i was looking at the prices and LL is right, the most expensive is a suite and £225. anyway, if you go to rater, then rooms, and then Stalls, you can quite clearly see the dispensers and they are made of glass and metal and to me it's abundantly apparent that they shouldn't be taken. at geekiness.

I think crisps is different from grapes, because you are paying a fixed price for the packets, whereas grapes are often weighed at the checkout...? But anyway, we digress (as usual!)

I think it is unfair that Strattons is being slammed as a "cheapskate £250 a night" hotel when they don't actually charge that...