TravelBuzz! - Bottled Water in Hotel Rooms

Do you open those bottles of water that they conveniently leave in the room for you?

I just stayed at the Aladdin, and they had a bottle of water with the bargain price of $4.95 :eek:

Forget that, every time I travel I find a Walgreen's or a convenience store and stock up on a few six packs of water.

At the Aladdin I just had to go the the ABC store they have at their mall and bought some liter bottles for $0.99, a better bargain ;)

Do you buy the in room bottled water?

No way. It's WAY overpriced. Even the vending machines are cheaper, although I always look for a store where I can buy it for less.

No but will happily use complimentary bottled water.

If free yes, if not then I usually go to the corner store to pick up some water, beer, coke, snacks, ect. If no corner store availible I'll just got to the vendor.

Do you buy the in room bottled water?I never buy bottled water because there is no need for me to do so.

Between the free bottles of water which I receive as a Hilton HHonors Diamond member and the free bottles of water which I receive as a Delta Air Lines passenger, I never need to buy any bottled water.

Additionally, most customers that I visit have a water cooler. When my bottle is empty, they usually generously extend the offer that I may refill the bottle as necessary.

I tend to shlep my own bottled water; about 6 bottles in carry-on. Love it, when I walk into a hotel room and find complimentary water. Just means I guzzle a bit more water.

Those bottles of water are meant for emergency situations only. For example, you just drank 8 martinis at the bar across the street from the hotel.... and then 2 more at the hotel bar.

That is when those bottles are a godsend, $4.95 or not.

Those bottles of water are meant for emergency situations only. For example, you just drank 8 martinis at the bar across the street from the hotel.... and then 2 more at the hotel bar.

That is when those bottles are a godsend, $4.95 or not.
Would you mind clarifying? I have no idea what you are talking about. BTW, welcome to FT.

Not usually. However, I seem to remember hearing about someone who, thinking they were free, drank from one, then saw the price tag on one of the other bottles. He stopped by a store the next time he was out to replace the bottle he had consumed.

I really get frustrated when they put good spring water in the room at outrageous prices but only sell the bottled tap water (Desani or Aquafina) in the machines and hotel store.

Same as jfe - Walgreens is my friend. In Vegas, those small convenience stores between Alladin and MGM Grand are also perfect to fill up (landmarked by the dudes slapping their porn flyers on their wrists to make them look valuable)

Would you mind clarifying? I have no idea what you are talking about. BTW, welcome to FT.

I'd assume to cure severe dehydration (and a hangover) :confused:

If you use the Spa at the Alladin, water and juice bottles are free.

When I leave and airplane or hotel, I generally put a small bottle of water in my pocket or bag on the way out.

Who drinks water? I just find the local 24 hour convenience store, pick up a 6 or 12 pack of my favorite beer and drink that instead!

Beats overpriced water any day of the week! ;)

Only the complimentary kind. I've yet to see any hotel charge a "reasonable" rate for bottled water.

Last July when I stayed there it was a big $7.0.

A fellow FTer and I just had a huge awesome suite in New York. The maid comes in for turndown and brings bottled water. My FT friend found it pretty funny that we had this big suite and I'm asking the maid if there's a charge for the water. :o It's become almost automatic for me to expect some outrageous water charge though. I saw Voss in one of my hotel rooms for $12 for the small bottle. I can tote my own, thanks.

Does anybody not drink tap water anymore? This bottled water thing has gotten out of hand...

Here is an interesting article:

...bottled water sold in the United States is not necessarily cleaner or safer than most tap water, according to a four-year scientific study recently made public by NRDC.

NRDC's study included testing of more than 1,000 bottles of 103 brands of bottled water. While most of the tested waters were found to be of high quality, some brands were contaminated: about one-third of the waters tested contained levels of contamination -- including synthetic organic chemicals, bacteria, and arsenic -- in at least one sample that exceeded allowable limits under either state or bottled water industry standards or guidelines.

(Later in the article, it goes on to say:) In fact, about one-fourth of bottled water is actually bottled tap water, according to government and industry estimates (some estimates go as high as 40 percent). And FDA rules allow bottlers to call their product "spring water" even though it may be brought to the surface using a pumped well, and it may be treated with chemicals.

more, see: http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/nbw.asp

No I don't.

Does anybody not drink tap water anymore? This bottled water thing has gotten out of hand...The bottle makes it convenient to carry the water anywhere and everywhere.

By the way, if I had it my way, I would drink good old New York City tap water anytime over any other tap or bottled water. That is by far my favorite water in the universe!

The bottle makes it convenient to carry the water anywhere and everywhere.

By the way, if I had it my way, I would drink good old New York City tap water anytime over any other tap or bottled water. That is by far my favorite water in the universe!

You know it! That's why nobody outside of NYC can really make a bagel as it should be.

But you know of course that Chicago year in, year out (since the 50's) is consistently ranked number one in the world for large city drinking water. :D

True, but we know how voting works in that town ;)

Tap water is fine with me. Though some cities consistently have bad tap water (e.g. Vegas).

If I want a bottle to go, I certainly won't take the $5 bottle from the hotel room.

Does anybody not drink tap water anymore? This bottled water thing has gotten out of hand...


^ ^ Anyone who wanted to write an anthology of 20th century marketing would do well to name it "Bottled Water."

Though some cities consistently have bad tap water (e.g. Vegas).

You should try water from Parral, Chunky style ;)

Would you mind clarifying? I have no idea what you are talking about. BTW, welcome to FT.

Try drinking 10 martinis and going to bed without drinking a least half a liter of water before you go to bed. I assure you that you'll find the experience most instructive :D

Definitely not. I usually stop at a convenient store or drugstore or gas station to stock up on a few bottles of water before checking in at the hotel. If there are comped bottles of water in the room, then that's a bonus. And agree with some of the other posters that there are some cities where the tap water is just nasty.

Who drinks water? I just find the local 24 hour convenience store, pick up a 6 or 12 pack of my favorite beer and drink that instead!

Beats overpriced water any day of the week!

Perhaps when you get kidney stones you might think otherwise.

We drink the bottled water in hotel rooms if it's out on the bureau and is free. We were staying at the Albergo Cesari in Rome last August and it was hot so that bottled water sitting out on the bureau was tempting. But with it was a card stating that only the first bottle of the guest's stay was free. Bizarre? The remainder of the week we "had" to look at the bottle everyday and ignore it. This is a medium priced hotel. Perhaps they assume that the first night you are there you haven't had time to go out and buy your own. In that case, it's a thoughtful gesture. But it left us with a rather sour [and dry] taste in our mouths.

Staples is selling 1/2 liter bottles of water for 18cents a bottle. I'm sure that a large chain like Starwood or Hilton or Marriott gets it even cheaper. It is just plain old good marketing to give this to their customers at a really low expense.

(Here is the link to Staples: http://www.staples.com/products/SpotLights/050220/383829/default.asp )

Staples is selling 1/2 liter bottles of water for 18cents a bottle.There is a catch in the fine print:

This is a case of powdered water, to which one must add water...

I have to admit that I've drank the water, soda etc from the mini-bars and then went to the store to replace what I used before I leave. I can't stomach the outrageous prices they charge.

Does anybody not drink tap water anymore? This bottled water thing has gotten out of hand...

Here is an interesting article:

...bottled water sold in the United States is not necessarily cleaner or safer than most tap water, according to a four-year scientific study recently made public by NRDC.

NRDC's study included testing of more than 1,000 bottles of 103 brands of bottled water. While most of the tested waters were found to be of high quality, some brands were contaminated: about one-third of the waters tested contained levels of contamination -- including synthetic organic chemicals, bacteria, and arsenic -- in at least one sample that exceeded allowable limits under either state or bottled water industry standards or guidelines.

(Later in the article, it goes on to say:) In fact, about one-fourth of bottled water is actually bottled tap water, according to government and industry estimates (some estimates go as high as 40 percent). And FDA rules allow bottlers to call their product "spring water" even though it may be brought to the surface using a pumped well, and it may be treated with chemicals.

more, see: http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/nbw.asp

I don't totally trust any water but after this incident where I live in southern CA I'll take bottled.

The legal limits of a toxic substance had been exceeded in the local water when they did testing. It was decided that actually supplying safe, clean water was too expensive so they changed the legal "safe" limits of the chemical to be an amount higher than what was found. Wa La! The water is now "safe" to drink. Government in action! :rolleyes:

I'll admit I'm a tap water guy. Doesn't matter where. Well, maybe the PI, but you get the idea. I don't check my feces for fiber and I don't give a rat's rear end about the whales. I was born with a finite number of heartbeats and when they're gone I'll be dead. Not going to spend any time worrying about it.
Pass the fried pork skins...