Originally Posted by emma69

I really like not having to repeat myself! My best hotel stay experiences (all over the world, including SE Asia) are the ones where they listen and take notes. For example, at one Asian hotel recently, I mentioned at my first meal at the hotel to the waiter that I am vegetarian. From that moment on (at every food service point in the hotel) it was known that I was vegetarian, so when I sat down the waiter would bring me the menu, point out the items that were suitable for me, and on several occasions, the chef would offer to make me something not on the menu. On other occasions, if I ask for additional towels on my first night, don't make me re-request them each day (know that if I asked for 4 the first day, keeping 4 stocked for the duration is what I would like). The same thing applies to my non verbal requests - if I have clearly moved something in the room (say, moved the waste paper bin to the desk area rather than by the TV) assume that I did it because that is where I needed it, not make me move it back every day. I also got driven insane by a maid who insisted on unplugging my chargers from beside the bed, and putting them over at the desk area. WHY??????

I would say the single best thing a hotel can do though, is to empower the individual staff members to help guests. The most genuine experiences I have had are when a single staff member has done something additional for me - last month, when I was sick, the F&B manager of a hotel sent up a tray with a flask of hot water, honey, lemon and ginger. No charge on my bill for his caring gesture. On other occasions, I remarked upon something (say the fragrance of the massage oil during a spa treatment) and returned to my room later to find a small vial of bath oil in the same fragrance for me to use that evening. These things stick in my mind far more than the grand gestures - a small remark, or noticing that I had a second helping of a macaron at afternoon tea (and a small saucer of macarons being left at turndown) are what really marks out a property as 'something special'.