1. Book a room with A/C. They do exist in Europe.

2. Take along a $5 (or less) USB travel charger, a USB extension cable (if needed), and be MacGyver.

3. Ask for a full-sized fan. They should have some to use.

As noted above, good AC is a bit rarer in Europe than the US and you must pay to get the good stuff or provide your own. Good coffee is rarer in the US than Europe and a similar logic applies.

Housekeeping that have bed fully made up at check in with cover/duvet/etc but never bother to put them back on for the remainder of stay (in a state of constant turn down).

Speaking of turn down, what's with the 6pm turn down? We're not all early birds you know! How about a more realistic time of around 8pm when most people are out for dinner or out in town?

In Hiltons, specially in Europe, 6pm-8:30pm is usual time for free evening snacks and booze in Executive Lounge so it's quite natural to do evening services in that time.

This is a common annoyance in many hotels. That's why I usually bring extension power strip with me, something like this. Since I am from Europe, most of my devices have Euro-plug anyway but are capable to work from US 110 V as well; therefore - if necessary - I have to use only one EUR/US or EUR/UK power plug connector for the whole strip and can plug all things I need into extension strip. These strips are cheap enough to leave in hotel if on your way back your baggage weight becomes critical ;)

I have noticed recently in newer and refurbished hotels the number of power sockets in rooms in increasing - in fact, I have started to see USB charger sockets in some hotels. The problem really remains in older/cheaper properties where I often have to unplug the TV or bedside light in order to plug something in.

the presence of free, reliable wifi at every hampton inn in the US belies your logic.

If you think the customers aren't paying for that "free" wifi, I'm not sure what I could say to convince you that your "logic" is flawed.

There is no such thing as "Free" Wifi, because it WILL be factored into the price of the stay.

I'm always baffled by the people that think they get something for "free", they'll then be the first ones to complain when prices go up to reflect those "free" items. :confused:

Why is it free at the Hampton yet an extra charge at the Renaissance which is triple the price per night?

Because the Renaissance decided to charge triple the price and didn't factor the wifi into their price?

It is not "FREE" at the Hampton, the price you pay includes the Wifi and Hampton charges what they feel is fair for the price of the room+amenities provided.

There are any number of reasons why the Renaissance is 3x the cost of the hotel, but that's how the Free Market(no pun intended...) works, companies charge different for wildly different levels of services.

That doesn't make it "Free" or even close to free, because unless they have clueless owners I guarantee you they're calculating the cost of "Free" wifi into the overall cost of the room.

I have no issue paying for wifi because I'd rather not have to "pay" for it if I'm not using it.

At the end of the day if the hotel doesn't provide a value that people feel is worth paying for, people can vote with their wallet.

But again, I stand by the reality which is the people that complain about a lack of "Free" Wifi are the first ones to complain about price increases.

Do you REALLY think the Hamptons spent $0 to install and have a decent wifi connection without factoring it into their business model?

Oh dear, teacher dinged me on vocab. How about this then? Why is Wifi complimentary at Hampton Inn and not at Renaissance or any of the full service hotels?

The issue is this. Business travelers aren't always able to expense Wifi, so that keeps us trapped at Fairfields and Courtyards until we gain enough status. Don't you think the Marriott chain would have preferred all of my nights be in a FS Marriott rather than a Fairfield? It's just a stupid corp expense rule where I'm allowed to get an expensive room but not the $12.99 a night internet which then pushes me down to a cheaper room with complimentary internet.

Some of those budget hotels in Europe where the hallways are completely dark at night and only when you walk through the light comes on, or you have to find the switch on the wall somewhere to activate the light for a few seconds.

Annoying and dangerous, specially where those round stairs are involved.

Minimum lighting should be maintained at all times at night!

If it's a full service hotel wouldn't it stand to reason that it would provide wifi as a "complementary" service?

It sounds to me like it's something business travelers should take up with their businesses.

Tell me this, do you think that hotels don't factor wifi cost into the price of the rooms? Or do you not care about people that aren't getting their rooms comped by their businesses?

The hotels that want to offer "complementary" wifi will, the ones that don't won't. That doesn't mean hotels need to ALL offer complementary wifi. If the hotels want to price themselves out of business that's up to them.

"Complementary" wifi isn't free and in my opinion isn't complementary because at the end of the day it's ALWAYS factored into the price of a hotel room.

I agree with this, there is a reasonable line between no lights and a minimal lights that is still environmentally friendly.

I think there is simply kind of huge inertia in some hotel chains. For example, nowadays there are easily available (and affordable) LED light bulbs which can be used right instead of old bulbs, the same E27 "screw" connection. At my home I use two such bulbs to maintain light in the corridor. They give reasonable light despite "eating" only 5W power each and cost about 8 EUR at "Real" stores in Germany. No more necessity for sensors or timer-switches, just leave this light on overnight. Light quality is more than OK for a corridor ;) Overall much better than "economy" bulbs which contain Mercury and need long time to switch fully on. But I have yet to see any LED light e.g. in any Hilton family hotel.

Well, so is the provision of electricity, plumbing and TV to the rooms. It's part of the cost of providing rooms with the required services. These days WiFi should be considered a basic utility - and I'd rather have it than a cable TV service with loads of HD channels and a remote control that is impossible to use.