Scifience

Perhaps one of my biggest pet peeves with hotels is moldy shower curtains but otherwise acceptably clean rooms.

Right now, I am sitting at a Starwood hotel in Pittsburgh (the Four Points off the turnpike in Cranberry, if anyone cares) that fits this description. A nice room (at least for this type of hotel) with a clean, fairly new-looking carpet, a shower/bathtub with grout that isn't moldy, etc. Overall very nice. Until you look at the shower curtain.

The bottom of this thing is covered in little round clumps of black mold. It makes the idea of using the otherwise clean shower seem quite gross. To me, this is the type of thing that one should expect to find at some random motel off of the interstate, not a Marriott, Starwood, or Hilton property.

This problem seems to come up quite often with vinyl shower curtains, but this is only the second time I've seen it at a hotel using a cloth curtain.

Just in case anyone is curious, I've uploaded a (rather bad quality camera phone) picture of what I'm talking about:

Does anyone else find this upsetting? Should I be complaining, or is this just something that needs to be accepted as a fact of life?

wharvey

I can accept a lot of things wrong with a room, but mold would not be one of them.

I would demand a new room... there is no reason for you to have to stay in a room with mold.

At some leve, that is just unsafe and unhealthy.

William

Scifience

Unfortunately, if I asked for a new room each time I came across a moldy shower curtain, I'd end up having to ask for quite a few new rooms as a result of this issue over a year.

For the curious, I've uploaded a picture of the mold on the shower curtain in my room now: http://www.scifience.net/personal/fpmars_shower.jpg

Punki

Just ask for a new shower curtain. That's easy.

Frank the Frowner

(self-deleted)

ernestb

MOLD warrants a call to the front desk, at the very least a room change and the two times that this has happened to me I was moved into a suite and my meals were comped.

jk2317

First, I agree that you shouldn't have that in your room. Someone should do something (replace the stupid curtain!) about it.

But... seriously, a health hazard? Those of you THAT worried need to get a bubble and live in it.

aSiAnRiCk

I guess I'm not anal about that type of stuff. Just be sure to wash your hands afterward.

But that's probably because I stay at the Holiday Inns

oldpenny16

I've called and gotten a new shower curtain a couple times. It's a housekeeping issue and often the housekeepers don't care or are too busy to do anything about it.

jerry_pham

This isn't about shower curtains, but is kinda related. When I went to Saigon three years ago, our flight to Hong Kong had some kind of mechanical failure and we had to return to the airport. We had to wait a long time until they cancelled the flight and put everyone on the flight in hotels.

We went to the Amara hotel and it was dang nice. Probably one of the nicest I've ever stayed in. I even got a whole room to myself so I didn't have to put up with my parents. When it came time to take a shower, I turned the knob and BROWN water came out. It was seriously this rusty brown color and I freaked out. I let it run for about a minute until it turned the color water is supposed to be: clear.

That little event unsettled me a little bit, but there was a really good breakfast in lobby the next morning and I remember watching a really good movie on TV. I don't remember what it was... but I remember it being really good.