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Oklahoma City, OK: I am lucky enough to stay in some of the finest hotels in the world. And sometimes I stay in some of the not-as-nice ones. But regardless, since I am the contact person for the group, I will occasionally get an amenity or two placed in my room prior to my arrival. (Thank you, generous hotel contacts.) It can be a variety of things: fruit, cheese, candy, wine. And while I have to say I am partial to the wine, I often wonder about guests that stay in rooms that happen to be sober or dealing with addiction issues. I would hate to think they would be triggered by an innocent and generous gift.
As much as I enjoy all of the aforementioned amenities (and understand they are not required, but definitely appreciated!), there are two simple ones that top the list.
#28: Gifts of water & chocolate from my hotel contact.
(Another 100 Little Pleasures of (Touring) Life)
Bottled water is expensive. And that's the one thing I need at the end of the night & first thing in the morning. Of course, I can always use my in-room coffee mug to fill up with tap water, but there's just something better about Fiji. Or at least that's what those advertisers have me believing.
And a couple of pieces of something sweet is generally what I crave after finishing a meal. (And by "generally," I mean "after every stinking meal.") I don't need to order the entire piece of cheesecake but a bite of a piece of chocolate found in the decorative box on my desk will do the trick perfectly.
That being said, like water for chocolate, I'm always happy to accept wine for cheeses.
