# The toiletries war heats up at hotels



## rickycourtney (Dec 22, 2015)

USA Today: The toiletries war heats up at hotels

Hotels looking to outdo each other when it comes to providing bathroom toiletries.

And to think... Amtrak can't even provide me with a tube of Shampoo.


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## willem (Dec 22, 2015)

I was surprised to find shampoo in the shower on the Empire Builder last night.


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## Mystic River Dragon (Dec 22, 2015)

I love hotel toiletries--after I check that there is coffee in the room, it's the next thing I look at! I either use or take home the ones I like (Crowne Plaza has a lovely aromotherapy kit).

If I have room, I also take a few of the ones that aren't my favorites to put in a basket in the office that is taken to a battered women's shelter. So they all get put to good use!


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## HARHBG (Dec 22, 2015)

Guess previous passenger forgot it and Sleeping Car Attendant "forgot" to clean or even look at the inside of the shower.

I was "gifted" with a wash-cloth in the shower of my bedroom last time I rode the EB (Nov '15) that looked and smelled like it was used for "personal" wiping instead of toilet paper. Nice!


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## oregon pioneer (Dec 22, 2015)

On my east bound CZ last month, there was a whole basket of little tubes of "conditioning shampoo," in addition to the usual soap. On my west bound SWC, there was only the soap. Don't know if it's a case of which attendant got there first when it was available, or if they have it on some trains for an unknown reason. Doesn't matter to me, I prefer my personal (natural, unscented) toiletries and rarely use provided ones.


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## BCL (Dec 22, 2015)

I don't know. I've actually seen some pretty impressive stuff out there. Courtyard by Marriott started providing Paul Mitchell shampoo and conditioner. One time at a Hilton I saw Peter Thomas Roth, which is generally pretty pricey. However, they might have been packaged by some third party under license. Caesars (formerly Harrah's) seems to be supplied by some company called Gilchrist & Soames. I've stayed at a variety of their properties, and the toiletries have different labels depending on the brand name of the hotel - even names like Rio or Paris where they don't have multiple hotels with that name.

One of the more interesting things I remember was cotton balls at a hotel I stayed in after a company party. The party was at the hotel, so I figured it would be a good idea to sober up there. My kid went nuts playing with the cotton balls. Their toiletries were L'Occitane de Provence.

Once we stayed at a Four Seasons hotel in China, and my wife hasn't been the same since. However, they had toiletries from some Italian perfumer name Lorenzo Villoresi. It was perhaps the best service I've ever seen at a hotel. We arrived with our kid, and while we were checking in they gave my kid a stuffed panda toy with the Four Seasons logo on it. After we arrived in the room, housekeeping came by with children's toiletries, a kiddie cup, and toothbrush/toothpaste. And the cost (with breakfast) was less than a night in Manhattan.


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## KmH (Dec 23, 2015)

willem said:


> I was surprised to find shampoo in the shower on the Empire Builder last night.


It may have been provided at the expense of the Train Attendant - Sleeper.


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## fairviewroad (Dec 23, 2015)

As much as I'd like to pooh-pooh the obsession with tiny toiletries, they really do seem to go a long way in shaping perceptions. Just like the presence or absence of a breakfast helps influence hotel bookings. (even if the breakfast is about 75 cents worth of corn flakes and toast)

Amtrak would do well to restore toiletries for its sleeping car passengers.


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## rickycourtney (Dec 23, 2015)

fairviewroad said:


> As much as I'd like to pooh-pooh the obsession with tiny toiletries, they really do seem to go a long way in shaping perceptions. Just like the presence or absence of a breakfast helps influence hotel bookings. (even if the breakfast is about 75 cents worth of corn flakes and toast)
> 
> Amtrak would do well to restore toiletries for its sleeping car passengers.


Agreed completely. It's a small thing, but it's the details that count.

Passengers are paying sometimes hundreds of dollars per night for an upgrade to a sleeping accommodation on Amtrak, they are right to expect to receive basic bathroom amenities. This is stuff that even basic hotels (like a Days Inn) offers customers.

Amtrak is disappointing it's highest paying passengers for the sake of less than $5 a day (and $5 buys the really expensive stuff).


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## BCL (Dec 23, 2015)

rickycourtney said:


> Passengers are paying sometimes hundreds of dollars per night for an upgrade to a sleeping accommodation on Amtrak, they are right to expect to receive basic bathroom amenities. This is stuff that even basic hotels (like a Days Inn) offers customers.


Motel 6 only has soap, and that's pretty cheap at that. I have seen vending machines in the lobby selling everything from shampoo to OTC medications.

I tend to always bring my own toiletries anyways regardless of where I'm staying. Even at the occasional five star hotel I'll be using my own shampoo because it feels familiar.


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