The 6 hotel treats that make you happy

(At least May does)

Turin. A sparkling new hotel room (I am the very first guest to sleep here in room 122) a glass of cold white wine next to me, a box of salted nuts, an open MacBook and a steaming wifi.

That at a moment when I would normally be trying to load the dishwasher with pasta in my hair and three kids at my skirts makes me a pretty happy person.

On my way here I heard people whispering the words ‘museum’ and ‘exhibition’ to bridge the two hours between the daytime program and dinner but I ran to my room. Call me a culture barbarian, feel free, but a good hotel and a few hours for myself is hard to beat.

I once watched an entire morning Borgen in a hotel room in Venice. Even my beloved found that ridiculous but hey, I had to know if Birgitte Nyborg would overcome that cancer? And if it would work out between Kasper Juul and Katerine? And I was looking out over the Canal Grande? My windows were even open. Now that's contemporary culture soaking in. Both Danish and Italian. At the same time.

I danced in the suite of Le Bristol, compared scales with my dear colleague Renske in Le Meurice (the more expensive the hotel, the more favorable the scale reads, I know by now) and I have had so many mornings and evenings with room service breakfast and dinner that I've lost count. In another life, I will be a hotel manager. Or a pop star. As long as I can be in hotels a lot.

Do you want to be in my favor as a hotel? Then these things help immensely.

 Many power outlets

I don't know what it is, but in almost every room I go to I have to dismantle lamps to charge my phone. Because nowadays a person has to charge a laptop, camera, phone, and phone battery, at least four power outlets are basic. And preferably in somewhat convenient places. Thank you.

 Toilet paper in the right place

When we were renovating, my love always asked me to sit on the toilet and see from what height it would be easiest to grab the toilet paper. We have four toilets so every time I had to pull fake toilet paper from a bare wall again. I thought that was a bit much but every time I'm in a hotel and it costs me half a hernia to grab the paper, I think of my beloved. In gratitude.

One more point. It's really nice that the paper is folded so you know that your little behinds are the very first to touch the pot. But if the paper is stuck down, I find it a bit annoying again. That piece I then have to throw away and very often there is no trash can by the toilets in hotel rooms because there is already a trash can further in the bathroom. A hassle, in short.

 The same hangers

Nothing worse than all those self-folded laundry hangers in your closet where you have to hang your ‘good clothes’ and nothing nicer than a row of nice, matching hangers. Or hangers at all because in this lovely, new hotel room I think buying them is still on the To Do list.

 Soap and sisters

I just washed my hands and smelled the delicious scent of green tea. Aside from shower foam, a bar of soap, and body lotion, there was also a jar of hand cream. Bonus points.

 Things you always forget

Also so nice. Cotton pads, cotton swabs, a nail file, and a hair tie for when you go in the bath. I've never been in a hotel where there were OBs. I would find that brilliant too. You can never have enough of those...

 It doesn't get more luxurious

Entering your room and finding a handwritten welcome from the manager. A few chocolates and a bottle of prosecco, wine, or whatever in the ice. Before you go to sleep, a note with the temperature for tomorrow written on it, a turned down blanket, and a slipper. Really... Then I never want to leave.