I think it would be stealing if you helped yourself to the bath towels or the fluffy robe or the throw pillows, but the soaps/shampoos in those tiny little bottles? Take them home and enjoy them! I consider those things to be a little nicety that the hotel provides, and your housekeeper clearly has no qualms about making sure you're taken care of. (Just be sure to tip her well!)

So sorry your DD is sick - that's no fun, especially in a place as beautiful as St. John! I hope she's feeling better soon, and that you're able to have a wonderful holiday.

{{!gwi}}

This post was edited by SunnyCottage on Wed, Feb 20, 13 at 13:36

Sorry - no idea why my post is indicating there's a photo/image. I did not post one, but the box with red 'x' appeared after I edited. Weird.

lol... i certainly don't consider that stealing! whatever toiletries the hotel places in your room/day is included in the room's cost! the extras that i bring home i keep in a basket in guest bedroom's bath and in the basement bath... and for awhile, i put the little bar soaps in some of our bushes to discourage the deer--- hotel soaps are often nice and scented, but small enough to 'bury' alittle more easily!

I've noticed some are made in China, so I always bring my own. I'll bring home what's left over if I love it.

This reminds me of my mother when she got old. She'd wrap up leftover rolls in a napkin at a restaurant and put them in her purse. It was sort of embarrassing, and I think she could afford to buy rolls.

>>>>She'd wrap up leftover rolls in a napkin at a restaurant and put them in her purse. It was sort of embarrassing, and I think she could afford to buy rolls.I went to dinner with a couple of older ladies just a few evenings ago, and they did this very thing. Wrapped up the leftover rolls and put them in their purses. I think it's that attitude of "waste not, want not" - and the rolls were really tasty. Anyway, the restaurant just throws out things like that (well, at least one would hope that they aren't recycled from table to table). Although it does seem to me like an "old person" thing to do. ;-)

I do not think it is stealing. You pay for those niceties with the price of the room. I "collect" them and give them to my dd. She lives in the city and donates them to a homeless shelter.

I take my own shampoo and conditioner in one...cheap stuff. And put the hotel stuff in my suitcase daily.

Sue, I think those are there for you to take. So sorry your little one is not feeling well. Hope she's over it quick!

tina

Sunny--forgot to say I'm sorry your dd is sick. Hope she feels better soon.

They are there to take, however I think you are supposed to be using them during your stay.
I bring my own supplies but at the end of my stay I like to take them home for guests.

I don't, but only because I generally never stay in a place fancy enough to have stuff I'd like better than my usual. Oh, and I definitely don't need MORE clutter which is what it would end up being for me!

But I certainly don't consider taking the toiletries to be stealing. They are put out for the customers' use.

The W hotels used to have Bliss products which I loved and I used to take those home.

Recently the Delta hotel I was in had Philosophy products and it was nice to use them while I was there.

I don't take any home anymore because I realized I would not use them after all.

It depends. If they are nice products, I take them. I used to travel for business and I got to have too many of them. I wonder if they can be put in another guests room after they have been in yours, even if you did not open them. I mean there could be some nefarious character out there who would put something nasty in a bottle and leave it looking untouched.

I know restaurants are supposed to toss any uneaten rolls, etc that have been on a table.

I'm in the industry, and NO WAY is that stealing for you to take them. Towels and robes, yeah. Toiletries, nope!

However some very picky hotels might have a problem with your room attendant giving you extras. (Many would not, because they want their guests to be happy.)

Do tip your housekeeper though ;-)

"I know restaurants are supposed to toss any uneaten rolls, etc that have been on a table."

There was a nasty rumor going around years ago that Chinese restaurants were recycling the leftover noodle chips. Very unappetizing!!

Ask at the front desk. I guess it could be true they are obligated to replace any unused toiletries since someone could tamper if they wanted or maybe not clear whether any had been used or not.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Wed, Feb 20, 13 at 20:44

Tampering, gosh something else to worry about.....

The last few places I've stayed had individual dispensers in the shower with sumptuous shampoo, conditioner and body wash, much nicer than those tiny bottles. With hair like mine, I need more than one of the conditioners anyway.

I generally bring my own toiletries for that reason, and I never take home the extra stuff. When DH and I were first seeing one another, he'd take the toilet tissue home. I was livid! His mother does the same thing-any paper products she'll heist-she's drawn the line at linens, but she once took a pillow she liked. Needless to say, I refuse to travel with her. But then, whenever she's in the hospital, she takes everything that isn't locked up-I can't tell you how many enmesis pans she's got.

I've cured DH of taking the TP, and he doesn't take the toiletries any more. I think if they offered L'occitane, I'd take it tho!

I travel a lot for work and I generally bring my own toiletries. But I always take the ones offered in the hotel. I bring them home, toss them in a small shopping bag and when it's full, I take it to one of the homeless shelters or other organizations that assist people in need. They are extremely grateful to have them!!

My grandmother was one of those ladies who filled her purse from the restaurant table -- sugar packets, little creamers, rolls, whatever wasn't tied down. I don't do that. Yet.

And I only take what I think I'll use. I'm not taking the shampoo here because I'm picky about shampoo. In the past, I've gone overboard and taken stuff I didn't use, and I did donate them to a women's shelter once they started accumulating in my linen closet.

My friend stayed at this resort last year so I texted her a pic of my stash of lotions and soaps and she said she did the same thing and is still using her mango lotion! LOL. So I'm not alone.

We stayed at a hotel in FL years ago and I fell in love with their scented products and at the time, I wasn't a hoarder and only brought home one little bottle of lotion. I was sorry later. Maybe that's where it all started....

Sorry to derail, but talking about hotel rooms, please be sure to wash your drinking glasses before using them. There was a news program with hidden cameras that showed maids either not cleaning them and just flipping them back over or wiping them with the same rags they used to clean the rest of the bathroom. Yuck!

I've taken some toiletries when traveling mostly to get the little bottles to use when traveling, but kimberly is right and homeless shelters are always in need of the small toiletry items.

SueB-
As a GUY, I feel kinda weird liking the L'Occitane stuff so much, but my forehead doesn't peel any more! I like the Lemon-Verbena soap, & use the "blue-dotted" lotion (can't remember the name).
I took all the LO stuff I could from our Maui room! I liked the notepads too. Took a few when walking by the hallway tables. Nice pens as well!
Alas...have had to buy my "supplies" at their dedicated store in the Mpls. MOA.

Saaaaayyy-
When are you going to one of the 4 FS in HI.?!?!??!
;-)

Faron

Annie--oh my..yuck. Thanks for the heads up.

" Took a few when walking by the hallway tables. Nice pens as well! "

lol. Faron!!

Annie, I also saw the program about the glasses in the hotel rooms...and wished I hadn't. Now, I always wonder how well the rooms really are cleaned between occupants and wonder about what incentives the housekeeping staff has for doing the job right when they are not being watched. Surely most rooms in a respectable hotel are clean, so I wish I hadn't seen what goes on when an employee doesn't really care or doesn't think they are being watched! I can't decide if ignorance is bliss in this case.

In response to sueb20's question though, I don't think it is stealing...and I hope your daughter is feeling better by now!

Speaking of glasses, has anyone else ever noticed waiters refilling water glasses? I shudder when they go table to table, picking them up by the rim. Some people just do not think! I would have hoped training were better. This even happens in very nice, fine restaurants! Be aware!

I don't think or expect hotel rooms are really clean or disinfected, as you would do yourself. They are on a schedule to get so many rooms done before next checkin. I think they just clean up.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Thu, Feb 21, 13 at 11:49

"Ask at the front desk. I guess it could be true they are obligated to replace any unused toiletries since someone could tamper if they wanted or maybe not clear whether any had been used or not."

Not the case -- The little bottles and bars are sealed, so it's easy to see if they've been used or not. If they've been opened, they're tossed - otherwise not.

On the glasses - sad but true... Don't let the little paper caps fool you. One way to tell is to look at the maids' carts as you walk past in the hallways. If there's a rack full of glasses, they've gone down to the kitchen and sterilized in the dishwasher. If the carts don't contain a rack of glasses, then the room attendants 'clean' them in the bathroom sink and dry them with a towel. (Which towel? Who knows...)

Tip the housekeepers ;-)

They work SO hard and are paid SO little. And few enough guests tip that the ones who do reap the benefits.

Faron, oh yes, I like the notepads and pens too! Gotta love writing the grocery list on the fancy hotel notepaper several months later.

Funny, DH also discovered the LO products at the 4S and is never without their Shea butter creme in winter now.

Hawaii is on the tentative plan for 2015 -- our 25th anniversary -- we'll be taking at least one of our three kids when we go, I think.

To all -- DD is feeling better now. She seems to have had a 24 hour thing, probably brought on by drinking out of those dirty hotel glasses. LOL.

And yes, we tip the housekeepers very well!

Here is a pic taken from our balcony -- that little dot in the water is DH, snorkeling. Today we swam around with some sea turtles!

SueB, what a timely thread as DH & I just came back from
a three day getaway @ Inn By The Sea in ME and they
have L'Occitane products in their rooms. DH packed them
away (shampoo,conditioner,shower gel, body lotion, &
lemon verbena soap) they were replenished again and he
packed them to take home. I send all the little bottles & soaps that he collects to the Amos House for the homeless.
I don't feel this is "stealing". I'm glad your daughter is better
and are having a great trip.

Hmm, I just went and looked at my stash of hotel toiletries that I know I never opened and they are not sealed. Aaack. Maybe someone else opened them!

I quit taking my own shampoo/contioner and have been using Hilton stuff every few weeks for the last 5 months. They work just fine and, as a regular traveler who refuses to pay luggage fees, I appreciate having a slightly lighter piece of luggage. Yes, I was juggling items to lessen my suitcase's weight by 8 oz last Monday evening. thank you, Hilton!

OK, are you ready to be really grossed out now?

The glasses in hotel rooms -- a newspaper article I read recently about the new book "Heads in Beds" (about the hotel industry) quoted the author as saying that to get glasses really clean, sparkling and spot-free, he's known hotels to use ... furniture polish!

(I am not making this up, but maybe the book's author is, just to get some "ink"?)

Oh yes, I am a toiletries thief. And pens and pads of paper.

All types of businesses give away pads and pens to advertise themselves, I think that is unquestionable.

My DH disagrees with me in re toiletries. I travel with my own preferred toiletries (travel tip, if you are really tight for space and it's a short trip, squeeze your products into a little ziploc snack bag, one for shampoo, one for conditioner, etc ... that'll keep your ounces under limit!). But I do collect hotel toiletries. I have some fabulous ones from over the years. I have a little wooden box of soaps from Le Toiny in St Barts, these things that remind me of medicine bottles from a BnB outside Barcelona, a bar of soap in a shiny emerald green plastic box that says "Hermes". I love these mementos.

One disappointment is that hotels used to have their names on the soaps and bottles. In the last few years, Four Seasons for example, has gone to a combo of milk soaps and verbena soaps, all from L'Occitane in most of their properties. Lucky them, I don't take those home anymore.

And I do draw the line at one set. I don't put them in my luggage to have the maid replenish to put them in again. I caught 9yo DD doing that ... apple doesn't fall very far from the tree.

At home, I use them for guests, and let the kids pick a favorite to use once in a while. Some of my stuff must be 15 years old by now (am thinking of a handmade soap from a Belizean spa). I guess they have become scalps of a sort. Same thing with the airline amenity kits. I love some of the bags they come in (BA used to give one cool b/w vintage photos). Oh and tote bags, too! They are all hard earned. When we moved I finally gave up several dozen amenity kits. They are actually very useful for shelters.