10 Hotel Essentials To Guarantee Better Stays!

Hotels are convenient, but sometimes it seems like they aren’t designed for actual people to use! There are a few things I’ve noticed over my countless stays at hotels that aren’t practical but for the most part have a very easy fix to them. So here are a few hotel essentials that make my hotel stays even better.

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Annoying Hotel Things & Hotel Essentials That Fix Them

These are just a few of the annoying things I’ve noticed in hotel rooms over the years and some smart things to bring to a hotel to fix them.

1. The Unnecessary Gap Under Your Door

More often than not, there is a slight gap underneath your hotel room door and the floor. I’m not sure if there’s a reason for this, but I do know that it’s a huge sleep disruptor.

This gap completely lets in all the noise and light from the hallway. So you can hear the elevator, and people walking by.

How to fix this? There are two things to do to fix the disturbance from the gap under the noise. First, I’ve asked for extra towels to place at the foot of the door to block out the light and muffle any noise from the hallway. Second, I also started packing a portable white noise machine. This way, however bad the soundproofing is in the hotel room, I can always sleep easy!

a vertical photo showing a 3 inch between the door and the floor, it allows light and noise into the hotel room.

There's a towel on the floor covering the gap that would have been under the door.

Double Occupancy Rooms Built For One

I’m often traveling with my husband, and we’ve booked every room type imaginable based on availability and prices, from two double beds, to a Queen room to King room. Each of these room types are meant for multiple occupancy, yet for some reason, besides for the number of beds, and towels they give you, everything else is meant for one person…

2. Only One Suitcase Rest

It’s very nice that hotels offer a suitcase stand, but always only one, regardless of the room size. So one of us can raise our suitcase higher off the floor and the other is left to constantly bend down.

How to fix this? Sometimes there’s another large surface, like a desk or dresser that I put my second suitcase on. P.S. In the market for a new suitcase? Read about why I always choose Travelpro suitcases!

two suitcases are in front of a door in a hotel room. On is vertical on the floor, with no place to go. The second one is on a luggage holder, perfectly place and out of the way.

5. Only One Towel Hook

Hotel rooms often give you multiple towels, enough for two per person in a double occupancy room. But they will often only provide one place to hang all these towels. This wasn’t always an issue because they would replace your towels everyday.

But now it’s becoming more common (and definitely more eco-friendly) to reuse your towels. The problem is that they haven’t adapted their rooms for you to keep your towels from day to day. The only place they provide you to place your used towel is on the floor.

Hotel essential to fix this: I’ve started actually bringing my own reusable hooks (and I use them for more than just hotel towels… but more on that design flaw in a bit!).

4. Bed Side Table on Only One Side

I’ve stayed in rooms where there is a bedside table on only one side of the bed… It’s always nice to have your own bedside table (and light). Both my partner and I always have things to put on the bedside table right before closing the light and going to bed. Whether it’s our phones, book, white noise machine… etc. You always need a place next to the bed, that isn’t the floor.

How to fix this: Thankfully, this problem is more rare so I haven’t encountered it too many times. When it does happen, I tend to move some furniture around. Sometimes there’s a mini table, or even a chair that I can move next to the bed. Otherwise, unfortunately, my things end up on the floor for the night.

two double beds are side by side on the same wall. There's one bedside table between the two of them with two lights above. The beds are nicely made with white linens, but to add colour to the room and photo, the headboards are teal.

Choosing Design Over Practicality For Hotel Stays

Why does it feel like most hotel rooms are designed for looks over actual practicality? My biggest pet peeve is walking in to a hotel room and it’s as though no one ever tested the room for actual usability. It’s like the designers didn’t realize people have to use the space they designed.

Here are some smart things to bring to a hotel to make your stay a bit more practical in case the room isn’t!

5. No Hooks On the Walls

Most hotel rooms will give you a solitary hook on the back of the bathroom door (if even!). This is enough for one person to hang a single bath towel… but what happens if more than one person is using the room? Or if you go to the pool? It’s always nice to have somewhere to hang a few towels, and especially your wet bathing suit.

On top of extra bathroom hooks, it’s also nice to have some place to easily hang your jacket next to the door if you’re traveling to a cold or rainy climate. Most hotel rooms will have a closet with hangers, but I never like hiding my belongings in a closet where I can easily forget them.

I wish hotels would provide easy to see hooks on the walls throughout the room, and have multiple in the bathroom. This makes it so useful for purses, jackets, and more! I would even hang my travel laundry bag for easy access!

What to pack for a hotel stay to fix this? As I mentioned, I now pack my own reusable wall hooks. These suction on to everything from tile to glass and even paint (although I have accidentally ripped off some paint when removing them so always be careful). I use them for everything from hanging wet bathing suits in the shower to my purse or jacket next to the door.

three colourful bathing suit pieces sit on the solid white floor of the shower. The glass wall is still dripping with water, and the bathing suits look wet.

Three bathing suit pieces are nicely hung on two removable hooks that have been attached the the tiled shower wall.

6. The TV Location Where No One Can See It

I love going to hotels and watching TV in bed, it’s something special that I can’t do at home. But I hate when the TV is facing a wall… sometimes there isn’t even a couch in front of it. How do they except people to watch this TV?

Other times you can tilt the TV enough so that you can still see it from the bed (or couch), but why can’t they just always place it directly across from the bed for the most convenience.

Unfortunately, there’s no real way of fixing this without completely moving heavy furniture or the TV!

a wall unit holds a TV, but it faces the bed at the wrong angle. The bed is facing another wall so that it isn't looking at the TV from the head of the bed.

7. The Inconvenient Bathroom Designs

Hotel bathroom designs should have their own post about how badly they’re designed.

Like I mentioned, there’s often only one place to hang your bath towel, even in double occupancy rooms. But the zero hooks are made even worse when there’s also a lack of counter space in the bathroom.

This gives you no space for your toiletries. And even if you don’t have a lot of toiletries, you always need space for at least a tooth brush on the counter.

Hotel Essentials to fix this: This can be somewhat counteracted with a removable wall hook and a hanging toiletry bag on my hotel packing list. At least this way I’ll always have space for my toiletries, no matter the counter space.

a top down view of a large white sink with very little counter space next to it. There's just enough space for the travellers to fit two toothbrushes, a bag of liquids, deodorant, soap, and a makeup bag.

8. Lights at Night (or Lack Of!)

There’s nothing worse than turning off all the lights just to have one (or two) coloured lights from something in the room. I’ve had lights from the TV, A/C unit or thermostat, to the radio or the phone on your bedside table. Or some light is shining through the blinds from outside, or as I mentioned, from the hallway.

I can often fall asleep with some sort of light, but these are often right in your face and an odd colour, like red or green that I just find distracting. Sometimes you can cover these annoying lights with a towel or even some extra clothes you have – but not always. They can often be in hard to reach places, like the ceiling or on the wall even.

On the other hand, I do appreciate when there is some light in the bathroom to light your way for midnight visits. Midnight bathroom visits aren’t uncommon, and they can be very disruptive if you’re sharing a room. There should always be some sort of night light in the bathroom to avoid blinding yourself, and waking up your roommate.

How to fix this: As I said, for those annoying electronic lights, you can often take a piece of your clothing and cover it, if it’s on a flat surface. If it’s on the ceiling, like a fire alarm, it can be a bit harder to cover. In that case, always pack an eye mask to cover your eyes. An eye mask also helps if you are sharing a room to not be woken up by their bathroom light. You can also add a plug in night light to your hotel packing list to avoid turning on the light at all!

A hotel room in Kyoto, a large bed sits under a window in the middle of the room. On the adjacent wall is a built in cabinet with open shelves offering different hotel amenities. On the top is a TV directly facing the side of the bed.

9. No Full Length Mirror

I’m not one to be fully in to their looks on vacation, but I still appreciate looking put together and seeing what I look like for the day before heading out. I love when a hotel room has a full length mirror for this purpose. And there’s usually always enough wall space that every hotel room can have one.

Plus a second mirror in the hotel room (outside the bathroom) is just very useful to have, especially if you’re staying with someone else in the room. This way, even when the bathroom is occupied, you can still get ready for the day – whether that’s seeing how you look, to putting on makeup, creams, or sunscreen.

Unfortunately, there isn’t really a solution to this until the hotel decides to install one. You can’t exactly travel with a full length mirror in your suitcase!

a modern japanese style hotel room with a bed on the floor on top of tatami floors. There's a zen painted fish on the wall behind the bed. There are pyjamas on the bed, blue and pink ones. there's a large window on the right and a tv on the wall on the left. The room is very small, just enough to fit the bed.

10. Bad Toilet Paper

I think my biggest pet peeve of all is the low quality toilet paper that is provided at hotels, and not just budget friendly hotels either. I’ve stayed at Fairmont hotels, which can charge up to $1000 / night and they still provide sand paper for toilet paper…

The better toilet paper isn’t even that more expensive, and people will probably even have to use less of it at a time.

Smart things to bring to a hotel: There are two ways to fix this problem. If I have space in my luggage, I will add toilet paper to my hotel packing list. Otherwise, if I don’t have enough space for an entire roll, I’ve also packed flushable wipes to use – these are a game changer. If I’m going to be staying somewhere for longer though, I’ll actually go out and buy my own toilet paper to use.

a hand holding out a piece of toilet paper, you can still see her fingers behind the piece of toilet paper, really showing you how see through and thin the hotel toilet paper is.

Also – What’s With Additional Resort Fees (Add it to the Nightly Rate!)

Hotels have gone up tremendously in price over the last few years, and they’ve done it in sneaky ways too. There are often a lot of hidden fees that you’ll only discover once you arrive at the hotel and get the final bill.

Things to keep in mind when booking are the additional resort fees, parking fees, tourist tax, or regular tax at your destination. The resort fees are the real kicker though because you can’t opt out of them, so why can’t they just include them in the nightly rate, it’s a per night rate anyway.

Parking fees are of course annoying as well, especially in locations where you really need a car to get around (like anywhere in the United States…).

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a hotel room with a king bed perfectly made in the middle of the room with white sheets. Across from the bed is a tv (that's on). Above the bed are some coral decor. It's a very simple room. There's a small couch hidden behind the bed in the far corner. The piece de resistance is the view out of the sliding doors that lead onto a balcony. You can see the mountain perfectly framed in the windows.

My Hotel Amazon Must-Haves

There are a few must-haves that I always pack with me on any trip – wherever I’m going and staying! The first thing is that I have a wall charger with multiple USB (or USB-C) ports. Let’s be real, we always have multiple devices we need to charge so it’s convenient to keep them all in one place and be able to charge everything at once.

I also always pack a portable white noise machine. Even though I don’t use one at home, I always bring one when I stay at a hotel. There’s always some noises that keep me up, or wake me up in the middle of the night. Whether it’s the elevator, guests walking in the hallway, or just strange noises in the room. I have the Hatch to drown out any external noises.

I always pack some removable wall hooks as well. There are just never enough places to hang your belongings, like jackets, bags, or even your towels and wet bathing suits. These always come in handy one way or another! P.S. I also like using a hanging toiletry bag to save space in hotel bathrooms, and since I’m traveling with hooks, there’s always a place to hang it!

10 Hotel Essentials To Guarantee Better Stays!