It’s fun and interesting to see the differences between a travel destination and home. Charlie and I thought we’d try to make a list and discuss some of the differences we have noticed here in Spain. We’ll start with differences in rooms we stay in, whether in a hotel, hostel, Airbnb, etc. Note that we’ve also noticed some of these things in other European countries such as Italy and Portugal.
Blinds: Most rooms have excellent blinds that seal tightly around windows and almost perfectly block out light and noise. I’ve never seen blinds like these in the US but they are ubiquitous here.
Washcloths: I don’t think we’ve ever been provided a washcloth here whereas in the US, hotels always provide a washcloth. I’m not sure what people do here if they just want to wash their face or do a quick sponge bath. I guess what I’ve been doing: use the hand towel.
Lights over doors: Hotel rooms almost universally have little lights above the door used to exit the room. They often have these over the bathroom exit as well. While they are useful for finding the bathroom in the middle of the night in a strange room, I’d prefer to sleep in a fully dark room. Sort of a contradiction that they have perfect light-blocking blinds and then they insist you have a light in the room that the occupant cannot control. Charlie and I’ve been known to stand on chairs and tape things like empty cereal boxes over the lights. We are guessing that once, many years ago, someone couldn’t find their way out of a hotel room in a fire and a law was passed to prevent this from ever happening again.
Pillows and pillow cases: Spanish bed pillows are very strange. They are usually the same width as the bed and narrower than US pillows. If the bed is a double bed, the pillow is the full width of the double bed. Which means that if a couple is sleeping together in the bed, they both share the same pillow. The pillow cases are usually open at both ends.
Showers: Spanish showers are great. They always have a sprayer that you can either hang above you for a regular shower or take down and spray directly where needed. Makes it very easy to get all the soap off.
Spoons: We’ve noticed this in the Airbnbs. There are two sizes of spoons. Very very large (larger than US soup spoon size) and very very small (coffee spoon size). There are seldom spoons the size of regular spoons in the US.
Square toilets: Charlie said he remembers the first time we saw square toilet seats in Italy. He said we were amazed by them. I don’t remember that, but we have noticed now that all the toilet seats are squarish.
Beds: I love the beds here. They are usually quite firm and on a solid platform. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a box spring here. Often double beds are two single beds side by side, which means if one person moves in their sleep a lot, the other is not disturbed. (See beds in photo at top.)
Sheets: This isn’t universal here but it’s not uncommon to have a comforter instead of a top sheet. The comforter cover serves as the sheet and, of course, is washed between guests. We have seen this occasionally in the US as well. Something we really enjoy.
Floors: Here, the first (aka “ground”) floor is Floor 0. So the second floor is Floor 1, etc. So, math problem, our current Airbnb is on Floor 4. What floor is that in the US?
Reservations: We have been calling a day ahead for reservations on this trip. When it is ascertained that a room is available they always ask for my name. I use my first name “Dorothy” instead of my middle name “Wynette” because everyone seems to know the name “Dorothy”. I don’t even have to spell it. I think that is probably because of The Wizard of Oz. They seldom ask for my last name. We’ve rarely been asked to give anything else such as a phone number or credit card number. They are just going to hold the room for someone named “Dorothy.” (The Spanish people are so trusting.) Another reason I use “Dorothy” is because that is the first name on my passport and when you arrive at a place to check in, they immediately ask for each of our passports and carefully (often slowly) write down all the information from each of them. We are always happy when someone just takes a photo. And a couple of places have had a scanner that actually adds the information to their database.
I’m sure the lights over the doors is a safety requirement.
Moira and I don’t care for the single beds pushed together into a double. Makes it hard to cuddle. And we hate the comforters. We find them much too hot. We much prefer blankets. In those rooms with no or little heat that you encountered… that might be a different story.
I know what you mean about comforters being a problem if the room is too hot. It’s best to have layers of blankets and peel on or off as needed. But on the rare occasions when the comforter is just right for the temperature of the room, it’s heaven not to have that top sheet getting twisted up in things.
Part of the safety requirements must be that they have to be very hard to cover up. They are way high so you need a solid chair to get to them, something many rooms don’t have. And the light is inside a plastic cover so you need to cover the entire thing. The red lights on tvs are much easier to handle with the black electrical tape we always bring.
Another thing about the lights over the doors. I can see the purpose of the lights in a hotel room. You wake up, maybe smell smoke, are still disoriented and it is dark. A light would be helpful. But the same lights are (or were required, I’m not sure it is still required) required in bathrooms. I may be unusual but I rarely turn the lights off in the bathroom and I rarely sleep in the bathroom. I am generally quite alert. And the bathrooms in the places we stay in are quite small and easy to navigate, even in the dark, if I ever turned off the light.
I’m with you Wynette on taping things over lights in hotel rooms. I’ve been know to drape socks and t-shirts over glow-in-the-dark clocks, microwave power lights, TV “off” lights…you name it, I try to cover it!
Yes! I carry little pieces of electrical tape with me to put over the lights on TVs, etc. And use towels and such like you do!