Behind the scenes of how I build trust with my valued partners and find the very best hotels for my travelers.

To create meaningful travel, I place value on firsthand experience for my travelers over partnerships, commissions and popularity contests among hotels. In fact, I spend weeks each year on the road, conducting site inspection after site inspection. It is not just about seeing the rooms and feeling the curtain fabric. It is about experiencing them the way my clients would. I stay in them, sleep in the bed, roll in the sheets, test the finicky showers, listen for strange hums at night, and pay close attention to all the little details most guests do not realize make or break a stay. I ask myself constantly: Would my client appreciate this? Would they hate that?

After what feels like my 500th hotel site inspection, I have collected a list of the recurring quirks and missteps that hotels, even great ones, still manage to overlook or don’t seem to realize are hurting their guest’s stay. These are not dramatic failures, of course. They are the small details that either whisper luxury or quietly unravel the whole experience.

1. I abhor An Overly Complicated Shower

The first thing I do when I check-in to my room after counting how many hangers we’re working with is check the shower. How much tapping, twisting, pushing, pulling, and accidental cold bursts are we talking? Where does the water come from? How do you turn it off without soaking your arm? Will it suddenly go freezing cold or scalding hot? A shower should be intuitive, not a puzzle. If I need to call reception to figure it out, something’s wrong. At this point, I miss the red chaud and blue froid knobs. Bring them back!

2. Check Out Times Are a Scam

This one never sits right. I’ve worked with hotels and this is a total scam. You pay a full night’s rate and get kicked out by 10:55 a.m.? In what other industry do you pay for 24 hours and receive less than 18? It is a structure that benefits operations, not the guest experience. And it shows. And no, it is not complicated to restructure your internal logistics for an additional 2 hours. From a purely business perspective, if I am given an additional 3 or 4 hours in the room, I will book a spa treatment or two, spend money at one of the hotel restaurants and maybe even buy an overpriced scarf at the hotel boutique. Kicking me out early and giving me the grand favor of leaving my luggage behind the reception desk does not incentivize me to stay and utilize the common area facilities. I do have to give credit where credit is due. There are hotels who do this right like the Capella in Bangkok and if you pull some strings, the Aman in Venice.

3. Short Beds are Tall People Problems

This is something I notice every time especially as someone on the taller side. Beds that stop mid shin are not painful. They are awkward. If your feet dangle off the edge or your toes are pressed against a wooden footboard, it is not a five star feeling. This is a personal one but hey, this is my list.

4. Stop breaking Flowers

The intention may be sweet, but it feels tired and as a flower lover my goodness please keep the flower whole. Watching fresh flowers wilt on a duvet before bedtime is more unsettling than charming. I’m always wondering whether I should just brush them off like trash? Or collect them and start making potpourri? Let us admire flowers alive and upright not scattered like confetti.

5. The Decorative Pillows Bother me

Beautiful, maybe. Hygienic, doubtful. Decorative pillows on freshly made beds are one of those things you learn to look past but deep down we all know they are rarely cleaned. They should not be touching clean linens. Ever. I don’t mind a bed runner, we all kick those off eventually. The decorative pillows on lovely, crisp bed linens just does not work for me. No one is washing those pillows but if I am wrong, hotels, please let us all know.

6. The See-Through Bathroom Wall Situation…

Oh, I know this is a big one for most of us. I get the interior designer's vision. It looks sleek. The lines are clean. The light travels beautifully. But no one wants to make eye contact with their partner while brushing their teeth on the toilet. Give us privacy. No one is asking for a glass cube in the middle of the room. It’s prohibitive to small families sharing a room, it’s awkward to partners who value their privacy, it’s weird when you’re alone.

7. A Notepad by the Bed Is an Underrated Hero

I love seeing this. It is such a small thing but for anyone who travels with ideas spinning at night or needs to scribble a dream before it fades this is gold. More hotels should bring this thoughtful touch back with a nice pen to go with it. I do keep them and use them, and I think of the hotel every time I do.

8. Digitized Handwritten Notes, Just No

This may come as a shocker but the hotel GM is not sitting at a desk every night writing the welcome letter a hundred times. Unless this is really happening on a small scale at a boutique property like Vila Joya in the Algarve of Portugal, those printed cursive welcome notes meant to look handwritten miss the point. A genuine handwritten note still carries warmth. A fake one reads like an afterthought. Either take the time or skip it altogether.

9. Noisy Mini Fridges Are Sleep Saboteurs

Nothing kills the feeling of calm quite like a mini fridge that decides to hum gurgle and groan at 3 a.m. A peaceful room should stay peaceful. If your minibar needs a white noise disclaimer it might be time to rethink the model.

10. Overly Complicated Light Systems Make me feel dumb

At every new hotel, when I want to get ready for bed, I feel like the technological world has skipped ahead of me and my intelligence has been compromised. Trust me, I have seen it all. Touchscreen panels that require a tutorial, switches that control nothing, and a random lamp that will not turn off unless you unplug it from behind the desk. Sometimes smart lighting is too smart for its own good. I have had clients specifically request “simple lighting” in the rooms. Hotels: we’re all for fancy lighting and touchscreens but please do the workshop when checking us in and show us how to use them like we’re 5. We’re tired and slow by the time bedtime rolls around.

11. Normalize a Mat and Weights in the Room

I kept this one for last because I know it’s not for everyone. But to me, it’s one of the simplest ways a hotel can say we thought of you—and yet, it’s still so rare. A yoga mat and a pair of hand weights don’t take up much space and can make a big difference, especially on longer trips. Just add them to the closet like all other amenities: the slippers, the laundry bag, the weights and mat. Done. It doesn’t matter if the guest is actively working out or not. These items are more than fitness tools, they’re an invitation. To stretch. To stay active. To keep a routine going, even far from home. I’ve had some funny reactions when I ask about this. In hotels without a gym, I’ll ask if they have any workout equipment. More than once, the answer has been, “Oh yes, we have a dumbbell.” Just one. A single dumbbell. Should I get on the waitlist for it? I’ve worked out with rocks from the garden before. A mat and two weights would’ve been nice.

These inspections are not just about rating luxury as we define it. They are about understanding what thoughtful hospitality really looks like, the things that elevate a stay from fine to unforgettable. Because every hotel I recommend is a reflection of my name and my standards, I want my travelers to feel welcome to my home, my vetted room. And these details matter. Even if you only notice them once they are missing.