I’ve spent a lot of nights at hotels over the years. For a couple of years when I was younger, I even lived in hotels full time. So I have a lot of memorable experiences — some good, some bad, and some just plain strange. In this post, I thought it would be fun to share my absolute strangest hotel experiences ever (or at least that I can still remember… I’m sure I’ve blocked some out of my memory).
Longtime OMAAT readers may remember some or all of these. So here we go, in no particular order…
In this post:
Child bandits break into London hotel room
In 2016, Ford and I stayed at the Sheraton Grand Park Lane London. A moment after walking into the room, before the door even closed, we suddenly found three pre-teen children in our room. They seemingly came out of nowhere, since we didn’t see them behind us in the hall. They claimed that we were in fact in their room, and needed to get out.
Okay, I certainly didn’t want to be accused of anything, and I figured maybe there was an actual misunderstanding and the room had been assigned to two parties, so I exited the room and headed for the elevators. A minute later, the kids came running out, and claimed they were just “kidding,” and when I told them that wasn’t cool, they said “can’t you take a joke?”
Obviously I didn’t know what happened while I wasn’t in the room and didn’t want to take any chances, so I let the hotel staff know. The general manager ended up getting involved, and had reviewed security footage. As it turns out, the kids had run in from the street, and weren’t even staying at the hotel. The kids apparently stole some sort of wireless device from the room, and also took some stuff from the minibar. Strange!
Masseuse tries “hard” to upsell massage in Xiamen
In 2017, a friend and I stayed at the Le Meridien Xiamen. We decided to get massages at the hotel’s spa, as they were reasonably priced. Well, I guess this was the ultra low cost carrier version of a spa, because they were desperate for ancillary revenue. 😉
The beginning of the massage was normal, but then she started vigorously rubbing my inner high. That’s not unusual in and of itself, but she did it longer and more intensely than I’m used to. A short while later, she pointed in the direction of my you-know-what. She didn’t speak any English, so I said “no thank you” and motioned with my hand that I wasn’t interested.
I honestly have no problem with a place non-aggressively offering such services, but it’s not my thing. Unfortunately she didn’t seem pleased with the answer, or apparently assumed I didn’t understand, so then she made a made a “fist” and started moving it up and down. Awk. Again I said “no,” and motioned that I wasn’t interested.
She spent another 10 minutes massaging right around my groin, before once again making a noise to make me look up, and then made a “jerking” motion. Again I said “no thank you.” She seemed disappointed. The worst part is that my friend (in a separate massage room) had basically the same experience. The only difference was that his masseuse used a translation app, and said, “I have been rigorously trained in the technique, your whole body will feel very good and relaxed after, but I will need a tip.”
“Fashion designer” tries to buy my clothes
Back in 2012, I was staying at the InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong. While in the club lounge, I was stopped by another guest, who introduced himself as a fashion designer, said he really liked my sweater, and asked if he could buy it.
So, umm, fashion isn’t exactly my strong point, to put it mildly (nowadays I’ve just fully embraced that, so I almost exclusively wear athleisure).
He told me to let him know how much I wanted for the sweater, but I explained I wasn’t looking to sell it. He then offered me 300 HKD, which was a lowball offer, less than I paid for it. I told him I could just share the brand and type of sweater, but he said he wouldn’t be home for some time, and he “needed” it now.
I looked at him perplexed, and he continued with “I’ll buy it from you, just tell me what you want.” I wasn’t sure what to say, though again responded with “I’m sorry but I’m not really looking to sell it.”
He then asked if he could at least photograph the sweater, and even had me move around so that the light would be better. He wouldn’t relent, so after offering me 1,000 HKD, I ended up selling him my sweater. I’m still a little confused about what happened there…
My disaster stay at the Aegon Mykonos
While this list isn’t generally about hotels with bad service, my 2021 experience at the Aegon Mykonos, a Marriott Autograph Collection property (well, formerly), is certainly one of my most memorable hotel stays.
There’s so much to unpack here, so I recommend checking out the series I wrote at the time:
- Marriott Bonvoy Confirmed Suite Upgrade Downgrade
- I’d Like To Speak With The Marriott Manager!
- I’m Speechless: My Awful Marriott Check-In Experience
- My Four-Hour Stay At Marriott’s Aegon Mykonos
- Aegon Mykonos Responds To My TripAdvisor Review With Lies
- I Received An Apology From The Aegon Mykonos…
Long story short, I was downgraded, and the front office associate didn’t seem to understand why I wasn’t happy about it. That was then escalated to the general manager, who was equally dismissive, and offered my free breakfast as compensation, which was included anyway.
And then the hotel owner got involved, and she took it to a whole different level, accusing me of having bad karma, while basically chasing me off the property, all while leaving a troll comment on my blog. Classy.
A different kind of hotel massage offer
I don’t usually get offered massages by strangers, but a 2016 stay at the Westin Cape Town was an exception. I’m still undecided as to whether this was just a little unusual, or super creepy.
I got in the elevator at around 6:30AM, and there was already a guy in there in a bathrobe, though there was no button pushed, so he didn’t actually seem to be going anywhere. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but then when I returned to the elevator around 20 minutes later, the same guy was standing there, just outside the elevator.
I figured he was waiting on the elevator as well, and that the timing was coincidental… except the elevator call button hadn’t been pushed, so I pushed it. When the elevator arrived, he followed me in, and said “what floor?”
He didn’t push another button, so when we arrived at the floor I was staying on, I motioned for him to exit first, since I assumed he was getting off (the elevator, just to clarify) as well. He motioned for me to go first, and I said “thanks, have a good day.” I figured that meant he was continuing on the elevator to another floor. He then poked his head out the elevator and said “you want massage?” I politely rejected, and made a run for it.
Bottom line
If you have enough hotel stays, some weird stuff is bound to happen. Above are some of my most memorable hotel stay incidents, ranging from the funny to the uncomfortable. I’m not sure how this compares to those of others, but I figure some people would get a kick out of this.
What’s the strangest thing you’ve had happen at a hotel?
Ben, Hong Kong is a copy place for merchandise. You don't know the value, but certainly he needed it for his factory. I lived their 20 years, every thing seems to get copied there.
I had this happen in Beijing for my watch I was wearing. Happened in the Lobby of the Marriott.
Greece, same type of experience. Owners have their own way regardless of which brand they are under.
Not to top but...
Ben, Hong Kong is a copy place for merchandise. You don't know the value, but certainly he needed it for his factory. I lived their 20 years, every thing seems to get copied there.
I had this happen in Beijing for my watch I was wearing. Happened in the Lobby of the Marriott.
Greece, same type of experience. Owners have their own way regardless of which brand they are under.
Not to top but just to add odd experiences. Had a bell boy in Columbia South Carolina reduce the air in our car tires over nite, because we carried our own luggage instead of giving it to him at check in. Fortunately we realised it quickly and filled up before the highway.
What about your room with bad juju?
Incense cleaning and clearing. A light stick so not to set off the smoke alarm
I’ve been a high-end hotel manager for many years. We train and prepare for any escalation or emergency to occur on our shifts. However, nothing could prepare me for a phone call I received my first year as a MOD.
A woman in town for business had checked in on a Sunday evening with her 1 year old child. Apparently, she was working at the desk while allowing the child to crawl around the...
I’ve been a high-end hotel manager for many years. We train and prepare for any escalation or emergency to occur on our shifts. However, nothing could prepare me for a phone call I received my first year as a MOD.
A woman in town for business had checked in on a Sunday evening with her 1 year old child. Apparently, she was working at the desk while allowing the child to crawl around the room. When she saw him doing something behind the curtain, she discovered he was chewing on a used condom. Yikes.
As far as service recovery, there are some seemingly impossible situations like this. Of course, the top priority was the health and safety of the child, so I immediately offered to call the house physician or to offer transportation to a medical facility. After that, it was comps for everything and escalating to the GM on a weekend (his days off). Brutal situation, but fantastic training that helped prepare me for years of similarly challenging situations.
I received an aggressive attempt to upgrade my massage at the Xian Sheraton. Similar to Lucky’s experience. I graciously declined.
At the former Westin DC (now Fairmont DC, across the street from what’s now Westin Georgetown), I checked in about 7:30 am after a red eye from LA. The first thing I noticed when I opened the room door, is that it was dark. Atypically, the curtains were drawn shot. As my eyes adjusted, I...
I received an aggressive attempt to upgrade my massage at the Xian Sheraton. Similar to Lucky’s experience. I graciously declined.
At the former Westin DC (now Fairmont DC, across the street from what’s now Westin Georgetown), I checked in about 7:30 am after a red eye from LA. The first thing I noticed when I opened the room door, is that it was dark. Atypically, the curtains were drawn shot. As my eyes adjusted, I noticed a naked man lying on his back on the floor. Based on how a woman was sitting on his face, he was not to turn his head to see me. However she looked in my direction and shrieked. He just sort of mumbled … but it was muffled. I bid a hasty retreat and went back to the front desk to let them sort it out.
Pun of the year right there
I was staying at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco, when someone committed suicide off of the top floor of the inner atrium. Half the body landed in the lobby atrium but they couldn’t find the rest of the body. Ends up, he got sliced in half and one part ended up on top of the elevator shaft. It was an obvious mess and clearly distressing for everyone who witnessed. As it turns out, an...
I was staying at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco, when someone committed suicide off of the top floor of the inner atrium. Half the body landed in the lobby atrium but they couldn’t find the rest of the body. Ends up, he got sliced in half and one part ended up on top of the elevator shaft. It was an obvious mess and clearly distressing for everyone who witnessed. As it turns out, an employee told me that atrium has seen a lot of suicides, although they don’t typically report it due to copycats.
Those were a good trip down memory lane, Ben. I particularly remember the incident at the Sheraton Park Lane. What's so crazy to me is that the distance between the blog starting and the incident is pretty much the same as the distance between the incident and today - about 8 years or so. It feels like 2016 to 2024 has gone so much faster than 2008 to 2016. Also, does anyone on here remember...
Those were a good trip down memory lane, Ben. I particularly remember the incident at the Sheraton Park Lane. What's so crazy to me is that the distance between the blog starting and the incident is pretty much the same as the distance between the incident and today - about 8 years or so. It feels like 2016 to 2024 has gone so much faster than 2008 to 2016. Also, does anyone on here remember the fiasco at that hotel in Singapore with Ben's electric shaver going off randomly in the middle of the night? That must have been in 2011 or so, and was particularly funny.
What about that time one pilot from every plane in Qatar Airways' fleet entered the club lounge at the Sheraton in Heathrow in 2014-ish? IIRC you were trying to get on that 'ghost' A350 flight and it later came out that they were doing some sound testing. That one was particularly funny. I can remember reading all the posts mentioned on this post when they came out, too. You really should make more allusions to incidents and anecdotes in the distant past in your posts, Ben. More people will remember them, and know exactly what you are referring to without second thought, than you could possibly imagine.
Back in January 2002, I was staying at a brand new Holiday Inn Express in Marysville, Wa. My dad was dying, it was not a fun trip. Being January in Washington State, I am sure I was one of maybe 3 guests at this property. One evening I went down stairs in search of a soft drink machine which was located in a remote alcove. As I turned the corner there was a guy standing...
Back in January 2002, I was staying at a brand new Holiday Inn Express in Marysville, Wa. My dad was dying, it was not a fun trip. Being January in Washington State, I am sure I was one of maybe 3 guests at this property. One evening I went down stairs in search of a soft drink machine which was located in a remote alcove. As I turned the corner there was a guy standing there that looked just like Osama Bin Laden. He had the deadest eyes I had ever seen. I quickly went to the front desk and the very young person at the desk responded " Oh is HE back ? " I am like you need to get the police here and get him out of here !" They didn't get that this was a bad scary person. The next day the gracious manager compted my entire stay.
The elevator incident is actually a common strategy of thieves and predators. In fact, it is a lesson in a former CIA officer's 1-hour online course named YOUNG ADULT SAFETY (www.staysafedigitalacademy.com). There are 20 fascinating other lessons for teens and young adults in the 1-hour online course.
I stayed for one night at the Westin near LAX in February of 2020 and just after I boarded the shuttle, a young woman in her early 20s holding a Starbucks iced coffee also boarded. I remember the driver even asked her, "no bags?" and she just nodded.
When we got to the hotel there was a significant line to check in and I motioned for her to go ahead of me as I...
I stayed for one night at the Westin near LAX in February of 2020 and just after I boarded the shuttle, a young woman in her early 20s holding a Starbucks iced coffee also boarded. I remember the driver even asked her, "no bags?" and she just nodded.
When we got to the hotel there was a significant line to check in and I motioned for her to go ahead of me as I was in no particular hurry. After about five minutes, she turned to me and started asking me a series of questions that were innocuous enough but just kind of triggered a weirdo alarm in my mind. They were along the lines of, "is Westin a good hotel brand?" "what are the room designs like?" "do the TVs have a lot of good channels?"
Being a native New Yorker used to interactions with nut jobs, I just decided to shut it down, so I gave a couple of very terse replies and then turned away and looked at my phone. She stared at me for a few seconds then got the hint and turned back around. As I finished check-in, I noticed she was at a nearby counter talking with one of the other hotel employees but I didn't stick around to see what the tenor of their convo was like.
So IDK. Prostitution? Run of the mill LA nutcase? Maybe just a legit hotel guest with awkward social presence? She looked 100 percent completely normal in terms of appearance, like a midwestern college student. Certainly felt strange.
That is passive aggressive and not New Yorker at all. Shutting it down NY style would be saying directly "I can't help you. You will have to ask the staff."
Yeah, well one of us has actually lived in NYC for the majority of his life and the other pretends to be a successful lawyer in the comments section of a blog. Get bent. NY enough for you?
Projection. You can't be a successful lawyer and you assume others just pretend.
@Paul Weiss:
This is my favorite quote of yours, from 8/14.
"There is no contradiction. There is a woman in my office whom I would absolutely love to kiss. At the same time I wouldn't even consider kissing her, even if I had the opportunity, because she is married."
Projection. You are a virgin and assume no one can tell.
Holy f**k, who is chronically online enough to (a) reply in 6 minutes despite there not being a notification system [meaning you are clicking refresh every few seconds], and (b) pull out a comment from 3 months ago?
The only reason your mind would think VIRGIN is because that is what you are.
@Paul Weiss some of us actually spend time in airports with lots of downtime. And I like wasting your time.
So you are a loser. All the different ways you can spend your "downtime" at your disposal. Your choice was to engage in an internet comment thread with negative intellectual value.
Perhaps negative intellectual value but huge entertainment value.
Almost certainly DEA. You are being tailed and watched.
These stories were a hilarious trip down memory lane for this long-time reader. I distinctly remember reading these stories as they were initially posted, particularly the Mykonos disaster and the massage upsell.
It doesn’t often get put into perspective this way, but you give your readers a very unique view into your life. It’s been especially poignant reading about you getting married, having Miles, your mom’s battle with cancer, and other life updates.
Thanks for...
These stories were a hilarious trip down memory lane for this long-time reader. I distinctly remember reading these stories as they were initially posted, particularly the Mykonos disaster and the massage upsell.
It doesn’t often get put into perspective this way, but you give your readers a very unique view into your life. It’s been especially poignant reading about you getting married, having Miles, your mom’s battle with cancer, and other life updates.
Thanks for keeping the blog going, Ben.
Side note - I do miss Andrew’s posts on the blog. :)
In Oaxaca Mexico our resort came with a personal butler/valet. ( they had a training program). First day was weird having somebody put slippers on your feet , preparing clothing etc. At the end of week it was so comfortable we considered taking him home. Every time I draw a bath I think of Victor.
The Westin incident seems weird. Did you report it to the manager, @Ben?
I had a similar elevator experience late at night. This guy enters the elevator, doesn't enter a floor number (card key required), and just stands at the back of the elevator. Before entering my own floor number, I (politely) asked which floor he was going to. No answer. I then said "oh, shoot, I forgot" and got off the elevator. I went to the front desk and related the incident. It turns out that guests had been held up in such fashion. Be safe.
The on-the-spot "oh shoot, I forgot" is exactly what the former CIA officer teaches in the YOUNG ADULT SAFETY Online Course!
I maintain that the sweater guy was flirting with you in a weird and slightly creepy way, and decided to just buy the sweater for real when you clearly weren't into it
Definitely! It was never about the sweater!
I was having a crappy afternoon but I’m in tears laughing! Been a reader since about 2018 and wasn’t aware of some of these stories.
The innuendos in Andrew’s post about the Xiamen incident had me bawling! But the comments on the Hongkong story are comedy gold! “The guy was just hoping to get lucky ”.
Or that “you left cash on the table as you should have asked for more!
Or...
I was having a crappy afternoon but I’m in tears laughing! Been a reader since about 2018 and wasn’t aware of some of these stories.
The innuendos in Andrew’s post about the Xiamen incident had me bawling! But the comments on the Hongkong story are comedy gold! “The guy was just hoping to get lucky ”.
Or that “you left cash on the table as you should have asked for more!
Or if you’d have gone up to his room had he offered you 5000 points instead of cash!
Thank you for making my day. Now someone commented on a weird incident in Kuala Lumpur…. I’m searching for that one now!
Deep in the rabbit hole i am
Penis?
No. Must have been his shoulder.
Chase Sapphire Card
This seems appropriate here: https://youtu.be/PeihcfYft9w
Get your hand off my you-know-what!