yesterday

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The Diary of Anne Ku

HOTEL STARS

12 May 2000 Friday another fine, dry day in Rhodes

For a three star hotel, I was quite surprised that it did not offer soap, shampoo, or body moisturiser. I did recall once staying in a 2-star hotel in Paris. Even with cockroaches lurking about, it still offered the basic amenities.

I am very curious to know what the stars mean.

In Cancun, Mexico last year, I stayed in a four-star hotel for two nights. I moved rooms four times. Each room was sub-optimal in some way. The first one faced a construction site. So I requested a room with a better view. The only one facing the beach and the pool was on the ground floor at that point. After moving into the room, I discovered that I could not go out (to the so-called ground floor balcony), due to security reasons. This meant I could not open the window either to feel the sea breeze.

The next day, I asked again if there was a better room. Sure enough, a room with a view and a balcony on a high floor - at face value - seemed what I wanted. After I've moved into it and unpacked, I discovered that the water leaked out of the bathroom onto the hallway floor. This was compromisable, until I tried to sleep at 2 am in the morning. Three loud discoteques in the back blasted thru the walls into my room. At 2:30 am I moved once more. By the time I woke up, it was time to move for the final time. Out of the hotel!