If you are ever staying in a hotel room for less than a week you should never unpack. Yes, living out of a suitcase can be a hassle, but it also ensures you won’t leave something behind.
I’ll never again see that Transformer™ I left in the Paducah, KY hotel room when I was 11. I’ll also never see my favorite t-shirt, that comfy sweatshirt, or that old pair of jeans that were left in New Jersey in 2000.
I’ll never see them because I broke a cardinal rule of a short-term hotel stay: I unpacked.
The Red Carnation hotel group is rolling out the red carpet for Valentine’s Day. At all its UK properties, romance will be shaped by luxury, leaving you to focus on the person with you. You’ll be greeted with a bottle of pink champagne, and every evening will be punctuated with a unique romantic turndown service. Enjoy chocolate covered strawberries at any time in your room, and dine on culinary creations tailored to your taste. You can even arrange for a midnight lover’s feast and sleep it off with a late checkout on Sunday. Oh, and you don’t need to use that time sleeping off a food coma … I’m sure you can find other ways to put that bed to good use!
Whether you prefer the quiet intimacy of The Egerton House Hotel in Knightsbridge or the Summer Lodge Country House Hotel, Restaurant and Spa or any of the other properties in the Red Carnation portfolio, you’ll be sure to have a luxurious stay that will make your significant other the envy of all who hear the appropriately edited stories from your getaway.
A full list of properties at which the Valentine’s Day package is available can be found here.
Next time you pack, line the bottom of your suitcase with a new, large trash bag. Add your clothes, shoes, and accessories, and just before closing the suitcase, top it off with another new, large trash bag, making sure you wrap the bottom bag’s excess over the top bag.
Now, when your baggage is left on the tarmac during a downpour, your clothes have a better chance of staying dry.
The plastic bags also does double duty on the return trip: one bag holds dirty laundry, and the other covers the clothes again.
Quirky roadside attractions can often be the part of the trip you remember most!
You might recall the movie Michael, where an angel wreaked havoc upon his fellow travelers until they relented and allowed him to visit The World’s Largest Ball of Twine. Talk about the spirit of the Great American Road Trip!
Research your route well, and plan to visit at least one — or maybe several! — unusual attractions along the way for an unforgettable road trip experience. Roadside America, a definitive guide to offbeat American attractions, lists thousands of offbeat destinations. Plan ahead, and you’ll never miss such wonders as the Museum of Stripping or Mystery Hill.
Bonus: when you reach your destination, you’ll actually have an interesting story to share with the people at that end.
Different cultures signify restroom facilities in different ways. When arriving in an unfamiliar country, be sure to figure out as quickly as possible what the “standard” sign for the restroom is, if there is one.
The same rule applies to the emergency exit signs. You should need this less frequently than the sign for the WC (hopefully!), but when in doubt, look for an arrow pointing downward.