UPDATE: An inside look at “America’s Dirtiest Hotel”

by Mike Barish on

A couple of weeks ago I told you about The Dirtiest Hotels in the United States. New York City’s Hotel Carter was ranked number one and the user reviews on TripAdvisor are pretty graphic. The reader comments on my post contained some fantastic stories of other horrendous hotels. However, many readers used the comments to ask Gadling to send me to the Hotel Carter for a first-hand review. Some of you even went so far as to email our editors requesting that I be sent inside the infamous hotel to see if it lived up (or down) to the hype.

Well, we heard you loud and clear. Last night, Room 812 at the Hotel Carter belonged to me. Was it a bug-infested petri dish of awfulness? Was there a dead hooker in the bathtub? Was the dead hooker hot? Stay tuned. I’ll have my full report up later this week.

World’s 25 dirtiest cities

by Abha Malpani on

When I read this headline, I was 100% sure that if Calcutta wasn’t number one on this list, it would definitely make the top 5. It doesn’t feature on the list at all!

The list has been compiled by Forbes basis Mercer Human Resource Consulting’s 2007 Health and Sanitation rankings that ranked 215 cities worldwide based on levels of air pollution, waste management, water potability, hospital services, medical supplies and the presence of infectious diseases.

Here’s the top 10 World’s Dirtiest Cities:


Black fumes of smoke, acid rain, and free flowing sewage are part of life in these countries. Pretty depressing huh.

On a positive note: according to Water Aid for every $1 spent on improved sanitation, the benefit equals $9 resulting from decreased cost of health care and increased productivity — yes, the 90/10 rule. It looks like a little bit of work and expenditure can make A LOT of difference.

Germ-eliminating wand: an addition to your travel-kit

by Abha Malpani on

Remember the last time you woke up all scratchy from your hotel/bed? Or when the hotel’s carpet smelt like cat poo? Or when there was a layer of grime on the kitchen table-top of the apartment you rented out on your trip?

Well, now instead of taking a long shower with your eyes closed and trying to keep away nightmares of waking up with hives, you can be the wizard of cleanliness by owning a Hammacher Schlemmer germ-eliminating wand.

The device uses UV-C (a shortwave ultraviolet light that has disinfectant properties) to eliminate 99% of bacteria, viruses, mold, and dust mites in the bathroom, in the kitchen, or on your bedding.

All you have to do is move around the wand’s 6-inch long light bulb over all the surfaces you want ”purified” and it will rapidly disinfect everything. By holding the wand over the contaminated surface for 20 seconds, the UV light will kill all the E.coli, salmonella and staphylococcus that cause the common cold and the flu.

The wand can be programmed for up to an hour and has an automatic shut-off option. However, be careful as overexposure to UV-C can lead to skin-redness and eye irritation.

It costs about $100; perhaps not a bad investment eh?