“Hotel Stink Factor” - Quest For Allergy Free Hotels
Posted on | January 24, 2009 |
This post is my hotel ranking and comment section for allergy free hotels. Criteria for this ranking is pretty much based upon whether or not a person with reactive airways, allergies, asthma, MCS, etc. could stay at that particular hotel because of the smells. HYPOALLERGENIC HOTEL RANKING.
My wife is severely breathing challenged and I have a pretty good idea of what it takes for her to be able to stay somewhere. The hotels are rated as follows:
- Yes - most likely is ok and is an actual hypoallergenic hotel (please note: every person is truly unique and there is no way to accurately predict each person’s immune system response).
- Maybe - very iffy but could still be ok for most looking for allergy free hotels and are not severe sufferers.
- No - absolutely no, not a chance in hell for those needing a hypoallergenic hotel room.
- Image via Wikipedia
My experience staying in hotels is that in general, they all stink! The amount of smelly cleaning solvents and deodorants used in hotels worldwide is on the rise. More than ever before it is becoming increasingly difficult to stay randomly in hotels because of the amount of perfumed liquid solutions used throughout. This is no small matter if you are breathing challenged, have an allergy, or suffer from asthma. We always have a backup plan if we are unable to stay in a non-hypoallergenic hotel because of the smells. Sadly, it is usually nothing short of immediately leaving to spend the night in an airport and getting on the first plane back home.
It’s also very disconcerting to have to wash all of my clothes when I get home whether or not they have been worn because they smell like the hotel room. This smell permeates everything and will leech into other clothing that is in close proximity. It’s sad to think that many hotel operators choose to keep their rooms deodorized rather than clean. One of the most exciting hotel rooms I’ve stayed in recently had no carpeting, just hardwood floors. There were no stinky odors. Hard floors are also easier and cheaper to maintain than carpeting can be.
I am reminded of an incident last year at a Boston hotel. It was a finer hotel and of course I assumed that the amount of stink would be lower as it generally is in more upscale hotels. Not this time! My wife and I looked at a few rooms before deciding to leave to seek alternate accommodations. All the rooms smelled bad. It wasn’t just a little, it was A LOT - a definite no! When I asked a housekeeper if the hotel had any non-perfumed rooms available she misunderstood me and thought we wanted more. She immediately ran into the room we were just in with a spray bottle that was labeled ‘apple cinnamon’. This incident did give me a chance to see exactly what chemicals are being used in hotels to make them smell so much.
I have also witnessed aroma machines being used in hotel lobby areas. Every fifteen to twenty seconds a burst of scented smoke is pumped into the air. Does aromatherapy really work to calm guests or make them feel at peace as they check in? Not me. It just pisses me off more and more and then I add that hotel to my “do not stay” list.
Some hotels advertise that they have some allergy free rooms available but generally that program extends only to non feather bedding. They still wash the sheets and towels with scented detergents ruining the possibility of truly being a hypoallergenic hotel. Lot’s of hotels want to accommodate your request for a clean room. They want to be able to be cater to guests with special needs. Many have air cleaners of some sort available. Just ask. One note of caution, not everyone knows what an air cleaner looks like or functions. Our most recent request for an air cleaner yielded a humidifier. There are some programs and companies out there that do try to help hotel operators accommodate guests with cleaner rooms. I’ll write more on those later.
If you are like us and check out a hotel in advance of a scheduled stay then it is possible that hotel will prepare the room for you. Just beware, a fresh smell to some people makes them think things are clean but if you can smell an odor, it is not. In Chicago this past spring we did just that. We checked out the room several days in advance to see if we could stay there. They were very accommodating and let us check out several rooms. We found one that was not riddled with perfume or moldy and the manager promised to hold that particular room for us. The hotel also generously offered to put an air cleaner in the room. Yes, they put an air cleaner in the room for us but an overzealous housekeeper sprayed the room down with a deodorant rendering a once acceptable room completely useless to us. So much for being one of the allergy free hotels! View my most up to date HYPOALLERGENIC HOTEL RANKING.
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Tags: Allergy > Asthma > Hypoallergenic > MCS
Comments
7 Responses to ““Hotel Stink Factor” - Quest For Allergy Free Hotels”
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June 25th, 2009 @ 9:55 pm
I’m so glad to know that others are finding comfortable, healthy accommodations. In March 2009 I stayed at the Tides Inn in Laguna Beach, CA and marvelled to the owner that I COULD BREATHE!!!!!!!!!!! They also have a salt pool I would like to try when it’s warm. Even though they allow pets, it was the cleanest, fragrance free place I have ever stayed.
July 9th, 2009 @ 8:37 am
Hi Jean, Thanks for your comment and congratulations on finding what sounds like a gem. We would love to check out the hotel in Laguna Beach. Clean and fragrant free hotels are becoming less common these days. Kudos to the hotel for their salt water pool. A friend of ours just converted his own pool and hot tub to salt water. WOW! What a difference. No more chemical hazards at home and no more dry skin or chlorine smells on our bodies. I makes us want to visit his house more frequently.
April 24th, 2010 @ 12:16 pm
Do you / does anyone have any experience of the Seaport Boston? I notice that you mention going to a Boston hotel in your article, but the hotel (which advertises ‘allergy freindly’l rooms which are ‘professionally treated to minimize irritants, contaminants and odorsis’), but it is not on your list
September 25th, 2011 @ 8:12 am
What about the rest of us that not only have allergies, but severe chemical sensitives as well? The “Pure” products and the hypoallergenic bedding that some hotels are using have chemicals and oders. Have not had vaction in 8 years.
I live in N.Carolina. Is there anything out there that just has hard floors, cotton bedding and window treatments, and uses UNSCENTED laundry detergent and fabric softener, and no air freshner or deoderizers?
October 1st, 2011 @ 7:53 am
Are there any fragrance-free Hotels in the southeast? Spacificly North and South
Carolina, Va. and east Tennessee. Appreciate any help.
October 3rd, 2011 @ 10:16 am
Sadly enough, no hotels we have encountered fit the hypo-allergenic standards, here or abroad.. You can call ahead for them to de-feather the bed and clean and disinfect the room but that is about it. Most often the stink is so embedded in the carpet and other surfaces that it is near impossible to get rid of it. I recently looked at seven hotels in the Raleigh-Durham area, all with no luck. This is not a plug but the closest any chain hotel has come to being smell free is La Quinta. I think as a whole and from discussions with the clerks is that they do not use any deodorants. Of course, the room I looked at smelled of cigarette smoke even though the hotel has a no smoking policy. Also beware of pets that have been smuggled in. If you know that you must stay in a hotel, call ahead and alert them of your needs. In our experience it may or may not help. It really depends on the quality of the chain. You do get what you pay for. At the very least, bring your own bedding…all of it.
October 10th, 2011 @ 11:47 am
Just back from a miserable trip… the only hotel that we stayed at that was fragrance free (acceptable) was the Americ inn, in Missoula Mont. I’m not sure if the rest of the chain is ok or not. The staybridge was acceptable, but towels were a bit stinky. I have to bring my own bedding and towels anyway.