More bad habits of ineffective hotels

Last week we looked at the bad habits of ineffective hotels, but it seems like there is more to the list that was previously discussed. Cheap hotels shouldn’t get a free ride just because they are considered to be budget accommodation, so here are more habits of ineffective hotels – the budget version.

#1 Mini-bar – Having a fridge in your room is great, but having a mini-bar – not so much! Although some people sneak a snack or two and then put it back before anyone notices, some hotels actually charge you for the item even if you put it back.

#2 Hygiene – Who ever said that a small bathroom doesn’t matter obviously hasn’t seen some hotels where the toilet is literally inside the shower! Yes, it’s great not to share a bathroom, but if you can’t even manage to fit through the bathroom door then the benefit doesn’t really count.

#3 Outlets – Perhaps the only thing that is possibly worse than a lack of electrical outlets in the room, is electrical outlets that look like they could kill you if you touch them.

#4 Plastic – Plastic wrap on the head board of the bed? Plastic wrap on the couches or chairs? Well, that’s one way to make you feel cheap when you book in at a hotel that costs barely anything.

#5 Mattresses – It would be nice to know how many hoteliers have actually slept in their own beds. Many are completely worn out or damaged. The worst thing is arriving in your room and having to flip your own mattress because budget hotels rarely do it.

#6 WiFi – A lot of budget hotels advertise free WiFi, which is great compared to the luxurious hotels that make you pay extra. The thing they don’t tell you is that you will probably have to stick your laptop out of the window just to get a connection.

#7 Storage – Some hotels aim to make you pay extra for every little thing. And this includes storage. Charging extra for leaving your bags with them for those few hours before your flight seems to be the trend with budget hotels these days.

It seems like with budget hotels these days, simply having a roll of toilet paper and free WiFi is a luxury. What other bad hotel habits have you noticed in your travels? 

For an affordable, self-catering apartment with none of these bad habits - book in at 808 Cartwight Corner!

Quick Survival Tips if you are ever stuck at the Airport

Stuck at the airport? It could be for a number of reasons; a winter storm, a late flight or technical issues. Whatever the reason may be, make sure you are fully prepared with some of these invaluable tips.

Keep your cell ready > As soon as your flight cancellation is announced, quickly call the airline or your travel agent. You can book a new flight to prevent you from getting stuck at the airport again.

Get a business lounge day pass > Many airports now offer one-day passes to their business lounges for a small fee, which means access to  a business centre with desks, data ports, computers, WiFi hotspots and sometimes even showers.

Look beyond the gate > If you don’t need to camp out right at your gate, consider relocating to one of the less busy eateries inn the terminal, where you’re more likely to find an available electrical outlet.

Pamper yourself > If you’ve got the time and money, most major airports have reasonably priced services for massages, facials and haircuts to help the time go by a little more pleasantly.

Stock up on supplies > Most airport’s food stores close before midnight, so if you’re stuck overnight, make sure you stock up on enough food and drink to last the night.

Practice safe napping > If you have to take a nap, put your feet on top of your bags. Stick your cash and credit cards in your shoe or in the pocket of your pants.

Network > Getting cancelled can actually mean a great opportunity to network and make connections with fellow business travelers. Carry extra business cards just in case!

Have you tried any of these tips before?  Make sure you are prepared just in case cancellations or delays occur at the airport.

For a reliable shuttle service to and from Cape Town International Airport, book one of our taxis with Airport Shuttle today!

DIY – Travel Keepsake Box

Since technology is pretty advanced these days, we all have digital cameras and smartphones so its easy to just snap a picture and fill it away on the computer.

But, what do you do with all the postcards, maps, tickets and other items you’ve collected on your travels? It’s about time they get organized, so here’s how to create your very own travel keepsake box for each place you’ve visited.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

- Paper mache book box, or any sturdy box
- Paint and foam brush
- Maps and scrapbook paper
- Scissors or X-acto knife
- Decoupage glue
- Foam brush
- Adhesive letters
- Craft glue
- Travel memorabilia photocopies
- Embellishments as desired

LET’S DO IT

- Paint “pages” of book or sides of the box and allow them to dry completely.
- Cut map to fit front and back of the box – don’t worry about completely covering the spine because you’ll be using scrapbook paper for that area. Brush glue over front and back covers of the box then cover with map. Apply more glue to front and back covers with brush, completely sealing the map – if you’ve cut your map a little short, fill in with small scrap pieces from a map then glue them into place to cover the exposed areas. Allow the covers to dry completely.
- Cut scrapbook paper to a size that allows it to cover the spine of the box, and then label it with adhesive letters. It’s a lot easier to do this when the paper is flat, before you glue it to the spine.
- Glue scrapbook paper in place by applying glue to the edges of the front and back cover. Don’t glue the entire piece of paper to the spine or you’ll have problems opening and closing your box.
- Glue memorabilia to the front and back of the box. Then apply a protective layer of glue and allow it to dry.
- Fill with mementos from your travels and display.

This nifty little travel keepsake box is simple and easy to make, not to mention the supplies are cheap. It gives you an ideal place to store your mementos instead of stuffing them away in the “don’t know what to do with” drawer or closet.

Need a reliable shuttle service to or from Cape Town International Airport? You need Airport Shuttle! Book a taxi on our website today.

The bad habits of ineffective hotels

If you travel a lot you have obviously noticed that there are many exceptional hotels, self-catering apartments, B&B’s etc. BUT you have probably also noticed that some are just plain weird, and their bad habits are odd as well.

Here are the worst hotel habits that you may have encountered as a traveler…

#1 Telephones – You would be shocked at the amount of hotels that can’t get their own phone systems right. There’s nothing worse than pressing the “Wake Up Call” button and then getting directed to the reservations call centre instead. And then still getting charged for the call! Let’s not forget about when you wait on the line listening to the busy signal for 20 minutes, maybe next time it would be better to rather send out a carrier pigeon!

#2 Internet – Everyone enjoys lying in bed, watching TV and surfing the net. But, all this is pretty hard to do if there is no wireless connection. Having to run a LAN connection to the other side of the room is just not cool at all.

#3 Hidden Charges – Hotel tax, convenience charge, gratuity, local tax, room service, mini-bar, hospitality fee, tourist tax, internet access fees, charges for phone calls – it all adds up, and its super annoying! It’s not great when you find a decent hotel or accommodation and then all the extras kill the vibe.

#4 Temperature – The water is too hot, and the room is too cold, or the water is too cold and the room is too hot! There are always issues with temperatures in the shower; the goal here is that you just want to wash your body – it doesn’t have to be as complicated as sterilizing medical equipment!

#5 Laundry – When you stay in a hotel, guest house or self-catering apartment you need to do laundry! It’s just one of those things and hotel laundry prices are out of control. Imagine having to pay more to get your socks cleaned then you did to buy them.

#6 Photos – Choosing your hotel is a lot like internet dating. It’s extremely rare that what you get in real life actually looks like what was on the internet. Sometimes, on a rare occasion you may be pleasantly surprised, but that doesn’t happen often. Trip Advisor is a great place to find real photos from real photos.

#7 Signs – Isn’t it the worst when you have to work overnight to mirror business hours, or you just simply do not want to be disturbed and then the staff members insist on bothering you. Surely Do Not Disturb means what it says; you’d think it was a no brainer.

Have you ever experienced any of these truly annoying hotel habits? What are you hotel pet peeves?

Book in at 808 Cartwright Corner for an amazing self-catering apartment in Cape Town with Table Mountain in full view. 

A wearable that will help you beat jet lag?

As more and more wearables come out, the stranger their functions get! The focus so far on wearables, however has been mainly health and fitness.

The people from the F1 team McLaren are actually making a wearable that makes jetlag a thing of the past!

In a paper, the car firm set out a vision for a brand new device that will help you combat that tired and drained feeling you get after a long flight. Duncan Bradley from the McLaren’s Applied Technologies Team (MAT) wrote: "We'll get people to think about the condition in which they'd like to arrive somewhere, and then make it possible for them to achieve this."

He said that what they will be able to do is take your body’s vital signs, look at your travel details and actually predict the best way for you to travel and get to a point in time where you’re feeling as good as you can be.

All this will involve collecting information from your body over time and knowing how it reacts in context. Bradley added: "You'll then be offered information about interventions, even if they're counter-intuitive." Though there’s no word on what kind of interventions.

Most people just say that if you adjust the time zone at your destination a couple of days before, you’ll actually minimise the effects of jet lag. It’s hard to see what else this wearable can offer besides that.

Although McLaren is best known for its work with Formula 1 racing and super cars, the Applied Technologies team is focused on the future of wearable tech.

It’s unclear what form McLaren’s jet lag culling wearable will take or when it will become a reality. Sadly, we don’t imagine it will be anytime soon.

For a reliable, affordable shuttle service to and from Cape Town International Airport - Contact Airport Shuttle today! 

A night at the world’s best hotel

You won’t believe it, but South Africa’s La Residence in Franschoek captured the number one spot last year for the Top 100 Hotels and Resorts. The real question is… is it really the best hotel in the world?

There are some pretty luxurious and swanky hotels out there, but that doesn’t even begin to describe this place. La Residence Hotel & Spa in Franschoek Valley is perfection to a tee, and plenty of other people agree. Well, it did come in first as the best hotel in the world, so let’s find out why.

It seems that it is extremely hard to find fault with the place, and believe me people have tried!

- The WiFi? It is strong and there is connection anywhere you go in the hotel.

- The food? It’s included and it is delicious! You even have the option to go into the kitchen and help out or just observe, if the urge to be creative strikes you. Since the hotel can be booked as all inclusive or as a bed and breakfast, you can stuff your face as much as you like.

- There has to be screaming kids, right? Nope, not at all. Adults only in the main house and if you bring your kids along, you’re welcome to one of the villas. The great thing is that the separate villas are larger, family-friendly and even have their own pool!

- Stuffy butlers bothering you? Of course not. While you can pretty much get anything your heart desires with a simple phone call, and all the staff are very attentive, they also understand that most people just want to be left alone.

When La Residence was named the nest hotel in the world, it was described as a place that, “appeals to those who wish to be close to the action, but out of the limelight.” That’s actually a perfect description. It is nestled above Franschoek on a private road less than an hour from Cape Town, it benefits from being close to the bustle of the city, and also that it is in a quaint, arty village. Plus La Residence just happens to be in the food and wine capital of South Africa!

Each of the 11 suites and 5 villas has its own different vibe, colour scheme and fancy furnishings you’d expect to find in the world’s best hotel. Let’s not forget, it is said to have the nicest bathrooms in the whole southern hemisphere.

But, La Residence doesn’t take itself too seriously. There is plenty that is quirky about this place, like cool over-sized chairs on the balcony and unique art on the walls. The attitude they have is great, they are classy and not snooty at all, that’s one of the big things they have going for them.

La Residence really embodies what a true luxury boutique hotel should be. The only fault you can make here is to only stay for one night!

For a luxurious, self-catering apartment, with amazing views of the Mother City - book in at 808 Cartwright Corner today! 

World’s Weirdest Restaurants

Food is central to travel, especially when it reflects the culture of the people and places that you’re visiting. Restaurants can offer travelers an authentic taste of new cities, regions and countries.  But, sometimes they are just plain weird. We are taking a culinary tour of the world, and presenting to you the weirdest restaurants!

Modern Toilet – Taiwan
What’s that smell? It could be the toilet-themed restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan. If you have ever thought about eating a snack while in the bathroom, then Modern Toilet might be right for you! The restaurant deals in cuisine, like curry and noodles, but the catch is that it’s served in toilet bowls and urinal shaped dishes while you sit on (non-functional) toilets.

Opaque – USA
This restaurant is definitely not recommended if you have a horrible fear of the dark! Opaque is America’s version of “Dining in the Dark”, a concept that has been popular in Europe for years. Guests order in a well-lit lounge and then are escorted to a pitch black dining room, where they are guided by blind or visually impaired servers through a specially prepared meal. Many people have said that the fully dark experience has enhances the taste, touch and smell of the cuisine.

Cannibalistic Sushi – Tokyo
The idea of this restaurant came from Nyotaimori, the extremely rare practice of serving sushi from the body of a woman (typically naked). What’s interesting about Cannibalistic Sushi is that diners do not eat what’s on the body, but rather, the body itself! The “human body” is made from dough on what looks like an operating table. Red sauce is added for life-like blood and all the internal organs are accurately reproduced with sushi and sashimi.

Ithaa – Maldives
The fact that Ithaa is in Maldives, only has 12 seats and costs 5 million dollars makes it one of the most exclusive restaurants around, but it’s also one of the weirdest. The restaurant is 16 feet below the surface of the Indian Ocean! A 180 degree acrylic see-through dome is all that is between you and a dazzling array of sting rays, butterfly fish and an array of different underwater creatures. Ithaa is the world’s first underwater eatery. It is a good weird, but still weird nonetheless.

The Heart Attack Grill – Las Vegas
We all know Americans love huge portions of food. The Heart Attack Grill sells over the top, obscenely massive burgers with sides of fried that are deep fried in lard. Diners are actually given hospital style gowns before they tuck into food like the quadruple bypass burger, a towering heart attack on a plate with four beef patties and 20 slices of bacon! The waitresses are dressed as nurses and will even help you out of the restaurant in a wheelchair if necessary.

Some people don’t enjoy eating in a normal restaurant setting; they crave the weird and the crazy! Travellers should embrace the bizarre eateries from around the world – dinner on the loo, anyone?

For a shuttle service that is reliable, affordable and always on time, contact Airport Shuttle in Cape Town. We can shuttle you to and from Cape Town International Airport and our drivers always have a friendly smile!

Written By: Christine Romans