<p>Our new home has given us the opportunity to host friends and family for extended visits. We are still trying to fill in odds and ends in the guest suites. What type of amenities do you expect when staying with relatives or good friends?</p>
<p>The biggest hole I’ve noticed so far is water, specifically drinking water for the guest rooms. I’ve found, for some reason, our guests first reaction is to grab crystal to bring up to their rooms, and I’d rather that stay on the main floor. Already in the guest bathrooms are those cups that match the other bathroom accessories, though I tend to use to store my tooth brush. Should I also provide non-breakable glasses? If so, should they be in the bathrooms? Next to the bed? In the kitchen? Or perhaps I should put little bottles of water in the guest rooms?</p>
<p>The only thing I expect is clean towels and sheets. My relatives are really bad about remembering I might want a towel. I’ve learned where to get them myself in their current houses! If you don’t want them using specific glasses I think providing glasses is a good idea. I have paper dixie cups available so that people don’t have to keep track of cups, but I think it’s fine to put cups in the room too. If they are all identical keeping them in the bathroom (unless the bathrooms aren’t shared by more than a couple) is probably a bad idea. My mother always brings a flashlight, (and frequently forgets them and leave them behind,) when she’s a guest, so that might be something for bedside tables if you want ideas.</p>
<p>I think little bottles of water are good, with some coasters. My mom also puts colorful plastic cups on the dresser in the bedroom (as many cups as there are guests). I think it is unclear in a bathroom “whose cup is whose”, even if it is just the guest bathroom. This makes it clearer that the cups are for them.</p>
<p>I just turned D1’s bedroom into a guest bedroom (sniff). Things I made sure it had:</p>
<ul>
<li>An alarm clock with numbers that can be read at night. I got one that can hold an iPod device (not expensive) as well.</li>
<li>A lamp well placed for reading next to the bed.</li>
<li>Space in the closet and extra hangers.</li>
<li>A suitcase holder (rack?). Not sure what they are called.</li>
<li>Kleenex. :)</li>
<li>A few interesting books on the bookshelf.</li>
<li>A mirror.</li>
</ul>
<p>I always have dixie cups in the bathroom, extra toothbrushes and toothpaste, and fresh towels. In the bedroom I have an extra blanket on the bed and extra pillows in the closet. I also have a couple of water bottles on the night stand. The water bottles are a nice touch but certainly not necessary. I have an autoimmune that causes me to have a dry mouth and having water nearby at all times is a big deal so it’s just habit. I think mathmom’s suggestion of a flashlight is nice if you happen to have one. We do have night lights in the bath, hallway, and guest room. I don’t use them upstairs but when you’re in unfamiliar surroundings in the dark it can be disorienting. I generally just add when I greet my guests “If there’s anything that would make you more comfortable, or you have forgotten, please let me know.”. I suppose there’s potential for taking advantage in an open-ended offer like that but I’ve never had anything past a request to borrow a forgotten hairdryer or iron.</p>
<p>I heard to move into the guest room yourself for a weekend. It will help you figure out what you may still need to add. I’ve tried it and it works.</p>
<p>I add fresh flowers the day a guest arrives.</p>
<p>Reading light. Good reading light. A very dim night light in the bathroom and in the halls so that people don’t have to turn the light on. </p>
<p>Ask in the evening if they need a glass of water to take to bed, then ask that they not take up the crystal. If things bug you (if you have “house rules” you didn’t know you had until someone violates them), you need to articulate them, because otherwise you end up upset/angry/something… at least that’s my experience.</p>
<p>We have a lot of guests and our guest room is not in the house–it’s over the garage with its own entrance. I am very clear in the evening what time people can come into the house (“we’re not up until 7 so please don’t knock before that”) because if we’re not up, the dogs go completely nuts if someone knocks.</p>
<p>I also find it helps to let people know early–so they don’t have to ask–what you want them to do with the sheets before they leave. I like the bed stripped and the covers left off (to make it easy to make the bed back up) but others like the bed stripped and the covers left neat. YMMV.</p>
<p>Make it obvious where the extra TP is.</p>
<p>In this day of airline security, I find most of my guests arrive without needed toiletries, so the guest bath has shampoo, conditioner, bubble bath (the guest room has an awesome tub), and toothpaste.</p>
<p>Our guestroom and guest bath are stocked with all mentioned above. The only other items than I have added:
-extra spa robes in closet
-extra flip flops (for walking out to hot tub!)
-instructions for TV/cable/remotes and listing of TV channels
-easy to reach power strip for plugging in phone, etc (electrical outlets in our older house are not plentiful or easily accessible)
-password for wi-fi</p>
<p>Clean linens…sheets and towels, a good reading light, some place to hang clothes with hangers, and an extra blanket in the winter just in case.</p>
<p>After a guest spilled about a quart of water on the bedroom carpet, we just don’t have water in the bedrooms. It was a huge mess drying out the rug and pad to prevent possible mildew and damage to the sub flooring. There are clean cups in the bathroom, and plenty of water and cups in the kitchen.</p>
<p>I don’t need to drink in the middle of the night and don’t really understand why others do. But my own kids and guests do take giant glasses of water to bed with them which made me crazy as I’d find puddles and water spots on the bedside tables. So I wised up and had glass cut to fit the tops of the tables in what were the kids’ rooms and are now the guest rooms. You can even get the glass finished with nice bevels and smooth edges.
As a guest, I do appreciate a dedicated hairdryer and also a shower cap.</p>
<p>Laughing at suggestions from Hunt and musicamusica. Hunt, I guess you bought all the monkey heads because its currently out of stock. </p>
<p>Gosmom, nice suggestion about the spa robes. Sounds lovely to be a guest in your home provided there are no monkey heads or dummies eerily staring at me.</p>
<p>I like the idea of the power strip. The nearest plug to the bed is in an awkward spot, and I know that I hate hotel rooms where I can’t lay in bed with my laptop and charge it at the same time.</p>
<p>Buy a case of water and leave a bottle out for them. If you put the bottle on a coaster, the odds are greater they will replace it on the coaster. </p>
<p>As for alarms, half the people like them and half cover them up because of the glow and/or the noise.</p>
<p>We have a fan in every room. Our area is so quiet that some people like the white noise to help them sleep. We also don’t have AC so fans are good in the summer. We put blackout shades on all the bedroom windows, but I suggest people keep them raised if they like to wake up to natural light.</p>
<p>I second the fan. Our relatives usually provide one of the following:</p>
<ol>
<li> Advice, as in “I think you’d be more comfortable in a hotel.”</li>
<li> Travel tips, as in providing the name of a local motel.</li>
<li> Don’t invite us.</li>
<li> Throw their doors and refrigerators open and welcome us whole-heartedly. (just one does this for everyone!)</li>
</ol>
<p>I got the small water bottles for the rooms. There are little baskets in each bathroom with toothbrushes, toothpaste, and other toiletries. Shampoo, conditioner, and body gel is in all the showers. </p>
<p>These rooms have lots of plugs, that would put their electronics on their night stands. And all have ceiling fans. </p>
<p>Thanks for giving me things to think about.</p>
<p>As for the robes, my parents went out and bought clothes, including pjs and underwear to leave here for when they visit. Freaked my new husband out.</p>