I’m staying n a hotel tonight, and am once again confronted with a situation I do not understand.
The hotel provides a set of drinking glasses and an ice bucket. For several years now, the ice bucket has included a plastic bag.
What’s the plastic bag for? My initial guess was that it was to line the ice bucket, but I’ve tried before, and tonight, and it’s just too small to condomize the ice bucket.
So what am I supposed to do with this thing?
I’m about ready to give up with typos on this Lodgenet.
What do you need it for? The insides of the ice bucket are most certainly very far from sterile, maybe put some ice in the bag, then in the bucket? I doubt that there’s a concierge at a place with “bucket bags”, and the night person probably doesn’t give a shit, so forget asking.
Here’s some advice, forget the bag. Unless you want to wrap the ice in it, and then cool your beverage through conduction.
If the “water” from the hotel “ice” gets in your system, who knows what could happen…I’d rather drink tap water than get Legionairre’s disease from an ice machine.
And before you think that “condomizing” a bucket makes it clean, think about the drunken bastards that probably pissed in and around said ice machine…people do. Act like you’re in Mexico, bottled beverages only, and only then when washed externally.
Sorry to rant, but you brought up “hotel hygiene” which is IMO an oxymoron. Use the bag to touch the doorknob, or the toilet handle, or the remote…it never ends.
Having worked in the hotel business all my life, I know the plastic IS to line the bucket. A couple of things happened. 1) The director of housekeeping ordered the wrong thing…so they use it anyway. 2) Budget cuts…The Director of Sales needs a raise so they order Ice Bucket Liners from a cheaper company and those don’t fit. 3) You are staying on a floor for conceirge or suite level guests. The Ice Buckets are bigger and you got one for the regular floors. 4) You got the liner for something else…
And yes if you knew what a hotel was really like you’d never stay at one…Much like if you saw the inside of a resturant kitchen you wouldn’t eat there.
Um…it’s naïve of me to ask, but why exactly is there such a big demand for ice, while staying in a hotel room?
It’s for putting in booze or something, right? No offense, but it’s not like everyone could be reenacting scenes from “The World is Not Enough” while staying at the Hilton.
I down a glass or two of water every now and then, and I much prefer it with ice (or out of a refrigerator - often not an option in a hotel room). Usually the first thing I do upon getting settled is grab the ice bucket and hunt down the machine.
In addition to the reasons others have mentioned, I can put a couple of beers bought warm at a nearby store in the bucket and head for the ice machine. There, I fill the bucket with ice, and in an hour or so, I have cold beer.
This is what happens when you can’t afford to stay in places with minibars. Or, even if you could, you couldn’t afford the goods in the minibar.
Yeah, and those organ thieves are such sticklers for cleanliness they wouldn’t think of transporting the ice from the machine to the bath tub without using the bucket bag. If someone were to get an infection it would really give the organ robbers a bad reputation.
I visited the kitchen of the company cafeteria several times a shift to check on various employees. When a kitchen is in operation on a fast track basis it can be more that just a bit messy. This doesn’t necessarilly mean it is unsanitary. At off shift and holidays it was spotless!
You have to know what you are looking at and for!
As for ice and/or water you are at the mercy of management. I ate at a big restaurant one hot day, no A/C, and I see one of the cooks drinking tea out of an iced tea pitcher. Called the manager and he said it was his pitcher. to whitch I suggested that he get the man a DIFFERENT something to drink out of in place of an iced tea pitcher!
It’s conventional for chefs and kitchen staff to be allowed a full pitcher of ice water or tea. There’s some kind of macho thing associated with needed all the liquid.
Re the ice: the classic purpose is to chill the champagne you are sharing with your lady friend. But, yeah, I just use it to throw over warm Labatt’s from the local store.
