Hotels… places where a multitude of people are always passing through… each with their own story and preferences; some arrive in a good mood, others are going through a rough spell; they can be visiting for passion, pleasure or work…
Just imagine the number of things that go on ever day in a hotel. If the walls could talk we’d have the greatest sociological study ever done! But for now, we’ll respect their silence and limit ourselves to recounting some of the stories the Vincci employees have experienced… and which they’re now spilling the beans about. And they’ve got more than a few tales.
About eight or nine years ago, a German client staying at the Vincci Lys4* in Valencia was so delighted with the body milk at the hotel that she bought several cases and managed to take them all back home with her. But that was nothing compared to the day a client called us, absolutely desperate, because he was stuck on his terrace having locked himself out of his room. We went hunting high and low for him, but couldn’t find him anywhere… In the end it turned out he was actually staying at a nearby hotel and had somehow managed to call us by mistake.
The guests often ask us to put something in the room before they arrive: flowers, rose petals, a bottle of cava or birthday cards, but the most interesting thing we’ve ever been asked to put in the room was… a photo of a lemur!
But the hotel that really stands out in terms of funny stories is the Vincci Capitol 4* in Madrid. Thanks to its location and the incredible range of guests that pass through its doors the staff there have seen it all. On occasion they’ve been asked if the hotel is where they filmed Beauty and the Beast. (The Disney film was of course not filmed here, but The Day of the Beast, a Spanish black comedy action film, was).
One night a guest appeared stark naked in reception, having been locked out of their room. To get a copy of their keys, they’d had to come down in the glass lift. We lent them a raincoat for their trip back up. Another night, a corporate guest appeared in reception in their dressing gown, with their pillow and a blanket, and lay down on the sofa. The night porter, incredulous, went over to explain that sleeping isn’t allowed in reception. The guest, almost in tears, pleaded to be allowed to stay, because his roommate was snoring so loudly he couldn’t sleep.
At reception and in the restaurant at breakfast we put out ornamental vases with small stones, about the size of a die. A few months ago a guest complained (at reception and on tripadvisor) that the breakfast sweets were too hard…
But the one day that won’t be forgotten at Vincci Capitol was when a guest left his wife in reception while he went to get the car out of the hotel parking. The poor lady was there for over an hour, until her husband finally called… to let her know he was miles away down the motorway, having completely forgotten to pick her up!
As you can imagine, hotels are places where there’s always something going on. They’re places where people are always coming and going, base camps for holidays or business trips, and they give rise to a never-ending series of entertaining situations.
These were all really funny stories. I think my favorite was the one about the guest who went and tried to sleep in the lobby because his roommate was snoring so loudly. I have had this experience a lot of times. In fact, when I stay at a hotel with my parents, both of them tend to snore the whole night. To stop them, I usually make a loud noise. They will stop for a few minutes, but not completely wake up. I then try to take advantage of this opportunity to fall asleep in that time frame.