Staying in hotels - is it safe?

[RobbieB]

It's rotten to be here in the central valley right now. Can't see 5 miles. Very smoky.

One can only hope and proceed with scheduled events as if nothing else matters.

[Montecfo]

I have spent about 15 days in hotel rooms 5 states in the last 3 weeks. Yes, it is safe if you are careful.

Our tips:

Stay in lower.floors or apartment style motels to avoid elevator rides.

Disinfect high touch surfaces.

Assume everyone has covid. Maintain distance at all times.

No one comes into room after we check in. No housekeeping. We do our own.

Every place we stayed had posted mask requirement in common spaces. But some jokers still did not wear masks and I never heard any hotel employee ask them to put them on. We maintain distance like they are.lepers.

I'm not usually a big fan of Hilton hotel.products, but they seem to be doing a.much better job of marketing the cleanliness of their rooms. And it is fairly convincing.

[budmanatlanta]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sojourner I don't think there's been a recent thread focused on the relative risks/safety of staying in hotels, so I wanted to start a discussion about this. Here are a few questions off the top of my head to get us started. Would you (or have you) stayed in a hotel recently? What criteria did you (or would you) use for picking a hotel? How risky is staying overnight at a hotel compared to, say, eating (indoors) at a restaurant or going grocery shopping, etc.? If you were staying overnight in a hotel room, what extra/special precautions would you take to ensure additional safety? Would you be concerned about hotel air conditioning systems being a viable means for blowing around infected respiratory droplets or aerosols between rooms? Would you assume every item/surface in a hotel room is "contaminated" and take steps to disinfect those surfaces after checking in? Would you bring your own bed sheets, pillows, comforters, etc.?

We just stayed in a small beach house for a week. To reduce the risk, we brought cleaning wipes with us and cleaned everything with a particular focus on high touch areas such as the remote controls, door knobs, sink and shower knobs and thermostat. This is a great idea to do even pre-Covid, and it provided additional peace of mind in staying at the house!

[DrRoy]

We are just back from 3 nights at a state park lodge in Indiana, and one Holiday Inn getting home. The hotels were handling things fairly well, people were pretty well masked and distances maintained.

[JoeWras]

What's going on with the breakfast bars in these places?

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras What's going on with the breakfast bars in these places?

Where we've stayed, they will just give you a little bag with "eat on the go" food.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras What's going on with the breakfast bars in these places?

We avoided them and brought our own. One hotel I saw handing out breakfast baggies had people waiting in line without enough space. Others had restaurants open and had space and few customers.

[mckittri2000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyingaway We were supposed to be in the Great Sooky Mountains today for three days. But we cancelled the trip on Friday. We are not comfortable with hotel stays and restaurant eatings at this time.

We just returned from Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge and I can tell you that it was very busy. Almost all stores were requiring masks and there was hand sanitizer everywhere you looked. We did mostly outdoor activities but we did stay in a hotel and eat out at a couple of good restaurants while we were there.

[Venturer]

Early this year we were in Pigeon Forge & decided to get season passes to Dollywood for us and our Granddaughter. We had bought some about 10 yrs ago and thought since she is now 8 we knew she would love it. We have a camper and she thinks if we are going camping she needs to go too. Then here comes Covid. We have the tickets but DWood is closed. Finally mid June they open with restrictions --must have reservation to go ,only 1/3 capacity and masks required. We still waited to see how all that worked out. One of our best friends finally decided to go there July 17. He said it was no problem, all shows were outside,it wasn't crowded at all and masks were on except in the mask free resting zones. So we decided to go on 7/29-08/01 w-sat. it was as he said We went to the park thut. and back Fri. for about 4 to 5 hrs each day,which for our old bones is plenty. Dwood extended the season tickets until June 15 th of 2021 so we will probably get to go next spring with DGD a few times before they expire. The campground we stay in is a smaller family owned one so we feel safe there. We will just have to wait and see if this mess is better by then, I hope it is but it will still be one day at a time.

[JoeWras]

The main Gatlinburg tourist district is usually jammed with pedestrians. How was it now? I'm not sure I'd be too comfortable with the crowd, even if it is outside.

[street]

I know of a couple of retired couple's that have done long weekends in hotels. They take cleaning supplies/sanitizing products etc. and their own pillows etc.. They seem to feel safe and do all they can to protect themselves and stay away from crowds.

[Venturer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras The main Gatlinburg tourist district is usually jammed with pedestrians. How was it now? I'm not sure I'd be too comfortable with the crowd, even if it is outside.

Joe we are from N Ga, so we took the long way into Pigeon Forge, came up thru Cherokee NC then over 441 thru Gatlinburg. It was baaad in GBurg, We normally don't go there but my wife wanted to see the new bridge. We decided not to stop.If you like to take an hour to go the 3 or so miles thru downtown then more power to ya. I only go around the bypass most times we go. The same way for us in Pigeon Forge, we know when not to go there. which is any time they are hosting a big show,rally,ball tourney,etc. Then if you don't know the "back roads" you can spend 2 or 3 hrs in bumper to bumper traffic from Sevierville thru PF to Gburg. I have been there seen that and don't care to do it. We love the Smokies but not the traffic.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Venturer Joe we are from N Ga, so we took the long way into Pigeon Forge, came up thru Cherokee NC then over 441 thru Gatlinburg. It was baaad in GBurg, We normally don't go there but my wife wanted to see the new bridge. We decided not to stop.If you like to take an hour to go the 3 or so miles thru downtown then more power to ya.

OK. Sounds "normal" then. No thanks!

We use Gburg as a hiking base. Over the years, we became very familiar with the "secret" back roads. But that's not the point of Gburg. Part of it is people watching. Where else can you enjoy a dinner and have a wedding break out (complete with dress and tux) next to you? Where else can you have the same wedding party invite you to their motel to join the party? Actual stories! Our hiking party is in someone's wedding picture album.

Maybe some year in the future. Not this year.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Venturer Joe we are from N Ga, so we took the long way into Pigeon Forge, came up thru Cherokee NC then over 441 thru Gatlinburg. It was baaad in GBurg, We normally don't go there but my wife wanted to see the new bridge. We decided not to stop.If you like to take an hour to go the 3 or so miles thru downtown then more power to ya. I only go around the bypass most times we go. The same way for us in Pigeon Forge, we know when not to go there. which is any time they are hosting a big show,rally,ball tourney,etc. Then if you don't know the "back roads" you can spend 2 or 3 hrs in bumper to bumper traffic from Sevierville thru PF to Gburg. I have been there seen that and don't care to do it. We love the Smokies but not the traffic.

We spent some lovely time at a nice RV park near Townsend many years ago, it was great - totally away from the crowds. Easy access to the Smokies particularly Cades Cove which was of interest to us that trip. Just drive a bit farther to see other attractions and the east side of the park.

[athena53]

It may be a bit early to declare myself "safe" since my last checkout was 4 days ago, but I did a road trip from Kansas City to the Lexington, SC area a week ago. Dad is in LTC there and the facilities won't allow visitors into the place till the lawmakers absolve them of liability for any COVID cases. Dad is 89. I couldn't wait for that- Dad is failing and, frankly, all of us hope he doesn't last long in this state. Frustrating to be able to see Dad only through glass but I was glad to be there. Stayed with siblings in the area who share my level of caution but was in Hampton Inns overnight each way.

Both had "sanitized" seals on the door of the room when I checked in (for what that's worth) and enforced masking and social distancing in the lobby. The smaller one (Mt. Juliet, TN) had grab-and-go breakfasts and coffee but told me they'd be adding hot buffet items in the near future. The one in Paducah, KY already was, with a staff member serving to avoid contamination of serving utensils. I skipped everything but the coffee in both. Both places still had in-room coffee makers, too.

The only "miss" was the gym in Mt. Juliet. It's small and the rule posted on the door was only one occupant at a time, which made perfect sense. A guy was in it when I wanted to use it so I changed into my swimsuit and git into the pool. From there I could see the gym and a second guy went in and got on the treadmill. Two guys working out, apparently unrelated, no masks. I was glad to be in the pool. The next morning I discovered that Guy #2 had left a used sanitary wipe on the treadmill. It also meant the hotel staff hadn't cleaned the gym yet. Of course I scrupulously wipe down any equipment I use, anyway.

Also disappointed with the convenience stores and a Subway in the places I stopped- no one bothering with masks, even staff. I got in and out (masked) as fast as I could.

[grasshopper]

Just one thing that makes hotels less scary is a box of cheap sandwich bags, but not zip bags. I cover all the sink, shower, door knobs, and remote and just as soon as we arrive.

[harllee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grasshopper Just one thing that makes hotels less scary is a box of cheap sandwich bags, but not zip bags. I cover all the sink, shower, door knobs, and remote and just as soon as we arrive.

Great idea--I will remember this! Any idea what to put on light switches? Maybe some plastic wrap or something?

[Badger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grasshopper Just one thing that makes hotels less scary is a box of cheap sandwich bags, but not zip bags. I cover all the sink, shower, door knobs, and remote and just as soon as we arrive.

Great idea. But if I have to go to all that trouble and be concerned about taking my pillow, sanitizing the room, etc. so I could feel comfortable and not worry then I think I will pass. Then there is the brown-bagged breakfast and if not then going to a restaurant that may or may not be sanitized. Nope!



Cheers!

[mckittri2000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Venturer Joe we are from N Ga, so we took the long way into Pigeon Forge, came up thru Cherokee NC then over 441 thru Gatlinburg. It was baaad in GBurg, We normally don't go there but my wife wanted to see the new bridge. We decided not to stop.If you like to take an hour to go the 3 or so miles thru downtown then more power to ya. I only go around the bypass most times we go. The same way for us in Pigeon Forge, we know when not to go there. which is any time they are hosting a big show,rally,ball tourney,etc. Then if you don't know the "back roads" you can spend 2 or 3 hrs in bumper to bumper traffic from Sevierville thru PF to Gburg. I have been there seen that and don't care to do it. We love the Smokies but not the traffic.

We only go during the weekdays when we visit. We just got back this past Wednesday (Mon-Wed trip) and had no problems with the traffic. The sidewalks in Gatlinburg are packed with tourists but as far as driving, we had no problems.

[gerntz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RE2Boys +1 I just spent two nights in a motel recently and had zero concern of contracting the virus from surfaces. The only surfaces that I was slightly concerned were surfaces that had very recently been handled such as door bars , handles , door knobs....zero concern regarding the room itself. The huge concern was passing folks in the hallways or lobby who do not the common courtesy to practice social distancing or to a wear a mask in common areas (and I recognize and agree that it is a pain in the a....). Avoided any rooms with more than a hand full of people. Assume everyone has a very bad cold.

+1