Starling Travel

Our snowy stay in West Yellowstone was made more pleasant by our hotel. We stayed at the Comfort Inn in West Yellowstone.

Here are the photos of the Hotel SWAG as it was presented on 04-19-08:

Here is the coffee setup.

This Quattro razor was also on the counter. I don’t know if it was included in the SWAG or if we will be charged if we use it. The sign says complimentary, but it’s hard to know.

Here is the keycard.

The Internet connection wasn’t screaming fast, but it was usable. Additionally, there were several open wi-fi networks nearby that were also available.

Where:

Comfort Inn West Yellowstone

638 Madison Ave.
P.O. Box 1050
West Yellowstone, MT 59758
406-646-4212 • Fax 406-646-4212
Reservations 888-264-2466

Miss Rogue went to BarCampNYC and stayed at the Hyatt Bellevue. Imagine her surprise when she found this note from a previous guest at the hotel:

Awesome note a previous guest left for me to find at the Hyatt Bellevue by miss_rogue from Flickr

She also took a picture of it with her hotel key card, so you can see it here:

Awesome note a previous guest left for me to find at the Hyatt Bellevue by miss_rogue from Flickr

I have never stayed at a hotel that treated me like a “king.” I usually choose my hotel based on proximity to the conference or price, neither which are good conductors for being treated like a king. For me, I don’t need to be treated like a king. I just need a place to sleep and good Internet access. Everything else is just icing.

If you have never read the fine print on the back of a hotel key card, today is the day to start.

eyes like hawks on Flickr

It reads:

If you find this key Card, please read below. Until 12 o’clock tomorrow, this card is valid in one of 532 rooms or in one of 17 conference rooms at the Clarion Hotel Stockholm. However, if you are a thief do not even consider visiting us, as we have very good security both inside and outside the Hotel and our Front Desk personnel have eyes like hawks.

It almost sounds like a dare to me. From now on, I’m reading ALL the small print if gems like this can be found!

Apparently, Hotel SWAG doesn’t make the cut for a Christmas gift. Joy of Tech had this comic of Christmas gifts for people you don’t like and Hotel SWAG was prominently listed.

I’ve come to LOVE Hotel SWAG. I can’t wait to see how it will be presented in the hotel room and what it will look like. If someone were to send me pictures of Hotel SWAG for Christmas, that would be a VERY Merry Christmas indeed.

I can understand why the SWAG from the Super 8 Motel might not be a good gift, but come on, this stuff from the Best Western Clock Tower Inn in Billings, Montana was preemo:

Sure, it wouldn’t make a good Christmas present, but I’ve been walking around with that lotion bottle in my purse since August when I got it. It’s so slim and portable and everyone looks impressed when I pull it out. Plus, the lotion smells nice.

Hotel SWAG might not make a good Christmas present for everyone, but for me, it’s a little gift that the hotel gives me every time I stay there.

If you have taken pictures of Hotel SWAG, please share them with us on Flickr:

• Flickr: Hotel SWAG

Or you can contact me and I can post them here and give you credit for it:

• Contact Laura Moncur

After our horrible stay at Buffalo Bill’s the Las Vegas Hilton felt like a blissful home. We have stayed here many times before and have loved the Internet access (despite the $12 a day charge) and the Star Trek Experience. We ate at Quark’s every night.

Here is the room key:

Here is the swag setup with lotion, shampoo, facial soap and shower soap.

You can drink this water, but it will cost you four bucks.

We had a great stay at the Las Vegas Hilton and I didn’t want to leave it.

I’m never staying at Buffalo Bill’s again, but I wanted to show you the hotel swag from it.

It took three sets of these card keys to get a room where we could sleep. It wasn’t worth the effort.

Here is the soap for the shower. If you notice, there is water on the floor. We thought that the shower might have leaked, but it turned out that the toilet had overflowed. It was so clogged we couldn’t get it unplugged with the “precious” plunger that they deigned to loan us.

It was really hard not to be offended by this little sign telling me of what they will charge my card when I steal from them. Who would want their sandpaper towels? Thanks for trusting me…

Here is a closeup of the lotion, shampoo and soap. The second day, they gave us conditioner as well, but it wasn’t included the first day.

Swag, plastic cups, ice bucket and the sign assuming I’ll steal.

Here is the coffee setup.

The swag at Buffalo Bill’s was typical, but the hotel rooms were miserable. We left as soon as we could.

Here is the swag from the Sheraton National in Arlington, Virginia:

You can see all the hotel swag from the Arlington, Virginia Sheraton National (and plenty of others):

• Flickr: The Hotel SWAG Pool

If you have any photos of hotel swag that you would like to share, join the Flickr Pool and upload them. We’d love to see what you have.

Long ago, I remember watching an episode of MTV Cribs. I think it was about the guys from Blink 182. They were showing off their tour bus and they had a box of key cards from all the hotels that they stayed at while they were on the road.

Are key cards SWAG? Are you allowed to take them?

My instinct was NO. They open the freakin’ door, they can be reprogramed and reused, so NO, you shouldn’t keep them. They probably cost the hotel a lot of money.

Then I looked up how much they cost:

• Key Cards: Buykeycards

A hotel can buy a box of 1000 preprinted key cards for $85. That makes them less than 10 cents apiece. Of course, the custom printed key cards will cost more, but assuming the custom printed cards are 20 cents, that makes them less than the shampoo they leave by your bathtub.

It looks like people even collect and exchange key cards:

• Key Card Collect - Hotels

Are hotel key cards SWAG? My instinct says no, but it appears that everyone else disagrees with me.

If you have taken pictures of Hotel SWAG, please share them with us on Flickr:

• Flickr: Hotel SWAG

Or you can contact me and I can post them here and give you credit for it:

• Contact Laura Moncur

On our way back from Billings, we stayed the night at the Best Western Crosswinds Motor Inn in West Yellowstone, Montana. They also allow pets, but if you have allergies, you won’t be able to tell because their rooms are so clean. Here is the SWAG as it was presented on 08-24-07:

This motel is within walking distance of all the fun places in West Yellowstone. It’s right on the main strip and our room faced the busy road, but we couldn’t hear road traffic because the insulation was so good. Our room had a refrigerator in it, which was an added bonus that we didn’t expect.

After such a harrowing trip, the Crosswinds Motor Inn was a quiet and pleasant place for us to rest on our way home.

If you have taken pictures of Hotel SWAG, please share them with us on Flickr:

• Flickr: Hotel SWAG

Or you can contact me and I can post them here and give you credit for it:

• Contact Laura Moncur

Without a doubt, my favorite place to stay in Billings, Montana is the Clock Tower Inn. They accept pets, but their rooms are clean and didn’t set off my husband’s allergies. It is closest to the best restaurants in Billings. I have stayed at plenty of hotels in Billings, but my favorite is the Clock Tower Inn. Here is the hotel SWAG as it was presented on 08-20-07:

I’m ashamed to say that the SWAG at this hotel made me squeal with joy.

On the back of the toilet, they had extra toilet paper, a shower cap and a disposal bag. I love the container for the shower cap. If you actually USE a shower cap and want to keep it, this is the BEST little box for one because it allows the cap to dry, it’s recloseable and it is compact.

I usually don’t take pictures of the coffee setup at hotels because I don’t drink coffee, but everything looked so good, I snapped a picture of the coffee as well.

They even performed a little bit of toilet paper origami. It’s little touches like this that make the hotel experience all the better.

We had to stay in Billings because my grandfather died. It was a horrible time for us and the one respite we had at the end of those hard days was coming back to the Clock Tower Inn. I’m so grateful for them.

If you have taken pictures of Hotel SWAG, please share them with us on Flickr:

• Flickr: Hotel SWAG

Or you can contact me and I can post them here and give you credit for it:

• Contact Laura Moncur