Home is where the heart is and while I’ve always wished I were one of those people who grew up in one house, having the same best friend from birth, that was not in my cards. I lived in North Carolina with my grandparents while my military mother was stationed in Germany. When she and my father returned we bounced from New Jersey, back to my grandparents to take care of my sick grandmother, to Texas, and finally to Maine. I don’t consider myself to have ever had a “home” in the traditional sense, just many houses that had no sentimental value to me. That’s probably why I always wanted to make a hotel like home by actually living in a hotel like Eloise.
In my present-day, traveling feels like home. My heart is in it and when I’m doing it, my heart feels full. Full of adventure, full of wonder, full of excitement, full of life. Of course, traveling is a bit different with Covid-19 going on and I’m not traveling nearly as much as I was before but sometimes it still can’t be helped.
My daughter and I just came back from an extended stay in Boston and while I remembered why I love staying in hotels, I realized I was missing the home I was starting to create in Charlotte. Here are a few things I typically like to have that I consider to be little luxuries of home.
Fresh Cut Flowers
My mother didn’t keep flowers in the house. Honestly, the only time I recall seeing flowers that weren’t attached to a bush, was when someone died. When I got to high school, I had a forbidden boyfriend that used to send me flowers all the time, simply because, and my love of flowers – and him – bloomed. When my kids were younger, I was a nanny for a couple I met while working at the gym* part time and they always had flowers in the house. The wife told me that no matter how poor she was, she always bought fresh cut flowers because of how they made her feel. I’ve since adopted that practice.
*Before your mind runs wild, let me clarify by saying I worked in at the child watch and front desk portions of the gym, I wasn’t actually training anyone or working out for that matter.
Homemade Meals
Many people hate the idea of being on vacation and cooking but as I expressed, I feel at home when I travel, so I also still like having meals in my room. If it’s a full kitchen, like I generally have at Hilton Grand Vacations properties, I scout out the nearest farmers market or try to stick to the perimeter of the grocery store if there’s not one. If it’s just a kitchenette, I improvise and find things I either don’t need the microwave for or things that only need limited heating.
Really Great Bath Products
My grandmother used to keep a basket of hotel bath supplies on the top of the toilet. No one used them and you knew this because they were always caked with layers upon layers of dust. I will admit, I used to be one of those people hoarding all of the bath supplies from my hotel bathroom, including the shampoo that I knew damn well wouldn’t work for my hair. I also never used any of the supplies I took from hotels, I just took them “in case I needed them one day”. I realized I had a problem stopped doing that.
I finally started switching things up and taking my own bath supplies – hair products made for me, body wash that left my skin nourished, and body butter that made me feel like silk. Sometimes, I’m surprised by amazing body products and don’t have to use mine.
House Shoes and Face Mask
These two just seemed to perfectly couple together and what says “make a hotel like home” more than HOUSE shoes and a relaxing face mask? I love a good face mask. I’ve tried several of them and actually really enjoy the one you can get right at Dollar Tree. I try to do a mask every other day and make sure to keep some in my bag at all times. For a face mask you rub on, I love my Urban Skin Rx 2 in 1 Purifying Pumpkin Pore Detox Mask and Scrub – it also stays in my bag.
House shoes are a must because I don’t walk barefoot in hotels. My favorite pair, that easily fit in my bag, I purchased at DSW.
Wi-Fi
Honestly, in this day and age, a hotel not having complimentary WiFi befuddles my mind and is non-negotiable. If I have to pay for WiFi at a hotel … I’m out.
What are some things you take to make a hotel like home when you’ve got to be away for an extended time? Have you ever thought about living in a hotel Eloise style?
