Update, 11/12: Hyatt will eliminate mini hotel toiletries by June 2021. Is this goodbye to using Grand Hyatt Kauai toiletries at home?
Update, 8/28: Marriott will eliminate mini hotel toiletries by the end of 2020.
Originally posted on 8/13/19:
The hotel industry is moving away from mini toiletries. IHG will switch all of their hotel brands to large toiletry containers only by 2021, Marriott has already phased them out from several brands, and many other hotel brands will follow suit.
I get the need to move away from single use plastic, but that’s not to say I won’t miss the mini toiletries. (The same goes for the truly awful paper straws that melt in your mouth and your drink. There has got to be a better solution!)
First of all, the large bulk containers creep me out, as anyone can put anything in them. Sick people have put some pretty gross stuff in them. And how often are they actually cleaned?
But mostly, I enjoy bringing mini toiletries home and using them. It’s not so much about saving some money on soap and shampoo as it is the smell.
Intoxicating aromas from hotels like the Park Hyatt Paris and the Grand Hyatt Kauai instantly transport me from Cleveland back to the wonderful vacations associated with those smells.
They also make me long to go back.
Ostensibly, the death of mini hotel toiletries is due to going green, though let’s be honest, the real reason is greenbacks. That’s the same reason hotels would prefer not changing your sheets and towels during your stay, though a sign saying to help them go green surely sounds better than help us save some money.
I wonder if the elimination of mini hotel toiletries may actually backfire though. Am I the only one that wants to drop what I’m doing and catch the next flight to Kauai or Paris when I use their shampoo?
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92 Comments On "I, For One, Will Miss Mini Hotel Toiletries; Goodbye IHG, Marriott, And Now Hyatt Toiletries"
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Completely agree. Just finished my Marriott Kuaui soap 🙁
Totally with you on this one.
Dan just reading this and that pic of cocomango makes me wanna go back to these places
I don’t understand this article. It’s so much better now. We will now have a whole huge bottle of soap and shampoo to take home. It’s a lot easier than trying to raid the toiletry cart when room service isn’t looking.
Charged to cc on room
Lol. My guess is that nearly all will be dispensers locked to the wall.
But you can always bring some empty bottles and fill them up I suppose. If everyone did that they’d switch back in no time 😀
Hmmm…. we could make a movement to do so – a large scale protest… but I have a feeling they will instead start to measure the fill level and put a clause in the sign-in agreement that you will only use it in their shower. Then when they see the level way down low they will hit your cc. Otherwise they will just start mini refillls as part of the room setup and they will always be 90% empty. You can’t win at these things. 😉
bringing some empty bottles and filling them up will not be possible, as they will install a small built-in scales that weights the shampoo and charge your card on file if you use more then an once of shampoo a day.
How is that not theft?
It’s a joke.
Try unscrewing the dispenser from the wall…
How much do power tools weigh?
haha
Who’s raiding the cart when no one is looking?
You just ask the person at the cart for whatever your order of toiletries is, and get it right then and there (or if the cart is low on an item, you’ll get it delivered to your room)
GHK!!
One of the best toiletries I ever had!
Will miss it
I’m totally with you on this.
I save my little bottles too, when I want to be magically transported to another place and time…
Same! I have a whole collection from around the world 😀
I always have to hide mine from my wife! She thinks I’m crazy. Show us a picture of your collection!
Lol, same here.
Oh gosh. I don’t think I can share the collection. Will make me look like Ross.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on2_ooaUc4Q
Granted, they’re from hundreds of hotel stays though.
You can still bring them home, and they will last longer!
It’s been a while, but I remember staying at some real basic motels on the road up or down from Florida and they had soaps/shampoos in envelopes which were pitiful. Nothing like trying to tear a plastic thin shampoo envelope with wet hands in a shower. Even those disappeared through the years to soap canisters on the shower wall.
I guess bring big empty bottles with u and fill em up lol and leave the empty big bottle there
How is that not theft?
The straws are awful. I need at least 2 to get through a drink. How many trees are the greenies killing? Recycled paper or not, those straws have got to go.
As for the toiletries, the refillable containers are a bit disgusting. They don’t have to be, but they often are.
When they started the straw ban here, in California, I wondered if straws were truly a big issue. I was surprised to find out that this whole straw thing started with a video of a sea turtle, with a straw up his nose. Absurd!
https://time.com/5339037/turtle-video-plastic-straw-ban/
this would be a dealbreaker for me; I would seek out only hotels that offer mini shampoos. As Dan so eloquently put it, the scented shampoos, etc, is part of the hotel experience.
I only stay in 5 stars, such as St Regis, or Waldorf, etc, and I hope they wont follow suit. Or maybe it will be available on request?
IHG is doing this in their high end Intercontinentals and Kimpton hotels as well as the lower end Holiday Inns.
I’m sure other luxury brands will follow, in the name of going green. But perhaps some will not, for now.
The same goes for the truly awful paper straws that melt in your mouth AS your drink. There has got to be a better solution!)
Well, they melt in your drink too.
And they can’t be recycled. Snowflakes.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49234054
Wood straws work
Best soap I’ve ever had was in hotel des Indes in The Hague
Those little bottles of shampoo are great for the Mikveh.
+1000000000000
A hair dryer, no, no, no. But shampoos and conditioners, yes, yes, yes. Now, the salt shaker is off limits. Ah, but, the salt… I wish I’d thought this through.
I’m with you Dan, I remember the places I’ve been when I use these products. I know it’s all about the Benjamin’s with corporate America, not the environment
Tradition passed down from my mother when she was single … always ask for extras of the soaps and shampoos from all your travels and bring them home. The collection was quite large and got out of hand and we just recently donated a lot to a women’s shelter…. I’ll now be sqirreling
Away as much as I can on the next few trips
Nothing worse then eating hot soup with a wodden fork and it bending while u try to eat, California im looking at you
Drat. That is the best part of travelling. Then again… now I get to take home pods for my Keurig – so there is that instead. I primarily bought the machine just for the free ones I get from the hotels. The fancy hotels fill you up 3 times a day! You have the morning and afternoon service… and then again by turn-down service!
Totally agree! Was just using the body wash & shampoo from Koloa Landing in Kauai!
Gonna be in the grand Hyatt Kauai in the near future. Any recommendations?
https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=1643.0
Just get a refillable bottle and fill it up slap a tag on it. When your In The mood for Park Hyatt lull it out 😉
I am sure someone can find a bulk deal on amazon for those little bottles! Best part is when your done with it, you can wash it out, and refil on your next adventure!
Toiletry with you
Totally connect on this one. I’ve used the cheaper dispensers at a lower brand hotel and it felt so un-homey. I just wonder , being that you and others clearly associate a smell with an experience, and I’m sure there’s studies on that, wouldn’t it be a smart business decision to keep them for that purpose alone?
And this is another reason why I’ll be on a flight tomorrow to Kauai!
Dan, maybe if I get a big enough stash I can send some to Cleveland;)
Enjoy!
The biggest cost is the bottles not the lotion. So they can refill no problem.
They could have recycled or refilled these bottles all the years. It’s expensive to do so. This is not a green thing. It’s just about the green paper it costs.
I’ll join you to Waldorf Astoria Maldives any time,
I love JW Marriott shampoo and Emirates
Using the same soap and shampoo dispensers, a. reminds you how many other people have used this room and those soaps & b. makes it feels like a public bathroom.
Maybe there can be a middle of the road where each guest gets new big bottles of their own when they check in. Otherwise who knows what people might have put in there as a joke. Gross.
This whole thread of comments is a chilul Hashem … they are no meant to be taken home especially taking keurigs 3x a day … 3x a day is the amount to pray not steal k cups
Another use for the famous Hydro Flask?
No more raiding the housekeeper’s cart?
I too am transported with the smell of the toiletries. My current favorite is the Hermes green orange from the Hotel Scribe, a close second is from The Hyatt Paris Vendome, and third is surprisingly from the Ein Gedi kibutz hotel.
I have hundreds of minis, and I keep them in the guest room in my house. Gives my guests the hotel feeling.
Favorite is SLS Beverly Hills soap bar.
Nice to know that we have at least one heise litvak – hotel security – here. He shouldn’t be going to hotels anyway, the gedolei u’meorei hador don’t approve.
Of course I will miss the little bottles but what annoys me more is the lies that IHG are telling. This has nothing to do with the environment but everything to do with their profits. The only reason the mini bottle are being retired is because it is much cheaper to use large bottle. 1.5 ltr is the optimum size!
When I stayed at the Park Hyatt in NYC . The toiletries were heavenly, I still have another bar of soap that I Used a few times . I agree that when I smell that soap bar ,it makes me want to return. It makes me remember the room and the tub at the beautiful PARK HYATT in NYC . I Second that DAN . I think the soap brand is La LABO , Spectacular stuff BTW!!! 🙂
Reuven is berating Shimon in the mikvah for using hotel shampoo: “Don’t you know it’s geneiva to take that home?!”
As Reuven is walking away, Shimon notices the Sheraton emblem on Reuven’s towel…
P.S. I’m not such a high roller; I actually love the scent of the Westin products.
U forgot to mention the TWA soap bars that were being used until they ran out…
I bring my own refillables and almost never use the hotel stuff. Tiny soaps and awful shampoo that smells funny.
Sad news and I hope many complain to the hotels as well as on here.
I have many at home. Favorites are from the Four Seasons Shanghai, and Conrad Hong Kong. Transported back by a scent!
I just chuckled to myself. Though I’m just as spoiled.
Airplanes used to have mini bars of soap in the bathrooms.
Someone my age! Remember the Camay soaps on TWA and Pan Am obm
Agree with all. Love the soaps I got from Hyatt regency in Seattle.
Also love the bigelow soap but you can buy that online.
I don’t mind the dispenser but I generally like soap bars
Regardless, it’s a huge waste of both soap and plastic. Sure it’s an environmental ploy, let’s see hotels convert the monetary savings into ocean cleaning.
I’d much rather they invested in better quality in room coffee. That’s my main peeve
Totally agree with you and I also try to collect as many as possible from hotel to donate to charities as well as they are a nice size for hygiene kits.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMnTLIPga6o
It’s Dan on the TV!! 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPw4CGy0tIY&feature=youtu.be&t=84
Like Europe before us, we are beginning to sacrifice hygiene for the sake of being green
I still use the soap from my honeymoon at the one and only in the maldives…that was 15 years ago :0
not sure what ill do now if it runs out
ah I LOVE those from the Grand Hyatt Kauai – how do I get more before they are gone??
Trump Agrees, https://shop.donaldjtrump.com/products/trump-straws
I agree with you . And this could be a collectors business opportunity lol. Soap and shampoo from a Paris Hotel and other luxury spots.
YES!! There is a better solution to paper straws… try sWHEATie STRAWs… They are WAY better than paper straws and don’t s*ck! They feel similar to plastic and are 100% natural!
About 15 years ago we stayed by someone who had a mini collection of toiletries in the guest room and we loved it. Since then, we have saved from almost every hotel that we have been by and added to our own guest rooms. I travel often for work and have accumulated from hundreds of hotels over the years. Whenever I have a guest over I will ask where they want to be transported to and try to give a shampoo/ soap from that location. Will most definitely be missing these!
The Jaffa (SPG) in Tel Aviv, has a custom crafted scent that is just so amazing, you can smell it as you walk throughout the modern section of the hotel, but they also infused it into their custom crafted toiletries, we enjoyed a Suite overlooking the Med. this past spring as part of celebrating our 25th.
I even tried to buy a flask or small vial of the scent (they had containers in the bathroom with scent sticks that wicked the fragrance, as well as in the lobby, spa hallways) the scent was intoxicating, never smelled anything like it. The stay hold incredible memories for me and my dear wife. Its a smell that makes me doubly miss Israel more than my prior visits.
I’m not sure I’ll use them other than for a reminder.
Cruise ships have also gone this route over the last few years.
I had a friend who cruised and used to load up on cruise ship soaps, lotions and other toiletries abd take them home with him. His working philosophy was, “When I run out of cruise ship soap, it’s time for another cruise.”
Freshest smelling friend I had….
In Israel many of us use them for reserve duty. Keep them in our Go Bag and often send to units that are stuck in the field for a while.
Ok boomers
Millennial here 🙂
Ok minnie.
-mic drop –
Well, Dan, next time you are discussing the plastic bottle flotilla in the Pacific Ocean (an ocean which you so charish) with your kids remember that you might have been pretty shallow on this topic. Perhaps you, having a substantial audience, can start thinking more about the environment than your short-term gratification. BTW, I do enjoy your website.
Personally I don’t waste the bottles, I bring them home and finish them and put them in the recycling bin.
@jb
Next time you use soap & shampoo think about all that dirty soap filled water being flushed out into the oceans, all because you needed some short term gratification. Oh, and let’s not even mention the clean water you used up showering or flushing the toilet.
Oh sorry, I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. I am sure you are just showering with rain water you collected from the last storm.
At least normal people are equal opportunity, I think your statement comes off as hypocritical. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt that you don’t really believe what you wrote.
Suggest the following CNN article for reading about why Hyatt did this:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/12/business/hyatt-eliminates-plastic-personal-toiletries/index.html
Also, last commenter, you have confused the issue of hotel chain use of small plastic amenities with the need to limit the footprint of soap usage on the environment. One must occasionally bathe for hygenic purposes and the public good. To purport that one should be made to feel that this is not a basic human right and responsibility rings way too close to someone in Europe’s not too distant past who I am confident that you do not want to be associated with.
I’m not confusing anything. I just want to make sure I have it straight though…. It’s okay with you if I shower, but only occasionally, and when I do, I may only use soap and shampoo that comes in a Costco size bottle? Or must I use body wash for my hair and the rest of me, because having soap and shampoo in separate bottles might constitute having too much plastic in my possession and I may come to throw some of that extra plastic into the Pacific because I have too much, and don’t want to be caught by the plastic police such as yourself?
So if I forget to pack a toothbrush, and ask for one at the front desk, will they give me a “sanitized” used toothbrush? Will they ask me to return the full size tube of toothpaste to them when I’m done? Will they fine me if I don’t squeeze it from the bottom?
I know there’s nothing like getting freebies
but how about someone opens a business of those sought after toiletries,
so you won’t have the hygiene problem that the big bottles bring,
and you can enjoy the comfort and cleanliness of your own home and be anywhere you choose
Tokyo Ritz- best shampoo ever!!
Actually I’ve been looking for a source to BUY mini bars of soap, for when I have overnight guests. Ideas?
You need to watch the travel channel more:
https://www.americanhotel.com/amenities-and-personal-care/mini-amenities/c/A1APB11