Hotel bathrobes, towels, bathroom toiletries, hair dryers, notepads, slippers, and so many other items – what’s really free for me to take from my hotel room?
Okay first burning question: Can I take bathrobes from my hotel room? Unfortunately, that’s really a no no – you can’t take the bathrobes.
But hey, cheer up. Hotels furnish their rooms with nice amenities to make sure you have a pleasant stay, so there’s still other nice things in your hotel room that’s free for you to take!
Here’s a summary of what you can (and can’t) from your hotel room:
| Hotel Room Item | Free to Take? |
| Shampoo, conditioner, body wash | Yes |
| Body lotion, soap bar | Yes |
| Shower cap | Yes |
| Shaver, shaving cream | Yes |
| Toothbrush, toothpaste | Yes |
| Bottled water | Yes |
| Instant coffee, creamer, tea | Yes |
| Notepad, pen, pencil | Yes |
| Laundry bag | Yes |
| Room slippers | Yes |
| Magazines, books | Maybe |
| Calendar | Maybe |
| Alarm clock radios | No |
| Electric kettle | No |
| Coffee machine | No |
| Cups, plates, cutleries | No |
| Tablecloth | No |
| Wine opener | No |
| Cleaning detergent, sponge | No |
| TV remote control | No |
| Towels | No |
| Bathrobes | No |
| Pillows, bed spreads, comforters | No |
| Hangers | No |
| Tissue paper box | No |
| Iron, ironing board | No |
| Torch | No |
| Hairdryer | No |
| Weighing scale | No |
| Safe box | No |
Things You CAN Take From Hotel Rooms
1. Shower Amenities 🚿 – YES
Ah don’t we all love hotel shampoos and body wash! These fragrant gels and lotions absolutely free for you to bring home (wait, cilantro hair conditioner?).
2. Bathroom Toiletries 🚰 – YES
Every toiletry that’s replenished daily in your hotel bathroom (usually in a disposable plastics or boxes) is up for grabs!
3. Consumables 🍵 – YES
Bottled water and instant coffee / tea / creamer / sugar (including coffee capsules) are free, as they’re replenished daily in your hotel room too. (Psst, if you’re celebrating your anniversary, some hotels will even send you a cake!)
4. Writing Materials ✍️ – YES
Love the hotel room notepad? Keep it for your upcoming meeting! Don’t forget the pen too.
5. Laundry Bag 👖 – YES
It’s okay if you’re not engaging the laundry services at your hotel. You can still use these laundry bags to bring your soiled clothes home.
6. Room Slippers 👣 – YES
Enjoy walking around in fluffy slippers? Yea just take them! But hotel room slippers don’t last though, so you’ll probably only be able to shuffle in them for a more days before they wear out.
Things You MAY Take From Hotel Rooms
7. Reading Materials 📚 – MAYBE
Okay this is a wild card – some hotel rooms provide reading materials like local guides, hotel publication, and commercial magazines. It’s best to call the hotel front desk and check if you can take them home.
8. Calendar 📆 – MAYBE
This is another wild card – some hotel rooms have calendars to furnish the room. If you really like the calendar, check with the hotel front desk before taking it home with you. You don’t want to become an accidental thief!
Things You CANNOT Take From Hotel Rooms
9. Alarm Clock Radios ⏰ – NO
Fancy stuff, eh? Unfortunately, this is clearly part of the room’s furniture and you shouldn’t pack it into your luggage when you check out.
10. Electric Kettle, Coffee Machine, Cups ☕️ – NO
Nope, these amenities are here to serve every hotel guest, so you can’t take them home either!
11. Dining Ware 🥣 – NO
Some hotels provide dining ware for guests to dine in the room, but these plates are not free to bring home.
12. Cutleries, Tablecloth, Wine Opener 🍴 – NO
Likewise, cutleries should stay in the hotel room too! Other accessories like tablecloth and wine opener should remain in the drawer.
13. Cleaning Tools 💧- NO
You can clean dirty plates with detergent and sponge, but don’t bring them home please!
14. TV Remote Control 📺 – NO
TV remote controls are one of the items that always go missing, because hotel guests somehow love taking them. It’s not free!
15. Towels 🛀 – NO
There’s a towel for everything – bath towel, hand towel, face towel. No wonder it’s become a staple of hotel thievery. If you do decide to take though, expect a charge on your credit card bill!
16. Bathrobes 👘 – NO
Hotel bathrobes have been one of the most debated “can I steal this?” items for a long time (there’s even Quora threads on this!). Bathrobes are off limits in most hotels, unless they’re offered to you for free in exclusive hotels.
17. Pillows, Bed Spreads, Comforters 🛌 – NO
Anything on the bed (including the bed) is considered part of the hotel’s furniture, so don’t remove any of them from the hotel room!
18. Hangers 👗 – NO
If you’re short on hangers, these genius portable travel hangers will just do the trick.
19. Tissue Paper Box 🤧 – NO
The tissue paper is free of course, but the box? Nope, you shouldn’t take it!
20. Iron, Ironing Board, Torch ✨ – NO
The ironing board and iron are provided for the hotel guest’s convenience, and the torch for emergencies. Definitely not free!
21. Hairdryer 💁♀️ – NO
Most hotel rooms usually have really nice and modern hairdryers, but they’re not for taking too.
22. Weighing Scale 🔢 – NO
Other than checking your body weight to monitor the consequences of your holiday pig-out (I plead the fifth), the weighing scale is also useful in weighing your luggage to make sure it doesn’t become overweight. But yes, not a free item too!
23. Safe Box 🔐 – NO
Please don’t even think about it.
Did we miss anything? 🤔
Of course, different hotels have different rules and regulations when it comes to hotel room items. Generally, replenishable items in the daily housekeeping cart are free for you to keep. Apart from that, if you really want something, you could just ring the front desk and ask!
Before you go on your holiday, remember to use these booking hacks to stretch your dollar. Also, don’t forget to redeem free food while vacay-ing!
Read: 12 Travel Hacks To Become a Smarter and Better Traveller
Read: 7 Best Holiday Booking Hacks to Score Best Deals
Read: How to Avoid DCC in 2019: SGD vs Local Currency
Read: How I Booked a Ghost Flight to China
Read: Cheapest Hotels Promotion Sale (2019)
Enjoy a worldwide fees-less travel experience!
