Hotel invades client privacy

My room nº 1212 at Amberton hotel, L. Stuokos-Guceviciaus 1, LT-01122 Vilnius, Lithuania was equipped with a motion sensor mounted in the top corner of the room in front of my bed, which lighted up every time I moved around the room or changed my position in bed. I admit fire and smoke sensors are needed for safety and security reasons; however, I can't see any safety benefits from a motion sensor - the hotel already knows I am in the room if I have used my electronic key to enter. I would like to be informed, therefore, what are the security and safety benefits I am reaping at the cost of this invasion of my privacy.

Mirrored floor in the toilets

Those travellers who are interested in private parts of their neighbour are recommended to visit the toilet in front of boarding gate 25 at the Lisbon airport. They will find a cheap way to satisfy their curiosity, by watching two neighbours at a time, satisfying their needs in the adjacent cabins. It should be possible to take reasonable quality pictures as well - the reflections from the polished stone floor are well visible. Well done, Portela!

Domodedovo airport, Moscow, Russia

The boarding gate for my flight TP 593 scheduled to depart at 18:30 of 2011/10/15 has been changed 2 times already, and the plane is announced as delayed ...

The zone A (international flights) is overcrowded, you need to wait for at least 10 minutes for a vacant seat in the waiting halls, both male and female toilets and shops have queues.

The last drop was that the boarding gate 13 where we finally boarded from had October 14 indicated on its announcement board as the date of today, instead of October 15.

Though they do have free Wifi from one of the Russian providers in the airport ...

Getting a shower at the Irkutsk airport

Boarding today on October 15th, 2011 for the S7 #777 flight to Moscow at the Irkutsk International Airport, we the passengers were let out of the bus in front of the A320 plane, under rain, and had to stay there for some 5 minutes, exposed to the elements. Our clothing got quite wet, while we were waiting for the ground crew to leave the plane and our colleagues walk up the staircase, in small groups, probably to avoid the staircase collapsing. Some of the ground crew staff also got pretty wet, probably to keep us company.

The airport has no boarding bridges, while the boarding staircases offer no protection from elements either.

Thus, be prepared for a free shower when it rains in Irkutsk ... 

Incompetence and disrespect at Hotel Irkutsk

Nights spent at this hotel: October 13-14 and 14-15, 2011.

Being a non-smoker, I have been assigned a smoking room, without my knowledge or consent, where I had difficulties sleeping during my first night in the city of Irkutsk. Upon my inquiry at the administrator's desk next morning, I was informed that such room category as a non-smoking room does not exist in this hotel, at all.

However, when later the same day one of my Russian friends talked to them, they apparently managed to find a non-smoking room for me - there was a card on the table promising a fine of 5000 roubles for smoking there ...

Therefore, it is a case of disrespect to the client, aggravated by incompetence of the personnel ...

Their ID: Irkutsk (former Intourist) Hotel, 44 Gagarina Boulevard, 664055 Irkutsk, Russia

Smokers' only lobby | Siberia / Azimut hotel | Novosibirsk Russia

These guys have never heard of special smokers' areas, therefore be prepared to achieve the state of a smoked herring in the common areas of this hotel. The wide-open windows letting in cold air from the outside into the lobby and corridors equally contribute to deleterious effects on your health.

Their ID: Azimut hotel Siberia, 21 Lenin Street, Novosibirsk, 630004, Russia, siberia@azimuthotels.com

Get desiccated in Pulkovo

The Pulkovo airport (Terminal 2), St. Petersburg, Russia, managed to elevate to the unattainable heights of sheer idiocy the simple security requirement of liquids exceeding 100 ml in volume not being allowed onto the airplane: they have no vending machines, at all, and no toilets, in the secure waiting area where you stay after you pass the security check. Quite surprisingly, they have managed to furnish a fairly large number of sitting places there. Still, the air traveller should drink and pee before entering the security check, or else be prepared to take off his/her shoes and (possibly) belts/suspenders (this was the first time I had been required to take off my suspenders, ever) more than once when going back out of the water-tight secure area for drinking or to the toilets ...

I had a similar experience in Pulkovo some 10 years ago, but had reasons to believe they managed to overcome this. Not in all of the boarding gates, obviously. Today I have been caught off-guard by the Boarding Gate 6, on the first floor, boarding to Munich very early in the morning.

They have obviously taken away my water bottle - no-one has cared to do the same on the two internal flights I had in Russia in August this year.

They do have free wifi internet in the water-tight area, thanks God!

Posted at 5 am local time.