Hotel Ak Altyn Plaza, Ashgabat

I stayed in this hotel from May 26 to May 29, 2013. Pros: a good view from the 8th floor on the city and the nearby hills, air-conditioning, continental breakfast. Cons: the hotel has no rooms for non-smokers, as it is allowed to smoke in every room; no ventilation in the rooms -- air conditioning only recirculates the air, and there is no way you can open a window; the plug in the bathtub was absent - taken away because its mechanism was broken; after multiple consultations with the reception and the technicians and some 20h of waiting I finally got a simple rubber plug in substitution of the fancy original; unexpectedly fancy lighting on the ceiling -- I had  to switch it on and off at least 3 times before I got what I wanted -- namely, light on to the maximum brightness, on the first attempt you only get some blue LEDs and stay wondering whether that is all you will ever get; and finally, beware of the teabags in plain view on the table -- contrary to every other hotel I know, here they will charge you US$ 2,00 for each bag. They don't recommend to drink tap water in Turkmenistan, therefore hotel provides electric jugs in each room -- notwithstanding my technical background, I also had problems with that, which were not solved by their technician either -- sometimes the jug would not come on. In such cases, their restaurant provides you with hot water -- free of charge.

Are Russians desperately lacking airport security?

I am still waiting for the explanation of why are the passengers arriving to Germany from Moscow subject to a second security check in Germany? Is it because the Russian airport security is doing a bad job, or because Russians sell terrorist equipment in their tax-free airport shops? Why is the Russian security check adequate for a Lufthansa flight from Moscow to Germany, but not adequate for a subsequent Lufthansa flight from Germany to Lisbon? I am sure the brusselcrats have a perfectly logical explanation for this idiocy.

German Security Lingusts

Beware that the definition of "liquid" as per German airport security staff includes caviare - by extension. They made me to drop off my cabin luggage not allowing to take on the plane the product I bought back in Moscow ... Do Germans habitually drink caviare?

Free Coffee Kaputt

On March 3, 2013 I found no more free hot drinks provided by Lufthansa to its clients at the Frankfurt airport. Gone. Kaputt. I guess the debt crisis got it.

The toilet I used was quite dirty and smelly too. Is this a general degradation of the service standards?

Last time I also got free WIFI internet access from my computer for 30 minutes - not any more ...

Taxis in Vilnius airport

I arrived to Vilnius by a late flight from Frankfurt at about 23:30. At this time they have no public transport apart from taxis - the only company that had taxis waiting for me there announced they charge 5 Litas/km, on a large advertisement, which amounted to 70 or 75 litas  (about 20 euros) to get to my hotel in the city centre. They are obviously a monopolist, trying to create an impression that the only way to get to the town is to pay them. However, as I learned later, if you call other taxi companies by phone, they can come to the airport and will charge you no more than 2 Litas/km. I believe I paid just 25 Litas to get back to airport from my hotel, during the daytime - when there also exists a bus service ...

3 pavāru restorāns Riga - do you need 3 chefs to burn oil?

We had quite an unpleasant experience at the 3 pavāru restorāns ("The Three Chefs"), Torņa 4 (Jēkaba kazarmas), Riga. Basically, it it a French cuisine establishment - lots of decoration, no food ... The starter salad was dressed with thoroughly burned vegetable oil - how many chefs do you need to invent a carcinogenic dish? The restaurant eventually ran out of white wine - it looks they have no wine cellar at all, and when we requested green tea we were informed that such requests should be made 3 days in advance ... Summing up, exorbitant prices, small dozes, poor cuisine, and even worse client service. Anything but this one, if you ask me.

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.