The Most Bizarre Hotel Fails That Are So Bad You Have To Laugh (The Strangest Things Found In Hotels)
Staying at a hotel should feel like a break from the chaos—a chance to relax, whether you're traveling for work or play. And while plenty of hotels do their best to create a smooth, enjoyable experience, not all of them hit the mark.
In fact, some missed it by such a wide margin, it's almost impressive. These hotel fails are so baffling, all you can really do is laugh. Sadly, the people who stayed there didn't exactly get the restful getaway they were hoping for.
Pretty Sure That Room Is Cursed
There's something oddly unsettling about this door in a San Francisco hotel. At first glance, it looks like the railing completely blocks it off, making it seem like the room’s out of bounds. But a closer inspection reveals a hinge in the railing—meaning it can swing open and grant access.
So whatever's behind that door must be important enough to keep reachable. We’re torn between it being a hidden luxury suite or the entrance to some kind of haunted horror room.
This Must Be Another Entrance To Platform 9 3/4
This is definitely not the place you want to find yourself during an emergency. If the fire alarm goes off and panic sets in, the last thing you need is to stop and wonder which wall you're supposed to run through.
Fingers crossed the door on the right is the actual exit. Otherwise, your best bet might be to channel your inner wizard and hope that wall works like a hidden portal straight out of Harry Potter.
Press The Number 6 And See Where You End up
We're not sure about you, but elevators have become a bit too predictable lately. You press a number, and—surprise—it takes you to that exact floor. Where’s the excitement in that?
Well, the team behind this hotel decided to spice things up. Instead of following the usual logic, you have to press 6 to reach the 2nd floor. And now we’re dying to know—what floor does the 2 button take you to?
Mary Poppins Having An "Off" Day
This photo instantly brings to mind Mary Poppins in her classic nanny outfit—only this time, she's working at a hotel in Tucson. On this day, she’s tasked with resetting the guest Wi-Fi password and wants to get creative with it.
However, perhaps Mary had a late night, because she can’t quite nail the spelling of her signature word. It’s meant to be "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." Obviously.
The Hilton Public Library
Many guests enter a hotel assuming that everything in their room is free to use. After all, if the room itself is complimentary, why wouldn't the books be too? But these books are clearly just meant to make the Hilton seem more upscale than it really is.
Chances are, this sign was put up because some guests treated the books like a public library and started walking off with them.
Doubles As A Toothbrush
The great thing about this set-up is that when you're not using the toilet paper, you can use that neat little brush to clean your mouth. In case it's not clear, we are totally kidding. This is horrifying.
For starters, why on earth would they choose to use a toothbrush, of all things, to hold the TP? And secondly, why is the end of the toothbrush all red? Please tell us that's ink or something other than blood. This is a total hotel fail!
The Perfect Vacation Spot
Any parents who booked this Motel 6 for a vacation, thinking they could let their kids enjoy the pool for hours, are going to be in for a big letdown. It's hard to say what's more hilarious about this grass-filled pool—the fact that the ladders are still in place, or that the shepherd's hook is still hanging by the fence.
Clearly, this Motel 6 has plans to refurbish the pool soon. Guess we'll have to wait and see.
We Can't Shake This Hotel Fail Off
Honestly, if I went down to the hotel restaurant and saw only packets of salt and pepper, I wouldn't think twice. But if I found that, for no apparent reason, they'd shoved a bunch of packets into shakers, I’d definitely start asking questions.
This almost feels like another hotel scheme to nickel-and-dime you. They’re probably charging $1 for every salt or pepper packet you use.
This Helsinki Hotel Has A Hell-Sink In Their Washroom
It's honestly incredible that design blunders like this still happen. How does this sink make it all the way to installation without anyone stopping to say, "Hold on, something's off here..."
A plumber, architect, contractor, and handyman must have all been involved, yet no one thought to suggest a longer faucet. At least you can be sure the countertop in this hotel bathroom is probably spotless.
This Must Be The Honeymoon Suite
Whoever designed this hotel bathroom clearly made some bold assumptions about who would be staying there. It might be fine if it were the honeymoon suite for a couple who are completely comfortable with each other, but we can't think of many other scenarios where this would be acceptable.
Now, imagine sharing a hotel room with Cathy from accounting and walking in to find this. Your professional relationship is about to get a whole lot more complicated.
Time To Run
You'd like to assume that the hotel room you're walking into has been cleaned top to bottom, but let's be honest, we all know that isn't true. While the cleaning service does their best, it's been proven that they'll cut corners with bedsheets and towels if they can.
If I found this note in my bedsheets, it would scare me away from a hotel room faster than you can say "complimentary breakfast buffet."
Not The Room Service You Expected
This $15 hotel breakfast will make you twice as grateful for the crummy continental breakfast we're all used to. If I'm paying $15 for room service, I'm expecting at least a hot plate of waffles or maybe some scrambled eggs. Scratch that, I'm at LEAST expecting them to toast the bread for me.
This cafeteria tray of food looks more like a Motel 6 Death Row special. It's like the kind of meal you get that might be your last.
Sorry, No Hot Showers For You
When you're away on business or spending all day in the sun on vacation, there's nothing more satisfying than going home and taking a nice, long, hot shower. Instead, you come back to this and have to MacGyver yourself a hot shower.
If this wasn't in a hotel, we'd bet money that a dad installed the design. It's basically just a foolproof way to make sure the hot water bill doesn't get out of hand.
Hopefully, This Was Just Lost In Translation
Hopefully, this is just a simple mistranslation from this Chinese hotel. It was probably just the part-timer working the front desk who was instructed to translate it for English travelers, and so they just threw the word into Google translate.
Either that or this is genuinely a warning that if you're going to slip and fall to your death in the shower, please just make sure you do it gracefully. The last thing they can be bothered to do is clean up YOUR mess.
At What Point Do You Call For Help?
You really only have a handful of options when you find yourself in this situation. The first is to just do the penguin wobble over to the toilet paper roll. The second option is that you can swallow your pride and use a towel that's nearby and then proceed to burn the towel.
If you're desperate, you can call someone for help and pray that you didn't lock the door. Whatever you choose to do, just make sure you move a few rolls closer for the next time.
Who The Heck Is Tulation?
This hotel obviously tried to go above and beyond by making one couple's evening very special. Unfortunately, the concierge they dispatched to write "congratulations" with rose petals didn't exactly think things through. They did manage to turn the towels into a swan though, which is nice.
Of course, we could be totally missing the point. For all we know, the person staying in this hotel might be named 'Tulation' making this a huge hotel win.
Can't Wait To Find My Room
This might not seem like a problem when you check into the hotel at 3 pm. But it's going to be a massive problem later on after you have a few drinks at dinner, a few drinks at the party, a few drinks in the cab ride home, and a few drinks while in the elevator up to your room.
Looks like you're either waking up everyone on the floor by knocking on their doors, or you're sleeping in the hallway tonight.
Beware Of False Advertising
Most people nowadays are pretty good at not believing everything they hear or see. It's easy to lie on the internet and photoshop and image distortion is common. Still, you can't blame this person for believing there would be a big, blue, beautiful pool in their hotel since it's a common feature.
Hey, at least you know what photographer to hire if you ever want to sell a house. They'll make your two-bedroom bungalow look like a mansion!
Art Imitates Life
If we've learned anything, it's that hotels really struggle when it comes to appropriate decorations and designs. Somewhere, someone thought this art piece was just abstract enough to not draw too much attention. Then someone else though it would be absolutely hilarious to put it over the toilet.
Hey, maybe they're just trying to spark a guest's inspiration. Hopefully, this plan doesn't backfire. I can picture a drunken guest trying to make their own art piece.
One Door Does It All
"In my hotel room, I can either close the closet or the bathroom, but not both at the same time." That's what the person who shared this interesting setup had to say about their hotel stay.
Technically, we suppose this works. After all, it's not like you need privacy in the closet. But why the hotel decided to skimp on the extra door is just not clear. At least there IS a way to close the bathroom.
Taking Customer Complaints Seriously
Either this one was spotted by an eagle-eyed hotel guest who caught a glimpse of it under the hotel manager's desk, or the people working at this particular hotel have a really great sense of humor.
It's a paper shredder that's been outfitted with a custom label reading "customer suggestion box." Our bet is that it's a joke because if management was really throwing away guest comments they probably wouldn't want to advertise it.
Welcome To Our El
Wow, how does something like this even happen? There are only five letters in the word hotel, so just exactly how did only the ones spelling "hot" manage to catch on fire?
It's a mystery to us but if we were the betting type we might guess that this was the result of a prank gone bad. If that's the case, let's hope no one got hurt! And that the singed sign doesn't scare away potential guests.
Seeing Double
At first glance, this hotel room seems decent enough. Nice size bed, nightstand with lamp, colorful but tasteful paint job.
But then you get to the artwork and it feels like you have a case of deja vu or something. Those frames each hold the exact same painting. And it's not even a particularly interesting or attractive painting either, just a boring lake scene with some trees in the background. No clue why it's displayed twice in the same room.
Amazing Theater Experience
This hotel apparently advertised that it had a movie theater on-site for guests to enjoy. The seating looks OK, we suppose, but that's an awfully small television.
In fact, it might be smaller than the ones they provide in-room. Unless you're in the front row, you're really not going to be able to see much. And it'd be a lot more comfortable to watch television in the privacy of your own room anyway.
No More Shower Fires
For all of you who are nervous about bursting into flames in a hotel shower, then do we have just the lodging recommendation for you. This hotel practically guarantees its guests a fire-free showering experience when they choose to stay here during their travels.
You see, in addition to the standard shower head that sprays water, there's also an emergency sprinkler that can kick in and add some H20 to the mix. Ahh, that's so reassuring.
"The Vent In My Hotel Shower Doesn't Seem To Be Working"
If the person staying in this room was confused as to why the vent didn't seem to be working properly, it might have taken them a minute or two to figure out the problem. See, the vent was just drilled into the wall right over the shower tiling. There's no window or opening of any kind behind it.
Also, what good would a vent do in the shower? This just seems like an odd place for one.
Welcome, Now Make Yourself Comfortable
This hotel lobby has everything you'd need to feel comfortable while you're waiting to check-in for your stay. It looks like a perfectly pleasant place to sit and people watch.
Except for the fact that it's like 10 feet overhead and there's no apparent way to get to it. Why on earth would the hotel have put such a ridiculous display up there? It could have been useful as storage space or something but this makes zero sense.
Follow our brand for more content like this
Charlie Golsley
