Ever since the pandemic took a huge toll on the hospitality and travel industry, hotel companies not just in Australia, but all over the world, have been promoting new cleaning initiatives as a way to regain traveller confidence.

At this point it’s almost impossible to find a hotel that hasn’t introduced a new cleanliness program, promising its rooms are virus-free and spotless on every corner.

But it seems like some hotels are not quite living up to their promises. Are hotel rooms really cleaned that thoroughly?

Check the kettle when you go to a hotel, it will reveal how clean your room really is. Credit: Alamy.
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On the forum and discussion website Reddit, one hotel guest shared a photo of a shocking discovery that left them, and hundreds of other hotel-goers horrified.

Apparently, when the guest looked inside the room’s provided coffee machine, they were shocked to find dirty-looking water, as well as marks and stains on the walls of the machine.

And that wasn’t even the worst part – the inside of the machine was so neglected that a mushroom formed and was floating in it. We can only assume that the stench was not any better, too.

“An example of why you don’t use the coffee maker in your hotel room…” the person wrote in the caption.

A hotel guest shared on Reddit a photo of their “disgusting” coffee machine. Credit: Reddit.
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Hundreds of Reddit users commented and expressed their disgust after seeing the person’s post, with one person advising: “Never trust a coffee pot that's not used every day.”

Someone who claimed to work at a hotel also warned the others that “those things do not get cleaned” and they should always check before using it.

Surprisingly, there were others who were not that shocked, saying these types of coffee machine situations are already old news to them. Then they shared their own horror stories from their time as hotel guests themselves.

One person shared they once had a hotel roommate who used the coffee kettle to “clean their underwear” by boiling it inside. A second person agreed and added that flight attendants used to “wash their pantyhose” in coffee machines as well. “It scarred me,” they said.

According to a hotel expert, the coffee machine is the one item that you should check to see how clean a hotel bedroom really is.

Harrison Jacobs, who once spent 300 nights at hotels and Airbnbs in one year, revealed that the kettle gives away the state of cleanliness of a hotel.

“When I get to a new hotel room, I pop open the top to the appliance,” he said. “If I see mould or rust, which happens often, I ask for a new room or shorten my stay to one night and move on to a different place.”

For more tips on how to check the cleanliness of your hotel rooms, check out this video below!

Credit: Clean My Space.​

 

[Lynette Finnigan]

Yes..the first thing I do is load the dishwasher and make sure everything I'm going to eat off is clean to MY standard... kettle will get emptied, boiled, emptied and reboiled before I use it... and coffee machine would get a couple of 'dry runs'....before I actually use it for a coffee I'm going to drink!!

 

[Ricci]

Now I understand why I don't stay in hotels or drink coffee - yuck.

 

[leanneh]

How horrifying! It certainly teaches the lesson to check for cleanliness before you use anything. It seems good advice given by the fellow who is a frequent hotel patron to check the kettle or coffee maker first and then request another room if necessary. I've found in the past that toasters are also notorious for being left dirty.

 

[Chrisalis]

Yup don't stay in hotels if I can avoid it and don't drink coffee or use the kettle they provide. People wash other things in the kettle!!