Things Collection

Sep/09

Things Collection

After a holiday spent relaxing and abdicating responsibility, it's understandable that you might leave something behind in your hotel room when you check out! An item of clothing, a Mobile Phone, a souvenir are all understandable left items, but how about a shark or 20 thousand Euros in cash? These two rather unusual items were among the most surprising when we asked members of Great Hotels of the World for the strangest items Left Behind in their properties.

Following the success of last year's most unusual guest requests stories we decided to ask our hotels for yet more unusual and strange stories. And while we expected some wacky answers, nothing could have prepared us for what was divulged.

Something a little naughty...

It seems that the most commonly forgotten item has something to do with being a little naughty in the bedroom - of over 30 luxury hotels we quizzed, well over one third told us that they'd found sex toys in their rooms. Among these the strangest would have to be from the Quay Hotel in Wales, who once found 'a tribal style doll with a wooden pop-up appendage'' in one of the rooms. We leave it to you to make up Your Own mind as to what that could be used for...

Pieces of self...

The next most common items left behind seem to be wigs and false teeth. Not necessarily strange, though it does make you wonder how someone can forget something so crucial behind, especially if they checked in the mirror before leaving. In one case of forgotten teeth, a guest at the Eurostars Grand Marina GL in Barcelona requested the hotel send the dentures back to the UK. Knowing how reliable Royal Mail can sometimes be, we wonder if they got lost along the way...

Unidentified Left Object

Londa in Cyprus stumbled upon a proper Da Vinci Code-style riddle when they found a book with 'an odd cover' and no title in one of their rooms. Upon opening it they found it to be written in a 'strange language'. With it was a locked box which had no apparent keyhole on it. We're still trying to figure out what it all means...

Sorry but it seems you left some money behind...

Dropping some cash on the street or leaving some money behind in the hotel room can happen when on holiday, but a few grand? This is what happened at the Palazzo Magnani Feroni in Florence where a guest left 1000 Euros in their suite. Not that strange - except it was all in coins! The guest was quick enough to realise the error and asked the hotel to send the money on to them - quite a heavy parcel, by all accounts.

Over at the Capital Hotel in London a guest once left 5,000 pounds in the safe. You can only imagine the panic when they checked their wallet on their return.

Hotel Milano in Bergamo probably takes the crown for money left behind, with a couple who once forgot 20,000 Euros in cash in their dresser. The hotel contacted them at the airport as they were about to board their flight. They returned to the hotel and chose to stay an extra night, which, considering the amount of money they'd left behind, probably was small change to them...

Just don't tell the animal activists

St. Nicolas Bay in Crete once found two goldfish in a bowl of water left behind by a guest who obviously didn't want to carry them all the way home. Meanwhile, Gran Hotel Bahia del Duque in Tenerife once found a caged cockatoo in a room. The owners subsequently asked for it to be flown back to them in a private jet. Which begs the question if they cared that much for it, why forget it in the first place?

Grand Hotel Principe Piemonte near Pisa once found a dog in one of their rooms, with little additional explanation or requests to return it to their owners. Over at the Moevenpick Istanbul, some dog-loving guests left a kennel they'd brought along for the trip.

But it's the Tivoli Marina Vilamoura in the Algarve that has the strangest animal-related story. One of their guests went fishing at the hotel and came back with a shark, which he kept in the bathtub at the hotel - not realising that sharks need saltwater, not tap water. When the poor creature began to weaken, the guest apparently decided to leave it behind, giving the cleaner the fright of her life when she came in to tidy the room. The shark was promptly returned to its natural habitat, and lived what we can only hope to be a long and fulfilled life.

Have you seen my ring?

Sensimar Royal Blue Resort in Crete once found an engagement ring left behind in a room. We can only hope it was an accident, not a disastrous proposal. And in Hotel Ranga, Iceland, one married couple checked out of the room and left a wedding ring behind. It was never claimed - which maybe means the holiday didn't go as planned.

Maybe you can drive my car

Leaving car keys behind seems to be another common occurrence. But if Your Car cost as much as these beauties, surely you'd be a little more careful?

At the Hesperia Tower in Barcelona a guest left behind the keys to their Ferrari Testarossa. Upon finding them the staff ran to the parking lot to check if the car was still there... it wasn't. It's anyone's guess how the guest got away without his car keys. And at the Dedeman Istanbul keys for a Ferrari F430 were left behind and also never claimed. What is it about Ferrari car keys?

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So there you have it, a truly weird collection of the strangest things left behind in luxury hotels. And if you've ever forgotten something interesting in a hotel room - or found something odd on holiday - send us your stories at travelwriter@ghorg.com and we'll publish the best ones.

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