Blog Discussion: June 22, 2016

Please read the article below and answer the questions below. Please be ready to discuss this topic when you come to class on Wednesday. This means looking up unknown vocabulary before class. Please do not write anything to prepare for this discussion. Please just think about it.

Also, just for interest, have a look at this news video from my home town. Lightning can be dangerous!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/tree-lightning-strike-explode-winnipeg-1.3640417


See you in class!
Matthew

   Reading: The Worst Hotel in the World

The Hans Brinker Budget Hotel in Amsterdam is bad and it knows it. The hotel is proudly dubbed the “worst hotel in the world.” The hotel caters to backpackers and students, and its amenities include hostel-style rooms equipped with metal bunk beds and blue metal lockers from $22.50 a night. The hotel’s advertising warns customers of its filthy conditions in advance. Past slogans include:

–       Improve your immune system – stay at Hans Brinker!

–       It can’t get any worse. But we’ll do our best.

–       Now with beds in every room.

–       Proudly disappointing travelers for 40 years.

 

The hotel’s disclaimer: 'Those wishing to stay at the Hans Brinker Budget Hotel, Amsterdam, do so at their own risk and will not hold the hotel liable for food poisoning, mental breakdowns, terminal illness, lost limbs, radiation poisoning, certain diseases associated with the 18th century, plague, etc.’

 

The hotel operates a strict eco-friendly policy, which includes no hot water in its showers and eco-friendly elevators (the stairs). It also encourages customers to dry off using the curtains to save the planet.

 

Here are some reviews from Tripadvisor.com from travelers who have taken the plunge:

– "The accommodation is extremely basic and some of the rooms look like prison dorms, but it's cleanish and cheap, the bar sells a cheap pint, and you do get breakfast." (John W.)

 

– “Stayed here with a travel group last week. Had to be one of the worst experiences of the trip. The hostel stank of weed, our rooms were not clean, and the bathrooms stank of urine. At night, there were drunk people banging on the walls and they turned on the fire hose outside the room at 4 am and managed to get all our luggage wet. Please never stay here — Amsterdam is a wonderful city, but this truly almost ruined it for me.” (Ericholl94)

 

The hotel manager Tijmen Receveur says the hotel’s approach is a hit with travelers and students. “'They love our humour and sarcasm – and they have diminished their expectations to less than nothing,” he explains.

 

[Sources: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2232828/Worlds-worst-hotel-warns-visitors-sue-Hans-Brinker-Amsterdam-boasts-filthy-rooms.html, http://www.bbc.com/travel/blog/20130122-amsterdam-hotel-proud-to-be-the-worlds-worst]

Hotel comprehension Questions

1) How does the Hans Brinker Hotel protect the environment?
2) Name three positive comments about the hotel mentioned in the reviews.
3) What does the manager think about the hotel being labeled ‘the worst hotel in the world’?