Champagne in a hotel room?

May 31, 2012 3:58 PM

Taking champagne to a hotel?

It's my girlfriend's birthday this weekend and I've organised a stay at a swanky hotel in Cheltenham, UK. Today, I splurged out for a lovely bottle of champagne to toast her birthday before we go out for dinner. Unfortunately, I've got no idea if I'll be able to ask for an ice bucket and glasses and for the hotel to be ok with it. When we've done this in the past, we've always just snuck it in and drunk it in regular water glasses, but this is important enough to want to do it properly. Does anybody have any insights here on how I could play this? Thanks!

posted by Scottie_Bob to Food & Drink (13 answers total)

Ask the hotel.
posted by John Cohen at 4:00 PM on May 31, 2012

I would call the hotel and tell them exactly what you just said. I wouldn't even ask if you can bring it or if there are fees, simply ask if they can provide what you want - I would say something like, "It's my girlfriend's birthday and I've got a bottle of X that I'd like to toast her with - can you please have an ice bucket and champagne glasses ready in the room at time Y?"

If it's a swanky hotel, they should be used to it.
posted by Lt. Bunny Wigglesworth at 4:12 PM on May 31, 2012

This sounds like a job for the concierge, if there is such a person at that hotel. Tell him/her what you'd like, and offer a tip in return.
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:21 PM on May 31, 2012

Ice and glassware are like towels and pillows: provided by the establishment, available on request. Hotels can't charge corkage and outside food and drink is allowed.
posted by Lyn Never at 4:25 PM on May 31, 2012

Fuck and yes. This should be free of charge and readily available. I do this almost every trip we take.
posted by JPD at 4:33 PM on May 31, 2012

Phew, ok, the majority advice wins! I'll give them a call tomorrow morning and request it. Thanks for the extra info on glassware etc Lyn, I didn't know that :)
posted by Scottie_Bob at 4:36 PM on May 31, 2012

Everyone here is correct. A comment, though, is that some hotels that don't have an extensive bar might not be able to provide champagne flutes to you and might only have wine glasses. If you are particular about your glassware, you might want to bring your own.
posted by saeculorum at 5:21 PM on May 31, 2012

As a travel agent, I encounter this situation occasionally with VIPs. Here's how we handle it - just bring the champagne. Call room service when you get there and ask for a champagne bucket of ice and 2 champagne glasses. Give a $5 tip. Don't mention that you brought your own champagne.
posted by kdern at 6:31 PM on May 31, 2012

You can also go down to the bar once you arrive and just tell them what room you're in and ask to borrow two flutes and an ice bucket if there isn't one in the room. I borrow plates, bowls, and glassware pretty much every time I travel, and this includes trips within the UK. Actually, it has never been a problem in any country I've visited.
posted by yellowcandy at 10:49 PM on May 31, 2012

And if for some reason there is no ice bucket to be had for love or money, the sink, filled up with ice, makes a good champagne-chiller, too.
posted by fiercecupcake at 7:42 AM on June 1, 2012

I stayed a swanky hotel a bit ago (Ritz-Carlton), and while I got my wine from them, I did note that there was a bit on the room service menu that said they did charge a fee for bringing your own wine. Maybe $15, I don't quite remember. But they were definitely happy and prepared to provide you with all you'd need to drink it!
posted by whitneyarner at 8:07 AM on June 1, 2012

Here's a previous question from someone who was wondering if it's OK to order outside food to be delivered to your hotel room. (Unanimous answer: yes.) The lesson from these two threads is: the purpose of a hotel is to give you, the customer, what you want. That's the whole reason for the hotel to exist. So, if you want something at a hotel, you should ask for it. There is no reason to worry that the hotel will be offended.
posted by John Cohen at 8:17 AM on June 1, 2012

I've never even heard of this being a problem. I thought for a moment that things were different in the UK. We do this all the time and have never, ever had an issue.
posted by theuninvitedguest at 9:15 AM on June 1, 2012