Our stay in Rhodes is complete with a five-star luxury hotel (one of two open this time of the year) called Hotel Mediterranean, which borders the ocean in a city that shares its name with the island. Lets just say that our stay here is a sharp contrast (not necessary for better or for worst) from our apartments in Athens: our sheets and towels are exchanged daily, we receive complimentary breakfasts and dinners (which really helps with budgeting), and best of all, shower heads here can actually be utilized hands-free.
Many of the perks here are incredible, however I’ve noticed myself critiquing “the good life” more often than not. I seem to have a kind of interest in the hotel’s efforts toward upper-tier service, and the congruent status of people who are rooming here.
I find it intriguing that the desire for appearing competent when serving the upper-class can come with such shortcomings. I’ve noticed this in hotels back home as well, but it seems that the more extravagant the establishment, the more they can charge for or altogether not include options that one would regularly expect for the price. At our “free dinners”, water costs a couple euros (which I concede is an extremely common thing all over Europe), wireless internet is limited to the hotel lobby, and any refrigerated item that you purchase can not be kept in the mini-fridge because it is reserved for the mini bar (a ploy to increase purchases from the hotel). This acts as an odd kind of paradox that hotel managers acknowledge as effective; the wealthy are paying a significant amount for their room, and thus can spare some extra change for the little things such as water or refrigerator privileges.
I’ve also noticed that living in a hotel of this caliber (especially one that is used to tourists) provides I sort of sterile bubble where true culture only partially seeps through. English is prevalent (though it is helpful much of the time); you can ask for something in Greek and get an English response, or alternatively get offered something in English and only find it fitting to respond with the language you were spoken to in. Moreover, you get amenities that you remind you of how disconnected you are, like English television channels and placards for the “Mini Bar”, “Shampoo”, etc. that are strictly in English. Although I am extremely grateful to have so many things complimentary and in my native language, they sometimes make you forget that you’re halfway around the world.
One last point. We hopped in the ocean tonight and came back to the hotel sandy and wet; in short, the end of this adventure was much less blissful than the beginning. I understand the complications that we caused, the people we might have bothered, and rules that we broke (though we asked a man at the front desk if it was okay before we went out), but one thing that bothers me about these formalities is that people in charge are very seldom empathetic. They forget what it is like to be outside of their management role, free of self-image concerns and the protocol that follows the norms of their business. Do they remember what it was like to be a nineteen-years-old? Are they too concerned with the rigid social pressures (as a manager) to bend the rules and let some gets kids have fun in a way that is not physically harmful to the hotel or other guests? Regardless of the answers, I think it is important to do unofficial things in official places; sometimes these people need a reminder of the little things that college students so often find pleasure in.
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