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seeking BOE 21 day tour alum help

This is regarding the hotels used in the tour:
1. Do you recall how many electrical outlets were in the rooms?
2. All had hairdryers?
3. Were there shampoo/shower gels available at each hotel?

We're planning on bringing our own shampoo and shower gels but our 3 oz containers don't quite last us 21 days. I'm hoping we can suplement with what's available at the hotels to eliminate our needing to purchase more While in Europe.

We're also trying to plan for our electrical needs. We'll have 2 camera battery chargers, a small laptop (which will be left in the room and can thus be charging while we're out for the day), 2 cell phones (I suppose I can charge both of these from the laptop), and my husband has an e-cig battery which uses either an outlet or a USB connector to charge. Will plugging all of these devices put a strain on the electric in the room? Don't laugh if these are silly questions! We've never been to Europe before! Also, I have a charging station that I had hoped would be the answer for our needs but it is also a convertor and after looking at all of our devices, none will require converting :(

Posted by
13802 posts
  1. There was at least one, lol. Usually every room in the hotel is slightly different so it's pretty difficult to answer that question. The hotel in Haarlem (are you staying at the Ambassador?) will be more likely to be with less variation and I believe my room had at least 2 there.

  2. Yes, as far as I can recall. The disclaimer is that I don't usually use a hairdryer and let my hair air dry, but I have attempted to speed clothes from time to time. The ones I've tried have never been as powerful as a US hairdryer.

  3. I think so. There may have been one or 2 out of the 20 nights that didn't have shampoo. I think some had soap not gel. I mostly used my own shampoo, but did wind up adding some from one of the hotel shampoos I liked. BTW, your highway rest stops will be in Autogrilles which have not only a restaurant but you always, always, always have to exit thru the shop which has wine, chocolate, candy drinks, toiletries, scarves (yes, my new boutique is Auto Grille, lol!!), toys, sometimes clothing, lots of stuff!

I don't know if you will overload or not. You can also swap out what you are charging. I would figure out a routine perhaps where you plug in your camera batteries as soon as you get into your room. They may be done by the time you are ready for bed so you can plug in the cell phones. You are probably not going to charge the laptop every day, but cell phones should be done when you get up so you can plug in the laptop and then the ecig.

Not silly questions!

Posted by
646 posts

Hi -- we were on the BOE 21 day tour last summer. Tours stay at different hotels, so no one can give you a definitive answer to your questions, but...

Most hotels will have small toiletries. One or two may not, but you should be ok at those with the small bottles you do bring. If you do need extras, I would advise stopping in the little grocery stores near where you stay. The prices there are significantly less than the prices for toiletries at the AutoGrilles (although the AutoGrilles are great for snacks and coffee). Most of the hotels had hair dryers. I think ours in Florence did not...or maybe it just didn't work...and I think our room in Stechelberg may not have had one. We traveled with a tiny lightweight dryer but if you don't bring one you can probably borrow one from the front desk or a fellow traveler. I strongly encourage you to get something that you can plug into one outlet and charge multiple devices at once. Several of the hotels had very few outlets. And if you're traveling in the summer, you will not want to unplug the fan in your room in order to plug in your charger!

Posted by
559 posts

Hi,

As others stated, it's hard to know how many outlets in a hotel since on each tour, hotels may vary. Also, rooms vary within each hotel. However, if your room has a newer tv, check the back. Often there is an unused USB port there. That would help with the e-cig. Also, "rotating" the time you use the chargers makes sense (I.e., such as chargin laptop during daytime).

Also, you may want to invest in something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ATZJ5YS/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=I5BHTF0CE7RY&coliid=I309V018T48LXH&psc=1

It has outlets plus USB ports all together and it's Intended for travel.

Have fun on your trip!
Enjoy.

Posted by
731 posts

Thank you for that link, Gretchen! I had thought I had what I needed then learned that what I had intended to use in Europe was a "converter" as well as an adaptor......and that all of our devices were dual votage devices.....so I ordered yet ANOTHER thing from Amazon that I think will work. The one you listed caught my eye, too.....but I was afraid my clunky camera battery chargers wouldn't fit side by side. I do hope I am done shopping at Amazon for this trip, lol!

Posted by
13802 posts

I can almost guarantee you that you are going to run into outlets in at least one hotel that will throw you for a loop. Remember most have a lobby or bar/breakfast area and you can likely do some quick charging there for your most important stuff.

You've still got a couple of months, so I'm betting Amazon is not done with you yet. Do you have a AAA store near you? They may have some stuff for you to look at in person.

Posted by
2788 posts

I have taken RS 21 Day BOE Tour. I do not have a clue as to how many outlets were in each room as that was the last thing I was counting. I have taken 12 RS Tours and take my own dual voltage hair dryer. I have never worried about how much personal type shampoos or lotions I take as Europe is a pretty modern place with lots of stores that sell whatever you could possibly need. Happy Travels and hope you enjoy the tour as much as I did.