No room for error

As vice president of the Hyatt group of hotels, Ratnesh Verma spends most of his time travelling around the world and living at some of the finest hotels. Associated with the Hyatt for the last 17 years, and responsible for several hotels across South-east Asia, Verma has a fair idea about what the plushest hotels and rooms should offer. We suss out his idea of a perfect hotel room (and not necessarily at the Hyatt), which, when missing, makes him lose his temper, and what exactly he likes or dislikes in his hotel room.

The perfect space

The perfect hotel room is one that “allows me to live the way I want to,” Verma says. Although he is not too fussy when it comes to rooms, he is particular about a sense of space. The rooms should never be cluttered or restrictive in functionality. “If I want to have my dinner in bed while playing a movie on the TV using my iPod, or work on my laptop while relaxing on the couch, then the design and amenities should allow me to do so.”

The best hotel

Which is the best hotel he has stayed at? “Without a doubt (and bias!) — it’s got to be the Park Hyatt Tokyo”, he says. According to him, the rooms are comfortable, even luxurious, without being intimidating, have great views of Mt Fuji and, most importantly, have the best bathrooms — even the toilet seats are temperature-controlled! He says that bathrooms are extremely important and he prefers them to be luxurious.

Close to the fire exit

Verma says that he likes rooms that are close to the elevator or to the fire exit. A view from the room is important. When it comes to the category, he is not too bothered, so long as the rooms offer decent product design and comfort levels. He prefers rooms that have external views rather than internal ones. “I would rather have a room looking on to a road, city or sea than the hotel pool or a garden.”

The spoilers...

There are certain things which, if he doesn’t find in his room, make him lose his cool. He lists poor Internet connection, absence of international plug adaptors and enough bottled drinking water as major bugbears. “These are a few things which a room must have or you can get very frustrated.”