Articles & Opinion

Strange Room Service Requests

Everyone expects exceptional, personalized service from a 5-star hotel, but some people take it to the limit. Here are just a few of the outrageous room service orders we’ve heard about. Please don’t get any ideas…

40 Stuffed Pigeons

A concierge at the Conrad Cairo in Egypt reports that one night at 2:30 am, a guest called room service to request 40 stuffed pigeons, five whole lambs, and five mixed grilled family platters in order to feed the 30 guests in his suite. The hotel managed to deliver by calling in a favor from a local restaurant.

Weed Salad

Hotels in every state where marijuana is legal say that requests for a side of weed are annoyingly frequent. Some states do allow restaurants to legally serve marijuana in food, but we don’t know of any hotel that has it on the room service menu.

Kobe Beef for Fido

London’s St. Ermin’s Hotel is accustomed to orders for Kobe beef, but serving it in a dog bowl was a first. The pampered pooch was delighted when room service arrived with his special dish, and truth be told, the staff enjoyed waiting on the dog more than the owner.

20 Pounds of Ice for My Penguins

A landmark Boston hotel got a call from a guest asking room service to bring 20 pounds of ice to the room. When the staff arrived with the ice, they found penguins making a home in the bathtub. Turns out they were part of an exhibit at the Boston Globe Travel Show and didn’t request extra towels once.

Another penguin related request was made by a film crew that wanted to stage live penguins in a guest room at The Four Seasons Resort Hualalai in Hawaii with Morgan Freeman narrating their interaction. Unfortunately, this never came to pass.

Goat (Live Please)

An international film crew staying at the St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico, called room service at 2:00 am requesting a live goat. Seems the star of their documentary was an old male goat who passed away during the night. The project had to wrap before they left Puerto Rico at 4:30 am. Amazingly, a billy goat stand-in was procured and the shoot completed successfully.

Cocktail Party for 150

Room service was given just two hours to supply bartenders, cocktail servers, armed security, and a buffet for 150 people who were on their way to The Peninsula Beverly Hills from a Justin Bieber concert. The hotel pulled it off.

Kentucky Fried Chicken

KFC is not on any hotel’s room service menu, but one posh resort received an order for $5,000 of the stuff (all original recipe) from a famous pop star.

If you would like to read about some joke requests that were taken seriously by hotel staff, read this hilarious blog.