What Really Happens If You Take The Robe From Your Hotel Room

After a long flight and dreary plane food, you've finally arrived at your hotel. You drop your suitcases, order room service, and get yourself settled in for the night. You see that warm, plush robe the hotel has hanging in the closet or on the back of the bathroom door. It looks so inviting, with the fluffy arms tucked into each other on the hanger. You slip out of your travel clothes and into this lovely item as you enjoy your overpriced but delicious meal. Maybe you fall asleep in that robe as you watch TV. When you pack up the next day, it is practically staring at you. The comfy robe is sitting on the bed. Do you take it? Can you take it? Is the robe okay to leave with, like the little bottles of shampoo and the mini-pack of cotton balls and swabs (but oddly enough, not this bathroom essential) that you already packed in your toiletry bag? Well, there are a few answers, but the most important one is that this is the property of the hotel and not a freebie like the cute little soaps. 

It's certainly a dilemma many people have faced when staying at a luxury hotel, whether they saved up for it or their company sent them there. There are ways to take the robe home, but it will cost you. Is it worth it? That's for you to decide.

Some people assume that because they paid for the room, they can take the robe. Maybe they accidentally packed it up in a frenzy because they were late for a flight. However, think about the robe as you do the towels and bed sheets. You wouldn't take those home, and you can't just take the robe. 

Some hotels have information on the robe hanger stating that it's hotel property, but you can purchase one if you desire. As Kasey Pinedo, director of rooms at VEA Newport Beach A Marriott Resort & Spa, recently told Thrillist, "Typically in a luxury hotel like VEA, our guests know that a robe can be purchased ... We will gladly sell a brand new one to you for $150. If you do steal the robe from our luxury resort, we will also gladly charge you $150." She used the word "stealing," and if you don't tell anyone, that's exactly what you're doing, just as you'd be stealing a bath towel or pillow. However, you're unlikely to be accosted by hotel staff. Instead, as Pinedo said, it will be added to your payment method. Consider this one of the reasons we give credit cards "for incidentals" when we check-in. While you're at the front desk, here are a few simple tricks to getting extra perks when checking into your hotel, although the robe isn't one of them.

As mentioned, many hotels would be happy to sell you the robes, and several chain hotels have a separate shopping page for just such things. For instance, Marriott will sell you items like pillows, bedding, linens, bath products, and, yes, hotel robes, with four different types available, ranging from $70 to $100. Sheraton has three styles from $60 to $70, and Hilton has five types between $80 and $108. While you might not want to purchase a bathrobe from the little motel you stayed at that one time, luxury hotels know you might want to experience the same comfort you felt in one of their rooms time and time again. 

If you plan on buying one, do that right when you arrive if you don't fancy the idea of wearing someone else's robe. As with hotel sheets and towels, they're not just used for you and then tossed away. You can get a fresh one, pay for it, and not worry about accidentally putting it in your suitcase. 

Of course, those little shampoo bottles and soaps are fine to take. However, many hotels are switching to full bottles attached to the wall or by the sink. Unfortunately, you can't take those. If you love the item, you can usually also buy it in a hotel gift shop or spa. That said, here are some freebies you probably had no idea you can ask for at the hotel. Every little helps, right?