How clean are our cabins at Tall Pines Inn? We have taken clean to the extreme!
How Clean Is Your Room
More than one guest has asked us “how clean are your beds?” or “can we see the cabin first!” or “how do you protect against bed bugs?” These are all excellent questions. It is not a secret that there has been a lot of bad press lately about the cleanliness in lodging, and unwitting guests becoming the victims of lazy housekeeping, and lousy management policies. The hotel industry is recognizing that guests are starting to notice, and they, in turn, are reacting.
Two areas in a hotel room have been the focus of much attention, the TV remote, and the bedspread. There was a time when neither of these items received much attention between guests coming and going from a hotel room. Major hotel chains were some of the first to start changing their policies regarding cleaning TV remote controls between guests. They also ditched the heavy dark bedspreads for lighter brighter sheets and duvet covers. Major hotels weren’t the only ones picking up on this trend, and small hospitality has probably been a bit ahead of the curve when it comes to clean. The smaller Inns take pride in making up a fresh room between their guests. Since there are no regulations that specifically order lodging on how they should clean a room, unit, or cabin, it does leave a lot of room for interpretation. Precisely what does clean mean?
Tall Pines Clean Extreme
Here at Tall Pines Inn, we know what clean means to us, and we have chosen to take it to the extreme. We spend extra time and effort on each and every cabin and suite to assure every guest that walks in has a fresh start. It doesn’t matter if you stay for one week or one night, with us you will get the same treatment. 
At Tall Pines Inn, Michelle and Keith have set the cleaning bar “nose-bleed” high! We want our guests to know just what our housekeepers do to prepare our sparkly squeaky clean cabins and suites for their arrival. You may have noticed we now have white bedding! Michelle chose white because it doesn’t hide anything. It is no easy task to keep clean, but try to find a blemish on our bedding! We wash the bed from top to bottom between every guest. Our beds are made using a method called “triple sheeting” to give that tight clean appearance, read more here…. What cannot be washed is encased for protection, such as our mattress and pillow encasements.
What We do for You
We use a non-bleach disinfectant that has broad-spectrum effect against many microorganisms, yet it does not leave an unpleasant strong offensive odor. All surfaces are cleaned with this product, including the target areas of the toilet, the TV remote, and the notorious sink vanity. The interior of our refrigerators and microwaves are cleaned between every guest’s use. Any abandoned food or drink may or may not be kept for 24 hours in our company refrigerator depending on the nature of the food or drink.
We have snap on liners for our shower curtains. Thus every guest gets a fresh, clean shower curtain. Of course, we replace all used towels and toiletries, and add a new set of amenities for every guest. We have a multipurpose dusting spray that we use to wipe down all surfaces of the room that do not typically have a lot of guest contact but need a little sprucing up.
We plan to add Keurig Coffee Makers into all of our units eventually. The addition of Keurigs’ will be another boost to our housekeepers who now have many little coffee pots to wash, and yes, they clean all of those small pots and baskets for the coffee makers.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the work we put into our jetted tubs. We sanitize all of our tubs between every guest use, and we notify the guests of this. We use a product specifically indicated for this use and clean the tub according to the manufacturers’ recommendations. Our tubs can be used with confidence and comfort, and they sparkle!!
One important point of interest, our housekeepers go through many cleaning cloths daily. Switching cleaning cloths often mean that they are always using a clean cloth throughout the unit they are cleaning. The same cloth used to clean one area of the room is never used to clean another area of the room, nor is the cloth used to clean one cabin used to clean another cabin. The switch up of cloths becomes very important during cold and flu season, as we do not want to be the cause of spreading germs.
Last but not least, our housekeeping tote in the commercial upright vacuum and vacuum the carpet or dust and mop hardwood floors. Vacuuming is done while backing out of the unit so as not to leave housekeeping tracks behind.
Crazy – Yes – About You
Perhaps you read this and think we are a little crazy to go to this much work, or this is not a self-sustaining practice. Maybe you are reading this and applauding our efforts. We happen to know our guests are thrilled when they walk into their squeaky clean unit, see the immaculately made bed, and picture perfect surroundings. We accept feedback to help make it better and look forward to drawing in more guests who appreciate our “over-the-top” sparkly clean. To read more about lodging cleanliness click here…