a laundry option would be great
Recent discussions about back to back trips got me thinking (again) about laundry. It has always been challenging for me to pack for trips longer than 10 days. I hate to spend time doing laundry while traveling when there is always so much to see, and laundromats are not always conveniently located. Wouldn't it be nice if Tauck could make a deal with at least one hotel per trip, especially on longer itineraries, where you could just hand over a sack of clothes for laundering for a reasonable price? We had this option available on recent cruises and it was great.
I would suggest that if you also feel this is a good idea, please mention it to Tauck on your next comment card or the next time you call in. It's probably unrealistic to think that anything will happen, but we can try!
Comments
Until recently we always managed quite long trips without having to do any laundry, maybe a few pieces of underwear. These days, we do get the odd bit of laundry done. We have collected very lightweight clothing that we keep for trips. We can easily pack over two weeks worth of underwear and unless it’s a very humid place, can wear outer things more than once. If people are concerned that others might notice wearing the same clothing, then one idea is to keep wearing black every day which I first noticed on our India tour. I wore colorful clothes, after all it was India!
It’s the Tauck insistence for ‘resort casual’ and jackets that mean you pack things you may only wear for a couple of hours each evening. And… expensive hotels mean expensive laundry!
We have traveled with people on three week tours more and more often that just take carry on and they look just as put together as anyone else.
We've done back to back tours or added days post tour that were long enough we needed more than the odd item laundered. Sometimes that meant booking a less expensive hotel that had guest laundry facilities or a per bag service. We've also found services - self serve or per bag - by using Google maps, the Nearby button starting from our hotel. Literally walked a few blocks from the Savoy once to a laundromat between tours. I keep hoping to find one near a bar or restaurant so we can enjoy our time waiting for cycles to finish. I can suggest a good chain apartment hotel company that usually has guest laundry facilities if anyone wants it. The 4/5 star hotel "just pay the overpriced laundry bill" people need not reply.
I have also done laundry between back to back trips. I also look up the closest laundry facility and print it out on Google Maps where I can walk from the hotel we're staying. My husband and I do the laundry together (why not). When we were in Marseille, France my husband had to demonstrate to others walking in, how to use the machines. Some foreign washers and dryers can be challenging. I just sit and read a book. We've done this a handful of times. The last time was when we were traveling a month.
The cruise lines are starting to use laundry as a "benefit". Regent gives free unlimited laundry, at least in the cabin level we stay in. Silversea gave some laundry but I don't remember how much. I don't think it was unlimited.
Rather than go to a laundrymat, we've occasionally found a place that will do the laundry and fold it for you. And you can usually get it back in the same day. Bit more expensive than a laundrymat (a LOT cheaper than a hotel) but it frees up your time, allowing you do some some sightseeing.
[It would be nice if Tauck let us know of a laundry place close to the hotels we stay in.]
Tauck is a high end company, I guess they expect their clients to have no problem paying for laundry at hotel chains like the Four Seasons that Tauck guests appear to like staying in.