Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina
Life is short. Live it well.
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2008
- Messages
- 13,825
I think everyone has their own list, and it varies by TS resort, so sometimes we bring things that aren't always needed. For Vistana, the bathroom includes hand soap, decent hairdryer(s), TP is pretty good, and if you run low you can call housekeeping for more. unlike some hotels, they do not provide shampoo, conditioner or lotion - bring your own along.
Laundry supplies are not supplied, so bring your own. We always bring dryer sheets and the puck/tablet type soap. We don't usually use the pucks at home, but they are very convenient for travel, and are much cheaper than buying a little box of detergent at the marketplace.
In the kitchen, most of what you need is provided, and will be restocked as required. We bring our own dishwasher tabs as the cheap institutional packets they provide don't do a great job of cleaning. They have the little packets of salt and pepper only (sanitary reasons I expect); we bring a small travel S&P set from our camper. We also bring lots of plastic zip bags in various sizes for leftovers (there are no Tupperware containers). We bring a decent corkscrew - there is one but it is invariably dismal - and a wine rabbit. Of course you could just not drink wine (ha!) or get screw tops. We bring one decent kitchen knife and scissors if we have checked baggage - most of the kitchen knives look to have been well abused and don't hold an edge well. Finally, we bring standard coffee filters (and our own decent coffee); but I actually think they have updated the coffee makers so filters are no longer required. Or maybe I was so tired getting up for rope drop that I was just pouring the coffee straight into the pot
And that's all I can remember that we pack along. It sounds like a lot I guess, but none of that stuff takes up much space in the bag.
Just a quick addendum: if Gina and any others want to add their favorites, I'll compile a proper list and link to it from the table of contents in post two.
We still needed coffee filters in August (same coffee pots as last year). We also brought the pre-packaged, single-pot bags of Tim Hortons coffee....no scooping or measuring needed.
We also bring dryer sheets, laundry pods,, and dishwasher tabs (you are spot on with the description of the dishwasher soap provided.....its not the best quality).
Next time, I will also bring a Tide stain remover stick. We needed an emergency trip to Walgreens this past vacation for a bottle of Resolve (which we ended up leaving behind...hopefully the cleaning staff took it home).
For the other items we might need, we made use of the Dollar Tree across the street. They were a good resource for the miscellaneous stuff like aluminum foil, full sized salt and pepper shakers, and whatnot. They even carry recognizable toothpaste (Crest, Colgate) and some other basic brand name toiletry items.
Walgreens is right on the corner and good for picking up quality toiletries. I cannot live through a vacation without a supply of decent shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc. (I can "rough it" for some things but this is definitely one area where I can't compromise). We are not fans of the little soaps they leave in the bathroom...but they are provided if you want to use them. Walmart is good for this kind of stuff too and its not far away.
We always buy our sunscreen in the States (Walgreens or Walmart) on our arrival day as we can get higher SPF there than here at home.
I also bring pop-up laundry hampers. One goes in the master bedroom and one in the second bedroom. Keeps the laundry in its place until its time to toss a load in the washer and dryer.
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