Has a Hotel Ever Crossed a Line With You?

I fell hard for a hotel while in Brazil. It was the Fasano in São Paulo, and although my better other half, who had stayed there before, led me to expect a lot from it, my high expectations didn't end up being a problem. I thought the Fasano was perfect, from the discreet side-street entrance, to the sunken bar in the lobby, to the sumptuous materials throughout (including lots of wood and casement windows), to the timelessly stylish room. On top of all that, the hotel leaves flip-flops in the marble bathroom that you can take with you—they used to be Havaianas, but now they're sturdier Ipanemas. I put them on and went to the pool (above), up on the second-from-the-top floor. It was how I imagine a Batman villain bathes.

And then I returned to the room to find this note....

In case it's not legible, I'll transcribe it: "Dear Mr. [Better Other Half] and Mr. Torkells: We have kindly taken the liberty of organizing your belongings inside the wardrobe and the drawers. Please feel free to contact me if you need any further assistance. Best regards, Juliana, Guest Relations"

Obviously, the hotel was trying to be nice, but I was a little offended. You have to understand that I pride myself on being organized. So to say that you've organized my stuff implies—no, states—that my stuff was disorganized to begin with. I can see how it may have looked haphazard, but like many travelers, I have a system. I like all of my clean clothes out where I can see them, even if that means stacking them all over the desk, especially when I'm at a hotel for just a day or two. (If I put something away I'll be more likely to leave it behind.) Perhaps having to face my underwear distressed the housekeeper, but that's not half as bad as having to touch it, right? I was tempted to call and ask Juliana to have it all put back exactly as it was, but I don't have that kind of attitude in me.

This isn't a problem that many travelers will have—and, in fact, it's not even classifiable as a problem. (Certainly not compared to what has happened to other people, such as that woman who discovered a male hotel employee trying on her clothes.) Two months after the trip, however, it still gnaws at me, and my love for the Fasano now has an asterisk next to it. The experience left me wondering if anyone else has had a hotel overstep his or her boundaries.