Experts reveal the 5 dirtiest spots in hotel rooms

Here’s a list of spots that can be teeming with germs, experts warn — and the steps you should take as soon as you arrive in your hotel room. 

1. Decorative elements

“Having worked in hotels, the first thing I fling off to a far corner of the room are decorative pillows and any decorative runner that goes along the foot of the bed,” Maria Diego, a San Diego, California-based travel adviser, told the travel magazine. 

“These never get washed.”

Duvet covers can also be a collecting place for germs. 

“Most hotels do not wash the big duvet. They only wash the sheets,” a former hotel staffer noted on Reddit last year.

2. High-touch surfaces

Diego said she is also cautious about switches, remote controls, phones, and other major touchpoints.

Los Angeles travel adviser Rani Cheema said hotel room phones disgust her the most. 

“I am grossed out by the receiver,” Cheema said. “No one’s cleaning that.”

Carpets are another culprit. 

Many high-end hotels are now swapping them out for flooring or area rugs, according to Cheema.

3. Bathtubs

Hotel bathrooms are even dirtier than airplanes, studies have found – especially the countertops.

But the tub is also infested with germs, harboring up to 40 times more bacteria than a toilet seat, according to a 2023 investigation by WaterFilterGuru.com.

“I also won’t take a bath in a hotel unless it’s a super-luxe five-star hotel, and only if it’s a non-jet bathtub,” Diego said. 

Jetted tubs can harbor more bacteria and aren’t always disinfected fully, according to experts.