WEEKLY GROSS-OUT: No more room service

It is the perk that comes with expense accounts, the silver tray that wakes lovers in the morning, and the frequent indulgence of the superspy James Bond. Room service has become all these things and more, since it grew in popularity with the privileged guests of the Waldorf-Astoria in the 1930s and soon emerged as a standard for luxury excursions, and a plot device for tales of suspense and whimsy. Just ask Eloise, the 6-year-old scamp living it up in the Plaza Hotel, who routinely called for room service to bring her one roast-beef bone, one raisin, and seven spoons. And yet room service will soon be no more at one major New York City hotel. In August, the New York Hilton Midtown, in the heart of Manhattan, will discontinue food and drink service to all 2,000 of its rooms. In its place will be a new self-service Herb n’ Kitchen stocked with grab-and-go items. A spokesman for the hotel, which is part of the chain that also operates the Waldorf, cited declining demand for room service as the reason; some hotel industry experts see the elimination of the labor-intensive amenity as a way for the chain to save money. This is just not on. Even if you never order the expensive Three Scrambled Organic Eggs (priced at US$22.50) or the reliable Cobb Salad (priced at US$24.75) at 1 a.m., it is always comforting to know that either can be delivered to the door, its arrival punctuated by a few knocks and exactly two words. But no, the bellends running the show want to end all that because they think it would be a better idea to dehumanise the service and pander to the lowest common denominator. One should expect more of a hotel charging US$300 a night. In fact, one should take their business elsewhere - the Waldorf, for instance, will not be losing room service, and a Hilton spokesman said the company was evaluating its other hotels on a case-by-case basis.