No escape from its ‘signature scent’

AS a person plagued by severe allergies and asthma triggered by environmental aromas, I wish to comment on Kathleen Doheny’s article “Sniff. Say ‘Ahh’ or ‘Achoo!’ ” [Healthy Traveler, July 30]. The advice to move away from the irritant and complain if it’s overpowering sounds logical but doesn’t solve the problem.

Last December, I arrived at a Manhattan hotel and had an allergy attack the moment I set foot in the lobby. Because of the holiday season, the entire place was permeated with a “seasonal perfume,” according to the front desk agent.

I dashed up to my room hoping to find some fresher air and found it had their “signature scent,” according to the manager, whom I called asking for a different room. I was told no other rooms were available.

It was the most miserable night of my life. Three Benadryls and 10 puffs from my inhaler later, I sat, with the windows open blowing frosty air in, unable to breathe.

When I later wrote the general manager an e-mail complaining of my experience, his response was completely unsympathetic. He waxed lyrical about their signature scent.

TOBY CARRASCO

Los Angeles

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ARE hotels tricking their guests into believing that fake scents offer olfactory pleasure, or are hotels masking the odors of their guests and their animals? Today even a high-end luxury hotel cannot pass the white-glove test. Clean rooms, which are always a hotel guest’s top priority, now reek of dog residue as more and more pets travel with their owners and sleep in the hotels’ beds.

CAROLE WADE

Los Angeles