Jim Eagles: Taking a dim view

Hotel lighting is almost always awful, writes Jim Eagles. llustration / NZ Herald

The people who design hotels need to help guests see the light.

I was sitting in the room of our very nice hotel in the centre of Oslo, vainly trying to read the very tiny print of a city map in order to work out how to get to the Viking Ship Museum, when suddenly I saw the light.

My problem wasn't the decreasing efficiency of my ageing eyes. It was the darkness of the room even though all the lights were on.

Hoping to illuminate things, I first sat under one of the recessed lights glowing dimly in the ceiling high above. Then I put the map directly under the bedside lamp shining feebly beside the bed. Finally I stamped across to my suitcase, got out my little travelling torch, and shone its tiny beam on to the map.

Eureka. I could see. The Viking Ship Museum was on the Bygdoy Peninsula. And the best way to reach it from our hotel was by ferry.

The museum was marvellous. But as we cruised across the beautiful harbour - ferry fare included along with museum admission, in our Oslo Pass - I couldn't help musing about why hotel lighting is almost always awful.

I know that for many travellers hotels are mainly thought of as places for sleeping and related activities where dim lighting is preferable. But even young honeymooners will surely take a break now and again to see things like the three amazingly well-preserved Viking ships 1100-1200 years old that we marvelled at. Or even to read a book. And when that happens good lighting is often useful.

For all the advantages of looking at Google Maps on a smartphone, it's sometimes still easier to plot a route on a large printed map.

Plus, I'm sure I'm not the only veteran traveller who finds it easier to look for information in a printed guide book such as the excellent one provided with the Oslo Pass.

But it wasn't just the Oslo hotel we stayed in that left us in the dark. During a trip which embraced England, Scotland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden, only The Lamb Inn in the English seaside town of Eastbourne had lights that actually lit the room.

So why have hotel designers decided that dim background lighting is the way to go? Couldn't they give those who are old or old-fashioned, or both, at least the option of turning on a nice bright lamp? Surely that wouldn't cost a fortune.

After all, though I may have solved my map-reading problem by getting out a torch, that option isn't available if you've only just arrived and are squinting to try and read the numbers on the combination lock on your suitcase.

Jim Eagles is a former editor of Herald Travel.