I was there not too long ago, as I’m sure you have been as well. After a long day of traveling, client meetings, long check-in lines and an upgrade to an accessible room, it’s time to relax and unwind.

As you go to pour out your prize for the evening, you realize a wine bottle requires a cork screw. But the middle of the road hotel doesn’t have one in sight. You’ve already called the front desk and they didn’t even know what you were talking about.

We are here to help with a little travel tip to help you unwind at the end of a long day.

You can try our tried and true and thoroughly tested options for releasing the contents of your bottle by following the steps below.

Option 1: The door

Most people think a door is just an apparatus on which they can hang their Do Not Disturb or Make a Green Choice signs…..WRONG!  The door is a bottle opening machine.

Found in nearly 100% of hotel rooms, the door’s interior latch can be used to pry open a bottle in seconds.  I must warn you this method has a high spill risk.  It takes years of practice to master the craft and coordination needed to quickly reorient the bottle when the pressure of the bottle is released.  I am not meaning to brag, but not one drop was spilled in this demonstration.  For extra credit, use the bathroom door.

The setup

Clean release, no spillage.

But a wine bottle? Not so much. No chance you’ll get the wine bottle open with a door

Option 2: The ironing board

The ironing board is having issues maintaining its closet-share in business hotels these days with the advent of the iron-free shirt.  However, I still find these multi-purpose tools in about 85% of hotel rooms.  If you are fortunate to have one in your room, you now have another, more elegant option to open your bottled delight.

The primary issue identified with the door option is that the angle forces your bottle to be at a 90 degree angle when the pressure is released causing unnecessary spillage.  The innovative ironing board solution eliminates this issue.

First locate your ironing board and bring it to a large open space where you can maneuver it easily.

Second, locate an edge on the under-board where the bottle top can be leveraged tightly into the space.

Third, lean the entire board forward so that the bottle is near upright when you pull it against the under-board’s ledge and release the pressure.  The closer you are able to open the bottle to horizontal, the lower chance you have of letting any precious bottle contents spill.

Again, no luck with a wine bottle and an ironing board.

Option 3: The Table Edge

This option has the most risk, not to the bottle, but to the edge of the table or desk. I’m sure there are plenty of desks in hotels out there with a little notch in the side. But no fear hotels, a wine bottle has no shot at denting that desk.

Final Tip To Unwind

You’ve gotten this far, don’t forget the last and most important step of pouring out the contents of your wine bottle is to select the right bottle. I always select a screw top when I know I’m going to open the bottle in a less than full service hotel. The screw top never fails. Choose wisely.

With the bottle cracked, locate your favorite generic coffee cup, clear glasses they normally set next to the bathroom, or plastic-wrapped plastic cups found in your hotel room, pour the wine / beer / cocktail and enjoy!

Cheers.  You earned it!

Related Posts

• PMM’s travel tip to take the edge off
• How To Make A (Better) Drink From Hotel Room