Hotel Door Security Assurance

The Taj Vivanta introduced me to a new type of door chain that I'd previously never seen before.  The little red and black toggle switch cannot be circumvented.  Once it is engaged, the door chain is locked. You have to close the door to disengage the mechanism.  The chain retracts and coils up inside the door. 

The Taj in Whitefield is not yet 2 years old.  This "latest technology" reassures the guest staying in the room, where TOO OFTEN in China, Korea, Romania, I've had well intended but idiotic hotel personnel try to enter my room or my co-workers' rooms to "wake up" the guest, or provide "bed turn down service" or whatever trumped up reason the hotel employee can think of to intrude on the sanctuary and privacy of the guest's room.  I used to often move a piece of furniture or brace my suit case (handle extended) against the door to slow or prevent entry of unwanted hotel personnel into my room when I was sleeping, showering, working on my computer, doing yoga / exercising, etc.  I once watched a maintenance man at a Connecticut Radisson Inn use a multi-bar linkage to snake under the door, with a narrow telescope, and unhook the door chain, so that the hotel could assist a guest who had fallen ill... so I know there's a "higher tech" means of gaining entry without kicking the door down as well.

This simple, untamperable door chain helped to reassure me that no one would be walking in on me unexpectedly while staying in the hotel for almost 2 weeks.  It was a nice touch.