Quarantine hotel guests use iron to turn sandwiches into toasties

When it comes to staying in hotel quarantine, it’s no surprise that the catering is less than five-star. But this simple hack has turned one meal from zero to hero.

A hotel quarantine guest has revealed the sneaky way she’s taken her breakfast from zero to hero in a matter of minutes, all thanks to an every day household item.

Sharon Brown, a member of the Facebook Group New Zealand Hotel Quarantine, posted a photo of her sandwich received while in hotel quarantine.

The room Ms Brown was staying in, however, didn’t come with a sandwich press, so she had to get creative by pressing an iron on a paper bag with the sandwich inside.

The hotel hack turned a pretty average sandwich into a delicious toastie – without using a sandwich press.

According to members of the group, many of the hotel rooms accommodating return travellers for 14 days of mandatory quarantine are not equipped with microwaves or sandwich press machines.

However, group members were blown away by the idea.

“That’s genius,” one commented. “Kiwi ingenuity.”

Like Australia, returning overseas travellers and residents have been forced into hotel quarantine in a bid to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

According to the New Zealand government website people entering the country must stay in managed isolation or quarantine for at least 14 days and complete a health assessment and return a negative COVID-19 test before they can go into the community.

The hack was posted on Facebook by a woman in hotel quarantine in New Zealand.

According to the group, the iron-turned-sandwich-press hack may not be the most innovative one hotel guests have used to upgrade their meals.

According to NewsHub, some of the other hotel hacks and ways to make your stay that little bit more homelike include:

– Poached eggs in a ziplock bag in a boiling kettle,

– Morning sleep ins = cold breakfast. Put a cardboard disposable container over the kettle with the lid open and boil to get a bit of heat back into the food,

– Turn your rubbish bin into a ‘washing machine’ for smaller items as some hotels only have 10 item laundry allocation per person. Hang on coat hangers to dry.

It’s not the first time a hotel hack has gone viral during the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this year, Bridget Houlden, who stayed at the Crown Metropol Hotel in Melbourne for two weeks in May, filmed herself cooking apple crumble and other sweet treats using items she found in her hotel room (such as the iron, a plastic knife and a packet of Equal sweetener).

She also showed viewers how to create a chocolate and caramel slice, as well as a toasted cheese sandwich with a hair straightening iron.

“Out of pure boredom, I have kind of been searching for things to keep me occupied,” Ms Houlden told WIN News Gippsland.

“I cannot say that I am any kind of master chef so maybe I have finally found my calling in here.”