Salads ready to be delivered to guest rooms at the New York Hilton Midtown. Photo by Barb DeLollis.

Salads ready to be delivered to guest rooms at the New York Hilton Midtown. Photo by Barb DeLollis.

Room service: Is it time for upscale hotels to reinvent room service? Yes, according to Travel Update readers.

In our completely unscientific poll of 38 votes, 83% of respondents said they’d like to see hotels change the manner in which food is delivered to their hotel room. It’s worth noting that a prior Facebook poll I’d done asking the same question showed similar results.

SUPPORT BLOG: Subscribe to Travel Update’s free email newsletter

MORE STORIES: Worst view ever No. 9 – Renaissance LAX

MORE STORIES: Hotel pet peeves include lousy hair dryer

Here are the results from our poll, as of 9:35 a.m. EST today:

Overhaul it! I’d rather have room service that’s faster, cheaper and similar to the take-out that I often order from Panera Bread, Starbucks or a Chinese restaurant. I don’t need the fuss – (83%, 24 Votes)

Keep it the way it is! I’ve enjoyed room service for years, and want it to stay the same way – delivered to my room on a tray or rolling cart with real silverware by a waiter. I don’t mind paying (17%, 14 Votes)

The Hilton New York – New York City’s largest hotel with some 2,000 rooms – recently confirmed to TravelUpdate.com that its nearly year-old experiment with a Panera Bread-style room service concept is a financial success. And that is a strong indicator that we’ll see more hotels follow suit. Two large Marriott hotels are also experimenting with a newfangled room service model.

New York-based food and restaurant consultant Michael Whiteman told me recently that he sees this concept taking off in other four-star hotels. It cuts costs for hotels, plus it can cut inconveniences for consumers, he said.

“No more carts to set up, no more sterno-filled hot boxes, no intrusive waiters while you’re still in your underwear,” Whiteman said.

Readers: Do you think some hotels have particularly great – or not great – room service?