# Letter praising a helpful hotel receptionist: IELTS Writing Task 1 samples

Writing Task 1 - General Training - Services

You recently stayed at a hotel, and one member of staff was especially helpful to you.

Write a letter to the hotel manager. In your letter

Write at least 150 words. You do NOT need to write any addresses. Begin your letter as follows: Dear Sir or Madam,

You should say:
- give details of your stay
- explain how the member of staff helped you
- suggest how the hotel could reward this person

Source: Sample answers and examiner notes are written by Testmigo.

## Band 7 sample

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to thank one of your staff members, who helped me a lot during my stay at your hotel last month.

I stayed at the Riverside Hotel for four nights, from 5 to 9 August, as I was visiting the city for a business meeting. My room was comfortable and the breakfast was very good.

On my last day I realised that I had left my passport in a taxi. I was very stressed because my flight was in the same evening. A receptionist called Leila contacted the taxi company for me and, after many phone calls, she found the driver and he brought the passport back to the hotel. Without her I would have missed my flight.

I think Leila deserves a reward for her hard work. Maybe the hotel could give her a bonus or a certificate, so she knows that her effort is appreciated by the management and by your guests.

Once again, thank you for this excellent service.

Yours faithfully,

Kenji Watanabe

**Examiner notes.** This Band 7 letter covers all three bullets, and the passport story clearly shows how the receptionist helped. The comment about breakfast adds little, and the suggestion is brief. The tone is mostly formal, but "helped me a lot" and "Maybe the hotel could" are closer to spoken English, and "in the same evening" is an error. A Band 8 letter would describe the help with more precise detail and present the suggestion in a more formal, persuasive way.

The Band 8 sample is free with an account on the [topic page](https://testmigo.com/ielts/writing/topics/task-1/letter-to-hotel-praising-helpful-staff-member).

## Common questions

### How many words should I write?

At least 150 words for Task 1 and 250 for Task 2. Writing a little more is fine; an answer under the minimum loses marks.

### Can I use these sample answers in my test?

No. Memorised material is marked down and you will not get this exact question. Use the samples to see what each band does with the same task.