Greetings from the Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC. I’ve had a lovely stay and will give a detailed review soon. This morning I just wanted to share a tip I learned that I will incorporate into my travel routine. It’s a no-brainer way to get a quieter hotel room in a busy city. Doing this will help make sure you get a room with no oratory surprises.
Here’s my cautionary tale
It started at 9:36 AM- that distinctive alarm sound you hear when a trash truck hits reverse. I give urban hotels a lot of leeway when it comes to street noise because you can’t blame a downtown hotel for a lack of absolute silence. So I let that go.
However about five minutes later the jack-hammering began. To be more specific the sound resembled a hippo attempting to mate with a jack-hammer. It went on without end for over two hours. Those of you know have been following my remodeling saga know the LAST think I needed was the sound of constant construction. I get enough of that at home!
How bad was it? Well, you be the judge:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BROP6_oBU0q/?taken-by=thedealmommyblog
To The Mayflower Hotel’s credit they moved my room without question. However I could have easily avoided the situation had I taken a walk around the block before check-in. By doing so I would’ve noticed the gaping hole in the alley across from my original room. That and the backhoe would have been a tip off to request a room facing the other direction.
From now on I will make sure to take this quick but important pre-check in stroll and suggest you do too. If that’s not feasible, you could also ask your cab or uber driver to take a spin around the block before you get out of the car. Another thought is to stash your bag with the bellman before checking things out.
Hope my experience with the jackhammer saves you an unpleasant wake up call.
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I’m a light sleeper and I like silence so the one box I always check when booking is “Quiet Room” and then I add it to the notes, along with “No connecting rooms please”. Then I ask again when I check in.
2 great tips. Looking for construction should have been a no-brainer. However, I’ve never done it before.
A great point. The thing is that it’s often pretty impractical to do this. Some times it’s raining, other times you’re just too tired or loaded down to walk around a city block. I’ve been in hotels where the surrounding neighborhood would make me think twice about walking, particularly at night.
Fair enough, but there are ways. One is to ask your cab or uber driver to take a spin around the block before you get out of the car. Another thought is to stash your bag with the bellman before checking things out.
Cab around the block is a great suggestion. After a harrowing experience with connecting rooms – that one also on the check in list.
Another important one.
I always check the Quiet Room, no connecting rooms if possible, and if I am given a room with potential noise, I call it in asap. Seems to be that I get the quiet room, and am thankful for it. Perhaps in the notes in Hyatt somewhere: This guest likes a quiet room and she is dead serious about it. Who knows? I am happy Hyatt grants my simple request. Sadly, with the new changes after this year, I can no longer afford Hyatt. That’s okay though, I live in a hotel like apartment in Shanghai anyway, so there is no need to visit many hotels anymore. For contrast to my daily living, I’ll be staying in Airbnbs.
Note: If coming to China long term, consider staying in a serviced apartment.
Hi Mary,
I’m a big fan of serviced apartments in general. You can often find them on booking.com.
Asleep at 9:30 AM? Sounds like the PartyMommy. 🙂
I wish! I was awake. It was still annoying.