You Should Never Stay in These Two Parts of a Hotel: “Request Another Room Immediately”
Most people pick their hotel room without giving it much thought, but travel expert Mark Wolters says that where your room is located within the hotel can make or break your entire stay. Wolters, who runs the popular YouTube channel Wolters World and has traveled to more than 80 countries, has seen just about everything the hospitality world has to offer. He recently shared his take on the two specific spots in a hotel where guests should never accept a room, and his reasoning is pretty hard to argue with. The good news is that asking for a different room is always an option, and you should never feel bad about doing it.
The first location to avoid is anywhere near the elevator or the ice machine. According to Wolters, these are among the highest-traffic spots in any hotel, which means the noise level around them rarely drops, even in the middle of the night. He points out that you can expect a steady stream of guests coming and going at all hours, whether it’s people returning late from a night out, families with young kids heading to the pool at the crack of dawn, or wedding guests stumbling back to their rooms. If a good night’s sleep matters to you, this is simply not where you want to be. He suggests politely asking the front desk to move you somewhere farther from these areas before you even unpack.
The second spot Wolters flags is a room positioned right next to a stairwell. While it might not seem like a big deal at first, he explains that stairwells can be surprisingly noisy and are also considered unusual access points within a building. Sounds echo through them easily, and they can attract foot traffic that you might not expect at odd hours. Beyond the noise factor, he notes there is also a subtle safety dimension worth keeping in mind when your room sits directly beside one of these entry points.
Wolters does not stop at just those two locations, though. He also encourages guests to speak up whenever they feel unsafe for any reason, whether that relates to the locks on the door, the condition of the windows, or concerns about other guests nearby. He is clear that you do not owe the hotel staff a detailed explanation for why something makes you uncomfortable, since your personal safety and peace of mind are reason enough. Simply letting the front desk know that you would feel more at ease in a different room is a perfectly reasonable request that most hotels will try to accommodate.
Cleanliness is another legitimate trigger for requesting a room switch. Wolters recalls encountering situations like lipstick marks on a bathroom mirror, which pointed to a room that had clearly been skipped during cleaning. He acknowledges that mix-ups happen and that housekeeping sometimes falls behind, but he also points out that waiting around for a room to be properly cleaned can take two to three hours. In that case, moving to a fresh room is almost always the faster and more comfortable solution. You are a paying guest, and a clean, quiet, and secure space is the bare minimum you should expect.
If you have ever had a hotel stay ruined by noise, safety worries, or a less-than-clean room, share your experience in the comments.
