Do Not Disturb! 4 Ways to Deal With a Noisy Hotel Room

I’m sitting in my hotel in Pamplona, Spain and it feels as if the person in the next room is actually in the room with me. If I could speak Spanish, I’m sure I could even join in on the conversation. It is an all too common of a complaint and problem for travelers on the road. When you want to get a good night’s sleep, your hotel merely by its construction or location won’t let you. If you have checked into a noisy hotel room, here are a few ways to combat the problem and get some rest.

Pack earplugs: Travelers should never leave home without earplugs, mostly for their accommodations. As I found in Spain, many hotels don’t have any sort of soundproofing. If you don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night to slamming doors and chatter, you should pack earplugs to drown out some of the noise. If you don’t have a pair on hand, you can ask reception if they have earplugs or use items in your room to drown out the noise such as the air conditioner or the television.

Request a room on the top floor and away from the elevators: I was trying to take a nap at another hotel in Spain, when it sounded as though in the room above me, they were moving elephants around the space. While I believe it was just housekeeping, being in a hotel room that is lodged in the middle of the hotel is bound to be noisy. If you want to try and avoid excessive noise from above you and next to you, it is best to request a room that is on the highest floor, away from the elevators and also at the end of the hallway, perhaps only bordered by one other room.

Pay attention to your location: Hotels can be quite crafty when it comes to taking photographs of their properties. While a hotel can’t necessarily photograph noise, they can make their location appear quieter than it might be. For example, if you are booking a hotel, make sure that there isn’t a bar or restaurant below it. Especially if you are staying on a weekend night, you are just asking for noise not so much from within your hotel, but rather your hotel’s position in the neighborhood.

Book hotels with soundproofing and 24-hour reception: You can combat a noisy hotel experience before it even begins. If all of the reviews you read say the property is noisy, try seeking out other options. I usually try to watch out for hotels that list soundproofing in their amenities. This perk usually means you will have a quieter experience. And in the case that you don’t have a quiet hotel room, you want to be able to at least talk to reception about it or even change rooms, even if it is 1AM. A hotel with 24-hour reception allows you to make a change if you need to in the middle of the night. Properties where the reception closes at a certain time can’t help you in the middle of the night when noisy hotel neighbors are stirring.