Cheetah_SA

For the first time ever I have encountered this (to my mind) bizarre issue. After 2 nights of fitful sleep we decided the ac in our bedroom must be defective. The living room is noticeably cooler. So I asked for it to be seen to. I was asked what temperature I wanted - which seemed odd - and when I said a "real" 20 degrees C would be fine (as opposed to the supposed 17 degrees on the thermostat) I was told that the ac is programmed not to go cooler than 22 degrees! However, having expressed my disbelief and displeasure, on request the engineer would override that.

This seems outrageous to me. The console allows you to select temperatures down to 17 degrees. Only when you complain after suffering the result of their policy is it explained to you. The lame excuse of a manager who came to investigate was that "children play with the controls". Well it seems to me that a luxury property would notice that a) there are no children in our party and b) there is a heat wave in Europe. But in any event they should proactively ask guests what range of temperatures they would prefer.

Anyway with thermostats now set to 15 degrees things are cooling down - the room and my ire both - though what the actual temperature is is anyone's guess. It certainly isn't the 15 degrees that the bedroom thermostat is set on.

I just saw a similar thing noted on the Munich forum. Is this commonplace? Is it just a ruse to save money on electricity? I try not to be profligate by running ac unnecessarily and have no problem with systems that switch off ac when doors or windows are open. But this seems excessively stingy - and rather devious, which is worse!

aa213bb

At which property are you staying?

I've heard of these types of shenanigans, but don't recall experiencing it personally.

vuittonsofstyle

I experience this problem with AC thermostats frequently in hotels - the sitting room says it is 21° yet feels like 12° and the bedroom says it is 17° and feels like 25°.

AC thermostat maintenance appears to be a real problem in many hotels - either that or the AC is so noisy that you feel as though you are on a plane.

RichardInSF

Worse than that, so-called luxury hotels are now playing Holiday Inn tricks with the HVAC. As I noted in the Munich thread, the Charles now has thermostats that can only be varied over a 4degC range -- so if you like it cool during the day and warmer at night (like I do), you have to call the desk and request they change the range on a daily basis!

Cheetah_SA

It's the Park Hyatt Zurich.

Peculiarly, they gave me an extra key card to keep in the slot to ensure power while we are out. Or maybe that's not so odd - they know that getting the room anywhere near a reasonable temperature once you have left the ac off will be a challenge given their (undisclosed) "min 22 degrees" policy.

At present the temperatures are definitely cooler than before I complained. But the bedroom remains warmer than the living room. This could well be the due to poor maintenance as vuittonsofstyle says. Or it could possibly be related to the fact that the bedroom has floor to ceiling windows on two sides and just struggles more to keep cool.

Aventine

Maybe best to use the blackout shades if they have them. I know you'll lose your views but it will help keep room temperatures down. We're in typhoon, searing heat here in Korea and even PH Busan's new HVAC struggles to keep the room cool with full sun on ceiling to floor windows and 33 degree temperatures.

fassy

To my experience it is pretty common in Germany (also seen this in Poland and Austria). A lot of hotels even disconnect the AC during winter time (which is to them September to May).

Not at the top end luxury hotels but at normal 4 to 5 star chain hotels. I have visited a lot of those were the AC was centrally controlled to 22°C with an option in the room to adjust by 2°C plus / minus - which in the end does exactly nothing. Mostly I was happy enough if it was really 22°C and not just on display but in truth 25°C+.

Last time I was told at a Sheraton (already paid 350€/night) "to open the window" when I complained it is to warm in the room they said due to the temps outside (14°C) the AC won't work. Had a sh...y night since the hotels surroundings were extremely noisy at night and without the isolating windows closed...

Or on anther trip I checked into a hotel with a room temp well above 35°C as there were a couple of hot days. The AC showed 22°C... When I complained I got a new room and was told the AC was centrally programmed to 22°C, nothing they can do.

Problem was, the new room had the same temp. Complained again and was told the AC can't handle that heat and that we all have to suffer, nothing they can do.

I made a big scene and complained badly. I specifically booked that property during a hot summer period since it advertises AC (which is not necessary the norm in Germany anyway) even though the location was inconvenient.

After an hour of fighting with the front desk, while the night manager over the phone (I think he sat in the backoffice and watched me getting angry at his front desk guy) didn't even offered to speak to me, I called the chain hotline to sort it out. Suddenly I got a new room "and upgrade to a business suite".

When I entered that room I nearly got a shock from the freezing 16°C. So, the AC did work, they just disabled it for the "cheap" rooms. From my point of view nothing short of fraud. At least the next morning the GM was apologetic, gave us free breakfast for the three nights and took the first night off the invoice.

I could go on with those kind of stories and German hotels for a while... as I have seen that too often in the last 5 years. Never happened to me in Asia or the US though.

(disclaimer: I am actually German, so not a problem of language/cultural barrier)

Cheetah_SA

The PH Zurich has external sun blinds which are electrically operated. They can be centrally deployed or operated individually from within the room. It is one of the design features that I really like about the building. Unfortunately one of ours was not functioning and, despite reporting it, it was not repaired during our stay. We used the ones that were working even at times when they had not been centrally activated.

I can think of few things worse that sitting in a room with no natural light during the day so being required to use blackout blinds seems extreme. Though if I had thought of it I would have closed them while we were out. But in fact the temperature was not too uncomfortable during the day. It's at night that it becomes a huge problem - especially as the only bedding provided is a duvet.

Aventine

Yeah I agree you don't want to lose views if you're in room but they definitely help keep the heat down. Perhaps you should have changed rooms if they weren't responsive to fixing it. Would hate a stay ruined by unnecessary heat.

bhrubin

As many already know, I'm a freak who is extremely uncomfortable at anything above 21 C/70 F. I require it to be 20 C/68 F or cooler in a bedroom in order to sleep.

Because of so many issues with even the best hotels worldwide, several years ago I began confirming with a manager in writing (or with their name) that the bedroom/room could be cooled to 20 C/68 F during the day and evening. (For tropical locales, I understood daytime temps can be so high that this isn't always possible, so I'm sometimes willing to cut some slack...or else I can choose another property.)

I also began confirming in advance that engineers should set the thermostat so that it didn't shut off when I wasn't in the room.

I always re-confirm at check-in about the confirmed air con capability--just to be safe. If nothing else, it sets the stage for when things go wrong to get things handled more smoothly, I've found.

When hotels cannot promise that, I stay elsewhere. I'm looking at you, FS Hualalai.

Even having done that, any number of hotels have failed to deliver. Yet having that promise in writing has almost always served me well when air con failed--getting me instantly moved or upgraded without argument, getting the rate reduced, or other comp'd benefits. Sometimes, I've received all of the above. Amanwana is a perfect example--that failed to live up to its promise but acknowledged it and more than made up for the failure. The Halekulani upgraded from a Diamond Head Room to a Diamond Head Suite (with working air con) when the room air con failed to deliver.

In the few instances where the confirmation in writing did NOT serve me well, I forwarded the confirmation and complaint to a corporate board or hotel chairman...and got our entire stay or nearly our entire comp'd for the obvious incompetence.

The Amanwana example is telling. I'd confirmed on booking with Aman central and with Amanwana directly that the tent could achieve 20 C at night. On arrival, they had pre-cooled 2 tents to give us a choice (closest or farthest from camp). It was 28 C, but middle of the day. That first night, it never dropped below 27 C/80 F! I called the manager who came quickly, apologized, and acknowledged the error and the guarantee. He brought in 3 industrial sized fans, which brought it to 26 C. The next day, they flew in 2 new AC units from Lombok and installed them, bringing it to 23 C...AND then flew in a portable AC unit from Bali and installed it, cutting a hole through the glass shutters for the exhaust. Dropped the nighttime temp to 21 C. Even though it wasn't exactly what was promised, it was close and a massive improvement, allowing me to sleep reasonably. I was incredulous as to the efforts they made. They eventually comp'd a night and then allowed us to leave early (due to poor diving, not their fault!) and substituted our final night for the Amanusa Suite at Amanusa.

I know that people herein despise Tripadvisor, but I love it for its ability to private message anyone. I always PM those whose reviews come at the same timeframe I might visit and who have at least 20-25 reviews at comparable hotels. I always ask them about the air con, among other things. Surprisingly, almost everyone I've ever messaged this way has responded! (I've also managed to discover fellow FTers this way.) This has been invaluable to me in figuring out if a hotel property is capable of achieving the air con I require, as well as other details that are important to me. Just because it's a luxury hotel doesn't mean it has a great air con system. Most people don't seem to care, so most luxury hotels don't get enough complaints about this IME.

MikeFromTokyo

I tend to like slightly above average room temperature, and given the choice I often like fresh air unless the weather is really hot or humid.

I find it annoying when it is hard to get the temperature in a room or suite the way I like it. I expect HVAC at a proper hotel to do what I want it to do, and not be restricted to a narrow range of temperature.

I'll often request an air purifier and/or humidifier in the winter if the air is too dry or stale.

Aventine

This.

I should enjoy the same range of temperatures I would at home and have the choice to set it like the Arctic in summer or beachesque in winter. I understand the need for conservation and all that but no one goes to a hotel to be uncomfortable. Luckily, I've not encountered a luxury hotel doing this in Asia ^

MikeFromTokyo

I appreciate the need for conservation of energy, and know it is difficult for hotels to prevent energy ftom being wasted because guests are not aware of or responsible for the associated costs. At the high-end, it is also not appropriate for hotels to install sensors or otherwise restrict the useage of HVAC, so energy consumption is harder to regulate.

I love Peninsula's room automation technology. It places everything at one's fingertips, but also has the added benefit of saving energy by having lamps and lighting on a master control and allows the hotel to manage HVAC without causing any problems for guests.

alisonherrera

I agree with you vuittonsofstyle, lack of maintenance of air conditioners is seen in many hotels. Last month I visited New York for some official work the hotel where we stayed was nice and luxury but our room ac was not working properly. I complained the manager, but they didn't respond well. I have also heard many news like this.