I stayed at the Shanghai Westin on Xmas eve and found my room uncomfortably hot. The AC vent only blew warm air, regardless of how low I set the thermostat.

Engineering sent two techs to check out the unit in my room, but there was nothing they could do. I switched rooms, but the second one was just as warm. And the windows were bolted shut, so fresh air was not an option.

A bead of sweat rolled down my brow as I looked at my nice "Westin bed" with down comforter... There was no way I could sleep in this room, and I wasn't about to trudge around Shanghai on Xmas eve looking for another hotel.

I went downstairs and asked for the manager, who explained that the hotel shuts off the cooling unit for the entire hotel in the Winter.

I very politely told him that this was unacceptable for a Westin of this stature. He asked to examine my room, and a few minutes later the manager and another tech showed up and used a laser probe to measure the temperature at the vent.

The lowest reading was 81 degrees, which the manager agreed was too warm for comfort. So he decided to turn on the cooling unit, which took several hours to take effect. They also turned it off the next morning, because the air was blowing warm again.

Dealing with this whole thing took a pretty good chunk of my evening and left me rather hot under the collar. I spent the next night at the JW Marriott in Shanghai, where the AC worked properly.

Has anyone ever experienced something like this?