Hotel Room Assignments - You Often Have to Ask
After suffering with many hotel rooms that are well below average for the property where I am staying, I now ask the front desk clerk to describe the room being assigned - location regarding floor, view, noise; size of the room; bedding; and anything else I can think of for that hotel. Often before I even ask if there is something better, the clerk will say something like, "Well, you know, Mr JerryFF, I really have something quite a bit nicer I could give you."
Obviously, they know they are trying to assign the least desirable rooms to those who don't ask. This even occurs in hotels were I have some status, such as Hilton Diamond or Starwood Gold. And people wonder why travelers often seem "pushy" or "picky".