Why does it matter if it was 4am on the dot? You think the hotel deliberately triggered an alarm cuz they get their jollies having folk exit & then decided to come up w/ something wrong in one of the rooms to cover their tracks? Would it have mattered if it had been 3am on the dot?
Maybe there were people partying in the room & started a fire in the trash can & it set off the alarm. Maybe they hung something on the fire sprinkler knob & it got set off. Maybe someone ran the shower too long & steam set off the alarm.
The fire alarm version of Murphy's Law is that they always occur in the middle of the night!
I experienced a 3:30am fire alarm evacuation from a Hilton property a couple of months ago. Did the walk down the 6 flights of stairs, stand outside for 45 minutes & then walk up the stairs back to room after the all-clear. Did I know what caused the alarm - or care? Nope. As long as there wasn't a fire, my sole concern was getting back to room & going back to sleep. Didn't matter to me what caused it, as long as it wasn't a real fire & whatever caused it wasn't going to happen again/cause the alarm to go off a second time.
BTW - it would have only taken 10 seconds to put shoes on, even in an emergency situation, 30 if you had to get them out of the closet. I've been through a few fire alarms in middle of the night, and shoes always go on.
If you're in a property that has a lot of floors & you're on top floor, then you've got a lot of walking ahead of you to get down the stairs (presumably after the fire alarm is cancelled, you'd take the elevator/lift up, although it might take a while if everyone is queued up for it). If the fire was in a place where they didn't want you walking & to stay in your room, they'd announce that over the PA.
I'd say a) be glad it wasn't a fire; b) be glad it wasn't the middle of winter.
There's actually another thread going right now re: hotel alarms in the middle of the night & whether compensation is due (consensus is no). Perhaps this one can be merged w/ that one. Here it is:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...pensation.html
Glad you & the family are ok.
Cheers.