Originally Posted by
Often1
It's by no means unfriendly. It's disclosed and provides a significant value after a long-haul flight. Many places used to require you to book the night before. But, they likely came to realize that they could rent the room the night before and count on some # of early AM checkouts.
"check-in time is 2pm" is not the same thing as disclosing that there will be a charge for getting into an available room any time before 2pm, which they did not mention in the booking process or confirmation email. I don't begrudge the hotel for maximizing revenue, but any deviation from common practice creates unpleasant surprises, unless there is adequate notification.