you wanted to go "see a sort of riverfront dock/marina area" at 1am in london since you could not sleep. You ask a guy smoking out front how to get there and are now "upset" he tried to help you.

my guess is the hotel would be more likely to have a policy against cigarette breaks in front of the hotel then one banning "attending" to guests in their rooms. are you sure this guy worked at the hotel?

in any event i agree with vincom. if you see something you like... go for it.

rich