Rebelyell

It seems to be very common for European hotels not to turn their air conditioners on until a date certain regardless of the fact that there is a terrible heat wave going on outside. I've experienced this, and seen a lot of Tripadvisor reviews from shoulder season visitors who have been left to swelter in rooms with no air conditioning. It absolutely ruins their stay. The manager will often respond that the hotel has air conditioning, it just wasn't turned on for the season yet.

I'm just curious what's going on here. I just don't understand why a hotel would refuse to turn on its air conditioner if it is needed. Likewise, sometimes I'm given to understand that the HVAC units in Europe need some type of complex seasonal adjustment and once it is switched to cooling, heat is precluded until another complex adjustment is done. I must say I've never heard of such in the United States and am puzzled as to how or why this would be so common in Europe. At my home I just flip a switch and sometimes use both the heater and air conditioner in the same day in the spring and fall.

Finally, I love a nice, cold hotel room, winter or summer. It always seems to me that European hotel rooms are a bit on the hot side regardless of the season. Do Europeans on average enjoy warmer rooms for some reason?

You want to go where?

I certainly have heard of it in the United States, I lived in an apartment building for several years which didn't follow a specific date, but rather debated each year as to whether the weather had turned enough to switch from one to the other. Sometimes, they got it wrong, and sometimes, the weather was just so changeable that you had to grin and bear it until the weather settled down.

Rebelyell

I guess I'm just spoiled. I wonder what they're doing. It just seems to be very, very common in Europe while not an issue with American hotels that I know of.

MSPeconomist

In certain European hotels, I ask them to confirm in writing that the hotel and my room will have working air conditioning and that it will be available during my stay. I don't rely on descriptions that the hotel has AC as I have experienced the OP's problem that it won't be turned on before July 1 in some "luxury" hotels in Italy.

cbn42

Europeans are more socially and environmentally conscious, and less spoiled and entitled than Americans.

I know people in California (which has some of the best weather anywhere) that will run the air conditioner if it's 75 and the heater if it's 72. Unbelievable.

Tizzette

Suffered that in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain...90 in late March, no AC allowed until April. I was told it was the law.

timfountain

Your "spoiled and entitled" comment is irrelevant and off-base.

For me personally and I suspect many of the responders to this post, I am referring to a couple of situations (when I used to live in Europe as a European BTW) where the temperatures were in the 90's outside and hotter in the room.
I recall a trip to Portugal where the hotel room had a huge, floor to ceiling south facing window. When I got to the room it was absolutely stifling, I mean totally unbearable. A call to the receptionist elicited the response that it wasn't yet summer and therefore the A/C was not necessary. Management also decided it wasn't time.
My issue was and continues to be hotels who don't turn on the A/C based on the time of year as opposed to the actual weather.

obscure2k

I disagree

obscure2k

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Doc Savage

More likely just stingy. Vote with your bookings, expose the offenders on the Internet. They'll soon learn it is costing them customers.

Rebelyell

Why run the heater at 72. That's hot. Most people want a hotel room to be 68.

Fanjet

Same here. It's not the environment they're concerned about. It's their pocketbooks. Energy costs are much higher there than here in the States. It's the reason why basically every German has a washing machine in their home, but not a dryer. They do sell them. And they're not that expensive. Until you turn them on .

As for me, I'm not a fan of AC. Growing up in San Diego, we didn't even have an AC unit in our house. And I can't remember if any of our neighbors did either. There were only about a handful of days each year when it would have been useful (usually end of August, early September). And then we just went to the beach since it was only a few blocks away. It's also very difficult for me to sleep with the AC on. I usually wake up with a sore throat in the morning. When I'm on the East Coast in the summertime, I'll usaully run the AC for 10 or 15 minutes before I go to bed, and then turn it off.

Rebelyell

The funny thing is that I'm from the deep South and I think many of us are far more sensitive to heat because we have to have air conditioning all the time. During the summer it's not uncommon for it to be 95 or higher for most of July and August, and it is extremely humid. The humidity here makes the hot weather feel much hotter, but it also makes the cold weather feel much colder as well. So the humidity does play a factor in the need for climate control.

In any event, I do think it ridiculous that a major business can't get it's AC running in the middle of a heat wave.

mikew99

When I lived in Cambridge, MA, my (relatively new) apartment building was of the type that had to be switched between heating and cooling for the entire building. Most of the time, this was good enough, but there was the occasional really warm day in winter -- and cool day in spring or fall -- where there was no relief to be had from the heat or the cold.

As for the idea that Europeans are more environmentally conscious? I disagree. They might be shy to turn on the air conditioning once the weather heats up, but they don't seem to be shy about turning on the heat during the winter!

I spent one NYE in Spain, and nearly every building I would go into would have the heat turned up to at least 70-75 degrees. If Europeans were so environmentally conscious, why wouldn't they leave the thermostat set at an energy-saving 60 during the wintertime? The ironic part is, even after removing my coat, hat, and gloves, I would still sweat because the heat was turned on so high, whereas the Spaniards seemed quite content to wear their hats, scarves, and winter coats inside.

I suspect that Europeans simply favor hot weather more than Americans do, so the lack of a/c (but apparently not the lack of heat) is no big deal to them. Kind of like how US-based airlines tend to keep a cooler cabin temperature than Asia-based airlines do.

emma69

Certainly I find heating in the UK set to lower levels than in Canada, and most people I know don't have AC in the UK either. Generally in Europe I prefer an opening window over AC, and in mainland Europe will sleep with balcony doors wide open for the breeze. Did this as a child across the Med, our 'mozzie repellant' ritual before bed (no bug nets / screens) is something I remember well.

Here I use AC and am thoroughly spoilt, but that is North American me now!