A/C in your hotel room doesn't mean it will be cool!
 

Just returned from Munich, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Mainz....the weather report before I left said mid 70's to 80. WE got instead 90+ except for our last day which was perfect even with the 30 min downpour at St Goar's train station.

It was miserably hot and since the sun is out until 10:30pm it doesn't cool off very fast.

The only hotel that didn't have A/C was the Scandic Offenbach--and they warned about leaving open the balcony door because of mosquitos. It is located directly on the Main river outside of Frankfurt. They had a generous 2 ft x 1 ft screen box on top of the door that allowed in air! HA HA HA

The other hotels (all Hiltons) had AC but even if you ran it all day long on HIGH--when you returned to the room that night--it was still quite warm---80's in the room and only the Mainz Hilton had a window that opened all the way to allow in a breeze. PLUS it was the only hotel that actually had a strong enough AC that cooled the room.

Our 3 nights in Munich required a cold shower at midnight to cool down enough where we felt comfortable sleeping. Even then we resorted to no top sheet!

Otherwise--the trip was fun-once I got over being overheated and spending a fortune on bottled water.

I know what you mean. Last May, we were in Vienna during an unseasonably hot spell. Of course, our hotel did not have AC. We did have 2 large windows that opened onto a courtyard, but there was no draft to draw the breeze into our room so it was quite uncomfortable. Fortunately, the rest of our trip was quite pleasant weatherwise.

We were recently stgaying in LeMeridien in Munich and the A/C in the room even when turned on the coolest setting did not seem to be cooling the room adequately. What to do? Simple..we called the front desk and within minutes an individual from the engineering department appeared and checked out the unit. Within five minutes he had used the hotel's computer system to jack up the cooling power and after that everything was more than adequate.
From my point of view the moral of this story is that if the A/C seems indequate, report it immediately and ask for assistance.
Unfortunately, we had a similar experience in the supposedly very high end Kempenski Atlantic in Hamburg last August and the first room we were shown into didn't even HAVE A/C. We demanded a move and received one immediately. The A/C in the second room was also somewhat inadequate and also very loud. Unfortunately, when we reported this "problem" we were told there was nothing that could be done. Moral to THIS story: just because it is perceived as a plush establishment doesn't always guarantee comfort in a hotel property.

Sometimes when traveling in May, the AC system has not been turned on for the year yet, so even though the hotel may have AC, it may not be running! We had this happen in Sicily in May.

It never occurred to us to check with the hotel....my husband has been staying at the Renaissance in Dusseldorf for the past 2 yrs (several times during the summer season) and it is always hot in the rooms even with the AC on full blast. So we just assumed that the AC was kept to a minimum so they could save $$$$$$/or they don't get as cold as we Americans have grown accustomed!.

I would have paid extra to be comfortable!!!!

Alas, this is true. However, it can be true in the US also. In Las Vegas, we had A/C (of course), but our room seemed quite hot. We called the front desk and found out that the individual room controls had been overridden as an energy saving measure. And we couldn't open the windows either.

We just returned from Brussels, the Mosel, Munich, Interlaken and Geneva. We had 13 days straight of 85+ weather. The only rain we saw was on the tarmac at Frankfurt, delaying our flight for two hours. We had no AC in any of our rooms; instead we left the balcony doors opened and hoped for a breeze. Of course, around 6AM, European cities start to awaken, garbage trucks and all, so we're happy to be home in the delightfully cool breezes of the Bay Area :-)

I just returned from Europe during the same heat wave. In London it was hot and the a/c at the Mayfair Milennium worked marginally. I asked the hotel to look at it and they got it to work a bit cooler.

IN Vienna where is was REALLY HOT I stayed at the Kaiserin Elizabeth and i must say the a/c worked fabulously. I was lucky to have a room with A/C since all rooms don't have it.

I have a few tips...

Be sure to ask if the hotel has a/c when reserving. If they have limityed room with a/c be sure to insist on it and get it in writing.

If it is too hot in the room ask the hotel to take a look at it. Sometimes the temperature is actually controlled by the hotel no matter how cold you turn the dial. I noticed that the room was always warmer in the middle of the night. This was probably because the hotel raises the temp at night.

In general a/c in Europe is horrible in stores, museums and restaurants. Oh, and if you ask for a lot of ice in your drink they will look at you like you have 2 heads.

Last year in Zurich, we were pleased to find A/C in our hotel. They were having a very hot spell, and the unit wouldn't cool very much. The hotel management came up and explained that it's THE LAW in Switzerland that the A/C can cool NO MORE THAN 10 degrees cooler than the outside air - something about energy conservation.

Energy conservation? That's a foreign concept to most Americans (pun intended).

Have some sympathy for those of us who live in Europe--air conditioning is very rare in homes! And most offices are either unairconditioned or very slightly air conditioned.
We were in Basel and Lugano last week-end and it was VERY hot in both cities. Our hotel in Basel, the Hotel Basel (4 stars), fit into the minimalist school of air conditioning. The Albergo Pestalozzi (2 stars) in Lugano did not have air conditioning, so we ended up showering several times a day to cool off (we should have brought bathing suits and gone for a cooling dip in the lake).
Agree with Richard's post above, the Kaiserin Elisabeth Hotel in Vienna provides more than adequate air conditioning, but you must specifically reserve in advance one of the rooms with AC. In Paris, the Hotel du Cadran near the rue Cler had good air conditioning.
In addition to hotels, don't expect "plush" trains to have AC either. On our way home through Germany on an expensive ICE train, there was no air conditioning in second class. It was unbearable, since you couldn't open the windows and the temperature in the crowded compartment quickly soared to over 100 degrees. After 10-20 minutes, we paid about $100 to upgrade to first class, where we got *some* airconditioning.

Kopp, 10 degrees Celsium (not Fahrenheit) can make quite a difference. When it's 33 degrees C outside, 23 degrees inside is pretty comfortable.

Hi Kopp,

10 C is about 18 F, which is all you can expect from most A/C units anyway.

Do you think that because most Europeans aren't used to the level of AC that we are in the states---do they not feel as hot as we do??

Even if you don't have AC do you have access to fans? Those didn't seem very common either? OR is it all a matter of $ and energy conservation so they suffer needlessly???

I guess if you aren't used to having something and you don't know any differently--it isn't a big deal.

well I am off to pick up some pictures from our trip! Can't wait to see how they turned out!

Hi

old buildings don't need AC.
They have small windows, lots of shade.
Go to a mission in California to discover how it works.
My house currently has 38C outside, 23C indoors. It's fairly new, but well insulated.

Think about staying in an old castle, instead of a modern concrete block ?

Oops.......... off to my pool to cool down !

Peter
http://tlp.netfirms.com

I am actually thankful that restaurants, stores, and other buildings in Europe are not so overly air conditioned. I don't have to carry my sweater with me everywhere I go in the summer, like I do in the U.S.! (Although I agree it would be nice to have the option, in a hotel room, of adjusting the temperature to your own individual comfort level.)

Hello to BTilke & ira, I was speaking of 10F (was told it's actually 6C that they can lower it -- I was doing a quick conversion) - but when it's hot like it's been lately, any amount of A/C feels dreamy. Another good reason to take extra wash cloths - soaked in water, placed on the forehead works wonders!

We were in Germany for 2 1/2 weeks during the heat wave. We found the older hotels we stayed in 2&3 * all stayed pretty cool during the day. They all had large windows that opened and we would get a little breeze at night.

We also were spending a small forture on bottled water and deposits on the containers. We started filling them up in our room and always carring some with us. The water was really quite good. What we really missed was ice in our drinks. We usually don't even enter a McDonalds but they did a great bussiness with us for coke light with the ice. I also ate more ice cream in 2 1/2 weeks then I usually eat in a year.

We usally travel by 2nd class train but decided to spring for 1st class from Munich to Frankfurt. Off course the a/c was out. The train was packed and they had standing room only. There were no windows to open--it was awful. Some of the German bussiness travelers were to say the least not very happy.

Richardab, I had to laugh at your comment about ice in drinks! I was staying with a family in Angers during a heat wave. Walking home from school every afternoon in the heat of the day, I would stop in a cafe and get water, asking for "beaucoup de glaçons," upon which I would receive two ice cubes rather than one.

One afternoon I asked the lady I lived with for a glass full of ice cubes. She gave me about 5, and I said, no--fill it up. I poured water in and chugged it. I thought her eyes would pop out of her head. "Crazy Americans."

Very important subject!! Glad you raised it. Just came back from Budapest on June 25th after 5 days there. The Marriott Budapest, which is an otherwise wonderful hotel, has no air conditioning in the lobby, the hallways and the Executive lounge. The elevators are also boiling in warm weather. So, if you like it cool in your hotel, I would not recommend this hotel in the warmer months.

We have encountered rooms where the A/C doesn't work well.We simply insist it is fixed that day, failing which they must transfer us to another room, failing which we walk out.
You are paying extra for A/C that works.
Many hotels have a "bad room" - there may be a smell from pipes needing repair or poor A/C or noise.They know that some guests will accept this without protest, so the room is used.Its up to you.

How can you leave the hotel even if they can't/won't give you another room with working a/c? I'm sure they'll end up charging you anyway-unless they agree not to? Many have a policy where they charge you if you leave early.

In my experience, Europeans view AC as a way to make a room less hot--not as the instant cool blast that we are used to. It is extremely difficult, in my opinion, to find a hote that will have AC that is up to US standards--but your best bet is a business hotel...charmless, sure, but when it's hot, you need it, and in the summer, when you need it most, business hotels go on sale.

Lack of decent air condirioning in Europe is the main reason why I never travel there in the summer months. I love the Fall in Europe. Much cooler, less tourists and less annoying body-odors to inhale.

Nothing is more nauseating then an unbathed fellow traveller, in polyester or wool clothing in 90? temps. You have to remember that no one is as obsessed with cleanliness as the Americans.

Need to add my 2 cents to this discussion and concur with the answers. We were in Vienna during the hottest week in 52 years -- it was in May -- and although we try to stay in local hotels opted for the Hilton am Stadtpark because of A/C which, as most posters have noted, didn't succeed in cooling anything. For this, and a host of other reasons, avoid the Hilton am Stadtpark (there are two Hiltons in the City) as it is rundown, with only a marginally acceptable breakfast buffet, and gives the chain a bad name

I think Alise has it right. I was in Greece for two weeks where it was in the 90's every day with a clear blue sky and the bright sun beating down. One of the guides in Athens said she only has an air conditioner in her bedroom and had just turned it on for the first time well into the hot spell.

My worst experience was in Olympia where the hotel was said to be modernized for next year's Olympics. The AC was definitely controlled by the hotel, which shut it off completely during the night. One woman said she went outside and sat on her balcony at 2:00 am with no clothes on at all. No one admitted to having seen this, however.

I find the air conditioning in most US homes and businesses to be set too cold! I freeze. Why soooo cold?

Your body does adapt to what you are accustomed to. I grew up in the US deep south, and we did not get A/C at home until I was 8. There is no way now that I can tolerate the same indoor temps that I routinely did then, and my young son can't either. We are currently engaged in a major battle with the local school district over putting A/C in schools now that the year is longer; kids who are used to having A/C at home cannot concentrate properly in a classroom that is 96F.

That said, I'll agree that American businesses tend to keep their premises too cool in Summer. The reason is wishful thinking, I believe; they are setting it for crowds. The more people in a building, the lower you have to set the temp to compensate.

I remember a few yrs. ago, at a hotel in Florida, I went to take a photograph in my hotel room and found that I could not. We had just come in from outdoors, and the change in temp fogged up the inside of the camera lens.

I love my room to be at about 68 degrees.

Brrrrrrrr! I like my room at about 78 degrees.