patriciatbrogan

Hello there,
More and more I am finding it difficult with hotels happily taking the option of switching off the cooling airconditioning (saying it is an EU directive) during any time but a very short "summer" time: this can be very difficult as they mainly have windows one can't open or don't want to open due to noise (due to their central position) as one lies uncomfortably beneath one's over warm duvet. What do others think of this? Any suggestions for hotels that leave the COOLING aircon on or supply fans in the Dordogne region spending nine nights there with about three or four nights of that in Bordeaux?
Thanks in advance.

hetismij2

I am totally anti aircon at any time, and I can't see why on earth you would need it most of the year. You are aware of the climate emergency I take it? Many countries do ban the use of aircon for most months of the year.

Too warm? turn down the thermostat. Ask for a sheet and blanket rather than a duvet, or do like most people with duvets do and throw it on and off as needed in the night.

Buy a small fan in Europe if you feel you need one, though all most fans do is stir up air and dust, not cool the room. Keep the curtains drawn during the day to prevent solar gain and help keep the room cool.

quokka

If the room is too warm in winter you turn off the heating and open the window for a few minutes to let fresh air in. What's so difficult about this?

patriciatbrogan

If you don't mind I didn't ask for lectures, this is for a very few days in the year, I live in London,use public transport which is now electric here, never use heating in my flat, just throw on extra jerseys, recycle everything.

So, what I am looking for is a bit of advice from people who also find this difficult and what they do and if they can recommend hotels who can accommodate my needs.
Thanks

patriciatbrogan

And, I do ask for blankets (often nt available or super thick and furry - and ALWAYS close my curtains during the day and spend time looking to find the cleaning staff to ask them to comply, hetismij

quokka

This is a public forum, hence posters are allowed to express their opinions without censorship from your side.

I understand that this can be a problem in late spring or early autumn when day temperatures are already resp. still rather hot. But in winter?

patriciatbrogan

I am planning a holiday over Easter , and, as you agree, it is hot in Europe at that time - so, that was unfortunate me mentioning winter, I need advice re a restful hotel to stay at in Europe over Easter - would appreciate that, thanks.

tuscanlifeedit

I am very bothered by heat, including warm rooms. I have to sometimes double my research or writing to accommodations, to be sure of windows that open, or shutters, or ceiling fans, or some way of creating a temperature that I can be comfortable in. I know this will bring wrath down on me, but I try to look at room pictures to see if there are small room cooling devices.

And if heat bothers you, as it does me, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a small fan. Moving air can cool damp skin.

patriciatbrogan

Thanks, tuscan - thanks for the understanding, hotel rooms particularly, especially with windows not being able to be opened etc are warm no matter what the season, one needs either fans or aircon: however, if I bought a fan every time I took a holiday, I would have a room full! So, I am looking for hotels that are do have cooling aircon, or that provide fans: I am in Bordeaux and then the Dordogne for nine nights over Easter: would appreciate any advice.

Macross

I ask now if the windows open. We had a hotel in Scotland once where the heat was regulated by the whole building and only one of 5 windows opened and only 3 inches. I suppose so no one would fall out. A hotel in Belgium had windows that opened to the interior courtyard and the heat was in the floor. I roasted for three nights. I went down to the desk three times and they turned my heat off but was back on next night. In Germany this Dec we only turned the heat on in the bathroom one morning as it was damp feeling. That apartment was toasty warm and I had the windows cracked. I live in Fl so we have air condition. Our house would be a mold zone without it. Very unhealthy. The old Fl homes were built differently to survive the summers. We are built now to survive hurricanes so have the mold issue.

Italy only allows ac after June even if they advertise ac. Take bug precautions or you will be eaten at night. I travel spring, fall and winter. We did have two fans in last apartment. Very nice and we used them in December.

Jean

IMO, overheating (and any unnecessary use of energy resources) is also a contributor to the climate emergency.

If the room is overheated and you can't control the heat with a thermostat, complain to the front desk. Ask if they can provide a fan. Ask for cooler bedding.

You can also ask for a room on a lower floor and leave windows open at night. But in the spring nearly everywhere, I wouldn't be able to sleep if there were mosquitoes in the room, even if they avoided me because of bug repellent. Just the sound.....

kerouac

Frankly, except in modern hotel towers in cities like New York, Singapore or Cairo, I have not yet encountered hotels where I am not able to open the window.

hetismij2

If you live in London buy a small fan and take it with you. Easter is the second weekend of April this year so it may be warm it may not be no matter where you are going.
Ask before you book a hotel if the windows open. Most do, unless high rise.

StCirq

I live in the Dordogne and spend a lot of time in Bordeaux, and I do NOT agree that it is hot at Easter time, which this year will be in April, at all! Normally it is cool enough at night for us at that time of year to have the poęles burning. Our very large windows open, but we would very rarely open them at night at that time of year - it would have to be a very unusual heatwave for us to do so. And then there could well be a bug problem.

At any rate, I doubt you will find any sort of accommodation in the Dordogne that would even be able to turn on the AC in April. Even if they could, they'd likely turn down a request to do so, as it would be costly to them and they'd consider it madness. The whole area (at least the Périgord Noir, which is what most people are referring to when they talk about "the Dordogne"), is working toward very strict green standards these days, and it's entirely possible it would be illegal to turn on AC at that time of year.

Nobody has AC in their homes here. It's considered unhealthy. Some hotels and B&Bs provide AC in July and August if necessary, but that's about it. Things might be more flexible in Bordeaux; I seem to recall that Accor hotels have AC in the rooms in mid-summer.

Buy or bring a fan if this is really an issue.

Christina

I hear you on the duvet issue but not the aircon. What I really really dislike is so many hotels in Europe now only give you a duvet on your bed, all year round. It never used to be that way, what's the deal with not giving you blankets. Back in the day, this was only an issue in countries like Austria/Switzerland and Germany, etc. Now, even the hotels I usually stay at in Paris only give you duvets, evewn when it iss 95 degrees outside. Totally ridiculous. They used to give you lightweight blankets in summer but now you either have a duvet, which is completely inappropriate in summer OR you have to go without any covering at all. I hate this.

I would be perfectly happy without aircon in Spring/Summer if so many hotels weren't getting rid of blankets nowadays.

I know of no hotel that allows you to switch on the aircon in winter in France or any place in Europe where I've been (or most of the US).

StCirq

Most of the duvets that are advertised now in France claim they keep you warm in winter but are light enough not to be too heavy in summer. I've been seeing a lot of these lately because we have been shopping for bed linens during the winter sales. I do have my doubts about these claims, and yes, it's a pain to use a traditional duvet on a bed in the summer heat, but maybe they're on to something.

kerouac

And it is bullsh*t.

MyriamC

I have no advice re hotels but I feel exactly the same as you do. I can't stand heat and I always book hotels with A/C. I'm p*ssed off when it's turned off centrally because the management thinks the weather is not such that A/C is needed.
By the way, I live in Belgium and my house is air conditioned. I was one of those happy people who spent a week inside of her house last July/August when the outside temperature was 41°C.

MyriamC

Yet it's true. A real duvet (duvet de canard sans plumettes) has thermic insulation properties. It is your body that does the regulating work, not the duvet. We have one and the same on our bed (800 gr/m˛) year round and in the winter our room temp is only around 12°C.

hetismij2

I did the same Myriam, not an aircon in sight, and my main living area is south facing with several huge windows.

Duvets are easy for the hotels and quicker to change than sheets and blankets. Most people prefer them.

I have a lightweight silk duvet I use year round, DH has a heavy wool filled duvet he uses year round. He is always wrapped up like a roll in his no matter what the weather. I am always throwing mine off to cool down, even in midwinter in an unheated bedroom. When I get cold I retrieve it and sleep on. I don't wear pyjamas or a nightie either, far too warm.