Recently returned from a stay @hotel de suede in paris. Our room was fine but the doors thin, plumbing noisy & room overlooked small interior garden with tables & pebble surface. Our noisy american neighbors (by the way we are american,proud to be so BUT all the rude people we met in france were americans) consisted of 3 related middle-aged couples who persisted in congregating & chatting in the garden well past 11pm & then shouting to each other acrss the halls after 11pm & again at 6am! In my book, you assume the walls are thin, you whisper or do not speak in the halls or common areas near rooms after 10pm & before 8am. Apparently, many travellers do not do so; not the first time I had this problem during trips. Oddly, our hotle had no rules governing the use of the garden, ie, hours. I did politely ask the neighbors to to quiet but met with limited success. <BR>Comments? Nothing nasty or LOUD please! <BR>

Hi Emily, <BR> <BR>Yes, yes, yes. Hotel du Vieux Marais, Hotel de Nice, and Hotel Ste Dominique, all in Paris -- and the offending voices were all fellow Americans. <BR> <BR>Of course I *had* been clubbing 'til all hours in the Bastille, but then again my friends & I were all quiet coming in at 3am . . . didn't need such a loud wake-up up&atom klaxon call at 7am!!! <BR> <BR>Please find the volume switch, people . . . thanks!

Emily, thank God I am not the only one who feels this way. At one Paris hotel I was kept awake by the rhythmic banging of the neighbor's head board against the wall... hum.. City of Love I guess.Then the screaming conversation that followed...and I am a huge fan of ear plugs! Doesn't it just seem to be common courtesy to keep voices low while in a hotel? Then there was the time in Nice when a busload of American Students arrived after midnight and ran up and down the halls yelling, and banging on OUR door all night long!! Don't these groups have chaperones???

Along with the hollering in the halls, carrying on loud conversations in courtyards and terraces, and stomping up and down stairs and across the floor, does no one in the world know how to SHUT a door? Why does everyone SLAM the door? Can you just imagine how loud that house is where they live?? Everyone screaming and yelling and talking at the top of their lungs, all the while slamming every door and stomping around, because there is no way that behaviour is exhibited only on vacation.

And what about the cleaning personnel, talking and clattering away in the halls at 8 am? Or the ones who knock on your door even when the "Do Not Disturb" sign is hanging, just to make sure you're telling the truth, I suppose. <BR>You can always call the front desk and complain, since you're up anyway....

Dear Emily: <BR> We share your concern about noise - that's why we always stress "a quiet room upstairs away from noise" when we reserve a room (not a guarantee tho). <BR> My dislike of noise extends to the now very common loudness in American restaurants - one has to practically shout to be heard. So different from restaurants in France, where people politely keep their voices down. (On the other hand, I hate all the smoke & love having smoke free restaurants here in Calif.) Hope I don't sound like a fuss budget.

I have come across a few "noisy" hotels in my time, the last being a hotel B&B at Sissinghurst, UK. The walls were so thin I could hear someone next door snoring all night. Also, two "standouts" from previous trips were a hotel near the station at Heidelburg, the name of which escapes me, which also seemed to have very thin walls so we were bothered by noisy people in the early hours and the Piccolo Hotel Puccini at Lucca (a great hotel in every other respect) seemed to have thin outer walls and every noise outside was audible. Admittedly I'm a light sleeper but usually after a day of touring I'm pooped and nothing can keep me awake - but these did!

Just remembered another one, with noise so bad I had to ask for another room - I can't remember the hotel's name, but it was a first class hotel in South Kensington. <BR> <BR>We were given a room on the ground floor at the back. Every time the nearby lift was used (at all times of the night) we could hear people going in and talking/laughing and generally making noise. This wasn't really their fault and they weren't being particularly noisy, it's just that where we were placed was no place for a guest room. There was a broom closet next door and we were also woken up by cleaners going in and out, moving things. I maybe got 1 hour of sleep and my red, bleary eyes said it all to the reception staff the next morning!!

I once had a hotel room in Sicily next to a couple who DANCED all night..!(or most of it) <BR>Noise doesn't bother me, but my girfriend finds EARPLUGS useful when staying near noisy people - easy to buy, as those prone to ear infections use them in the shower. <BR> To counter exceptionally ugly people try very very dark glasses, for smelly people use nose plugs & for imbeciles like those on the current PC thread try hitting yourself hard on the head with a frying pan. <BR>The dazed state it produces helps if you can't avoid a conversation with them. <BR>(sorry if this is imbecilist but then what about the noiseists?)

Emily This was just posted on the "Lonely Planet Thorntree" it sounds *alot* like your neighbors). Regards, Walter <BR>"...Some time ago we were staying at a hotel in central Paris in France. On one evening we were happily chatting and laughing until about 11pm in the hotel garden/terrace when the manager came up to me to say that some guests had complained. My surprise was even greater when I found out that some of these folks were also American too and even from New York! That was not the end of it. The next morning, I got a further complaint that we had been noisy letting doors bang along the hallway etc. <BR>What's wrong with those damn people???? What harm is a little noise from younger people having a good time?, surely the whole point of going on vacation is to do what you want when you want and so stay up much later etc. No one has to get up early next day!! These complainers were on vacation just like us!!!!!!!!!!! <BR>Falcon <BR>Brooklyn, NY..." <BR> <BR>

Hmmm... is Falcon the lonely planet poster the same person as the infamous Titanic/cruise troll on this forum?

All it boils down to is trying to be considerate of others and most people are not! They think only of themselves. For god's sakes folks-be considerate of others wherever you are. Making noise in hotels late at night is not being considerate. Think of others too.

xxx It's certainly seems to look that way. Not a bad Troll, he even responds to his posts and most Trolls don't. Regards, Walter

Falcon is Noach? <BR>Read bio, upper middle class, programer, NYC. <BR>Great troll, makes up answers to incite.

They're all over...sometimes I'm convinced that they have no idea they're disturbing anyone. When advised, some become very quiet from then on - others delight in making even more noise...

in case you r wondering, we were/are younger(they were in their 50s) than the noise makers who sounded like they were from a southern state & certainly not from Brooklyn although I am from NY!

Re the comments of "Falcon" above posted by Walter - not everyone is on holiday that is staying at a hotel. There will also be guests staying on business that have meetings to go to the next morning or others who have to get up early to catch a plane. The comment that "everyone is on holiday" and can sleep in is grossly incorrect. I, for one, make the most of each day and don't sleep in any later than 0700/0800 when on holidays, even if I don't get to bed by 1200/0100 the previous night!

I know this might upset some of you, but here's my 2 cents. Frankly folks who are on business etc with early connections should try to stay at hotels near airports or the train stations - or those near the offices where they have meetings. These tend to be more expensive but also more geared to the needs of the business traveler with facilities for working etc and of course much more likely to have rules about noise. Other cheaper hotels will by contrast have many more people on vacation. Hence more noise should be expected. Would any of you seriously book a place for vacation which had strict rules about noise levels? I would n't !! If I would have to keep quiet all the time, it would make it much more difficult to meet and share great stories with fellow travelers (I refuse to call myself a tourist).

If there were budget hotels in Europe (or the U.S.) that advertised strict noise control I would be their best customer. I always take great pains to close doors quietly, never chat in the halls during the morning or evening, keep the T.V. volume low and speak in lower tones, but honestly I think I'm the only one in the world who even bothers. I have yet to stay in any hotel where other guests had any of the above considerations for me. The Quiet Inn? Sign me up!

Well, actually . . . <BR> <BR>http://www.relais-du-silence.com/ <BR> <BR>You won't find 'em in city centers, but heck, for a bit of vacation downtime . . . !