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Haven't innkeepers been around since dirt? So why have they not perfected the concept of providing travellers with a quiet place to sleep? <BR><BR>I stayed in a new hotel (over $200 a night) last night and couldn't sleep at all. All the doors bang shut (can't they be muffled?) and I could hear the woman in the next room as she carried on a phone conversation in a normal tone of voice.<BR><BR>Is it so difficult to soundproof rooms? Am I asking the impossible? What reasonably priced hotel chain (under $225) is the quietest?<BR><BR>Am I alone in this rant?<BR><BR>Don't tell me I'm just being cranky...of, course I'm cranky -- I didn't sleep last night!!

Hey Cranky- I understand.But I don't blame innkeepers. People are not respectful to others when they slam doors in the morning...PLEASE travelers, just close them quietly!Also, no talking in the halls at night or in the morning. Some people just don't understand that others are on different time clocks and zones and we don't all get up at 6 am.

Yes, DO blame the innkeepers! If movie theaters can request silence and respect for other patrons, so can hotels. It's not much effort to print it and hand it out with the keys or post a reminder notice in the rooms. Heaven knows they post notices about everything else.<BR><BR>The problem is definitely structural as well. I've also stayed in Marriotts where the walls were so thin I could hear fellow guests snoring all night. The funny part was that everyone in the breakfast room the next morning was complaining about other guests snoring, so lack of soundproofing was a widespread problem.

ttt

A $200 hotel room in NYC or London won't guarantee much of anything, certainly not quiet.<BR>In Des Moines it darned well better be quiet at that rate.<BR><BR>Often you get what you pay for.<BR>Often newer hotels are built very cheaply, and one of the first things they skimp on is sound insulation.<BR>Compare Bellagio to Aladdin in LV.<BR>You can hear normal conversations thru the walls at Aladdin, while it's hard to hear yelling at Bellagio.<BR><BR>Advice: always ask for a quiet room at check in. That means away from elevators, stairwells, vending, and preferable at ends of halls so there's less traffic. The desk clerks know which rooms are quieter.

Well, for what it's worth, the Ritz Carlton in Palm Beach and Maui also have rather thin walls where you can hear everything, so price isn't the problem -- cheap construction is!!

Ritz Carlton is now Marriott-owned and they've been building progressively less impressive hotels the past 5+ years.<BR>Look at travel polls: Ritz has fallen clearly below Four Seasons and Peninsula for chain-wide quality.<BR>You still don't see newer Four Seasons built cheaply. Ritz is on the way to becoming Starwood material (and that's not a compliment).