We’ve all been there, and if you haven’t, count your blessings. And knock wood. You get into a nice hotel late and bone-tired. Either you have no reason to wake up at any set time, or you simply call the desk for a wake-up call. (Or, if you are a master of your smart-phone, you rig the phone as an alarm.) And then you fall into a comfortable bed for a great night’s sleep.
Until an unfamiliar sound or song jolts you awake while it’s still dark. By the time you figure out it’s the hotel’s clock, and flounder around trying to turn it off, you are bolt awake. And you know you haven’t touched the clock.
Neither, apparently, did housekeeping after the last guest.
I do realize that on some level, it’s a traveler’s responsibility to check the clock upon arrival. If you can figure the thing out.
At a nice hotel in Maui, while discussing this post idea, my friend and I decided to double-check our fancy room alarm clock. It had an iPod docker, and what seemed like more bells and whistles than early computers., including the ability to set two different alarms the same day.
And it was a good thing we checked, because alarm B was scheduled to go off at 3:10 a.m. — presumably for some energetic past guest who wanted a volcano sunrise tour. At first, we couldn’t figure out how to stop it, although we got the alarm time changed to 8 a.m. And after some tinkering, we got the thing turned off, though we are still not quite sure how.
(The next step would have been pulling the plug.)
I wish this was my year’s only clock issue. But I’ve not only had clients complain, I’ve been caught myself. Once, with a 6:30 a.m. alarm at a Radisson hotel, and once, at a Ritz-Carlton of all places, with a 4:30 a.m. alarm. (Which was the worst, not just because of the time, but because the clock was so high-tech it didn’t sound like a standard alarm. So at first we didn’t know what it was.)
Some hotel chains are trying to come up with simpler alarms. The Waldorf Astoria Collection actually has instructions how to set the alarm on top of the clock. And Hilton hotels have also reportedly figured out an easy-to-use basic clock, although I haven’t tried it personally. (If any readers know other chains that are going the user-friendly route, please add a comment. Large time displays are helpful too, for those of us with 40-plus-year-old eyes.)
I realize that many hotel chains are trying to differentiate themselves from the competition. But I think for most travelers, the two most welcome “innovations” would be – first, having clocks that are both easy to set and easy to read in all rooms, second, even with “easy” clocks, having housekeeping automatically check and turn off any pre-set alarm.
Besides, almost any traveler who is into serious technological clock bells and whistles, probably has them already on their smartphone or laptop.
(Photo: DHDesign/Flickr Creative Commons)
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The new Hilton clocks are very nice, if nothing else for the fact that they are all the same (if the hotel has updated), which means once you know how to use it, the knowledge translates.
If there have to be instructions printed on a card or on the clock, it’s too damn complicated.
What ever happened to the good ‘ol six-button clock radio? (ok, maybe seven buttons with digital tuning) Hour, Minute, Time, Alarm, Sleep, Snooze. (And an alarm selector switch, AM/FM switch, and volume dial)
It is nice that all Hiltons use the same clock, but it’s not really a very good clock. At least the instructions are printed on the clock itself, so they don’t get lost.
i am kind of electronically deficient, so when i stay at a hotel the first thing i do is unplug the alarm clock and call down for a wake up call if i need one. if i need the time, i look at my cell phone–which also has an alarm, but i have no idea how to use that, either.
Now, I’m ok in the tech department but I don’t think an alarm clock should be complicated enough to required instructions in a hotel. Here I come in after a long day and flight and the last thing I need to do is figure out yet another clock. The problem with unplugging the clock is that many/most of the outlets are behind furniture and then it’s a problem to disconnect. Keep it simple!
My worst experience was when the thing went off in the next unoccupied room at 5:30 am and continued for an hour!
I have the cell phone with the least bells and whistles, seeing as I ‘m a 19th century person in a 21st century world, technologically speaking.
In hotels, I can and do use cell phone alarm. After unplugging the hotel clock. Often the hard part, if plug is hard to reach, is plugging it in again. Fortunately, NMP.
Not my problem.
@kiki d’s plan may work for her, but if you have ever had a hotel fail to follow through on a wakeup call, as I have,and as I’m sure many frequent travelers have as well, a working alarm clock or watch is much safer.
I stayed at a hotel a few years ago during spring ahead time-change weekend. I tried to figure out how to move the time forward and failed. Unfortunately, the hotel staff could not change the clocks either. It had to be done by a professional from outside the property. While in my room, I constantly had to remember that it was an hour later than the time on the clock. All the clocks could not be adjusted till Monday.
Next do one on hotel showers and plumbing. It recently took me 5 minutes to figure out how to divert the water flow from the bathtub spout to the shower head. And I’m an engineer!