Choosing a floor and emptying the minibar

Ask the hotel, before you arrive, to empty the minibar and to put you on a floor away from its bars and lounges. Put both requests in one message and keep the reply. Then run a short check when you walk in.

What do you ask for?

Send this to the hotel directly after booking, and copy the booking site if you used one:

• “Please empty the minibar before our arrival, or remove all alcohol from the room. We would like the fridge to be empty so we can use it for our own food.”
• “Please give us a room away from the bar, lounge and any late-night event room. Quiet matters to us because we pray at dawn.”
• “Please reply to confirm both requests.”

If the room has a bar menu or a welcome drink voucher, say you would like them left out as well. The private-stay requirements builder puts this together with your other room needs, so the hotel gets one clear message instead of four.

Which floor suits you?

A higher floor is not always a quieter one. A rooftop bar, a club or a banquet hall can sit at the top, and sound travels down.

Ask three questions:

• Where are the hotel’s bars, lounges and event rooms?
• Is there a floor or wing without any of them?
• Is the lift lobby the noisy part of the floor, and can the room be away from it?

For families with children, a room at the quiet end of a lower or mid-level floor also makes evenings simpler. If you have teenagers in a second room, see connecting rooms for a family so both rooms are asked for in the same message.

What do you check when you arrive?

Do this before unpacking.

1. The fridge. Open it. Is it empty, or is anything left from the previous guest?
2. The glasses and bottle openers. Housekeeping may leave a tray. Ask for it to be taken away.
3. The cabinet and drawers. Some rooms keep more bottles in a cupboard, not only in the fridge.
4. The room menu. If the in-room card lists alcohol, set it aside.
5. The record. Take a photo of the empty fridge and keep the hotel’s reply.

If anything is wrong, call reception at once and ask for a visit. A calm request on the first evening is easier than a complaint on the last.

What about the fridge for your own use?

An empty fridge is useful for infant milk, medicine, leftover halal food and drinks. Ask whether it can be switched on, and whether a mini-fridge can be added if the room has none. Do not leave halal food on a shelf that housekeeping might refill without asking.

What should you confirm in writing?

The reply should say that the minibar will be empty, that the room is away from the bar, and that nothing from the minibar will be charged. See which arrangements to confirm in writing for the full list. If you need a place to pray, Qibla, prayer mats and wudu in a hotel room covers the next question.

Your next step

Write the request, send it, and keep the answer. The hotels, rooms and privacy hub lists the other room requests worth sending in the same message.