Hotel has told us there will be no power from 11am-5am

[Geometry88]

OH and I have booked a night away at a 5 star spa hotel in a few days' time (£400 for bed and breakfast including spa access).

The hotel have emailed to say due to an emergency they need to re-boot their power systems so there will be no power throughout the hotel from 11pm to 5am. They say they have selected this time in the hope guests will be asleep.

They are being very casual about it but IMO we are paying a lot of money and I don't expect there to be a 6 hour power cut ! We are rarely asleep before midnight, will be wanting to charge our phones overnight, and I don't expect to be stumbling around in the dark if I wake up in the middle of the night needing the toilet.

According to the T&Cs it's too late to cancel but I think we should have the choice to given the circumstances? I'm thinking as a minimum we should be offered some form of compensation on point of principle? Or even being able to reschedule to the following evening (which might work ok for us) at the same cost?

Ask them for a discount as it will have an impact or a refund

Ask for a torch?! It’s £400 a night!

I would definitely be awake after 12pm and wouldn’t be happy with this at all. Who wants caveats on what you can and can’t do at £400 a night? If it was £40 I still wouldn’t be happy. Discount or reschedule for sure.

I think the hotel are damned if they do and damned if they don’t because this needs to happen and obviously some guests will be annoyed at this.

They should allow you to cancel and rebook with no penalty or offer you a significant discount if you did stay. I’d also want to know that backup plans were in place eg generator if there was a fire, eg fire alarm.

I’d also ask them what they’d suggest if you got up in the night for the toilet. They’re putting themselves at risk with no lights and if you fell and broke a limb, but this is their get out clause, they’ve informed you in advance.

They're paying £400 for just one night, expecting working lights during that time us not unreasonable!

They’re putting themselves at risk with no lights and if you fell and broke a limb, but this is their get out clause, they’ve informed you in advance.

I don't think you can opt out of health and safety precautions like this, especially if there's time to arrange alternative lighting. What about smoke alarms and sprinkler systems - will they work without power?

Why on earth would you assume this in such an arsey manner?
They will most likely have a generator for back-up/critical systems.

OP, since the work is likely essential, what would you prefer? Rebook, or discount/free services? What are you concerned about specifically - can they offer battery/led lamps? Are your phones not going to charge enough between 5am and whenever you need to leave the room?

Thanks all - we've just called the hotel and they've moved our reservation to the following evening. All sorted!

Emergency lighting has a different power source in most hotels but it could mean a light is on in the room all night.

That happened to me once during an unexpected power cut. Didn't bother me at all but I'm sure it would bother most people.

Glad they were reasonable, enjoy your night away!

Am I being stupid to ask if you've actually contacted hotel direct to discuss your concerns? You're definitely not being unreasonable to expect power for the entirety of your stay, a bit unreasonable to actually try sort it out

It depend...do you still want to go or what would you prefer to reschedule, refund or a partial discount?

If you want any of the above just ask for it.

If they don't accommodate those options, then start bomboarding them with loads of questions until they realise it would be in their interests to just refund you?

Ask them sone of the following:

How will fire & carbon monoxide alarms operate during this period?

Can you get a copy of their safety plan for the 6 hours?

To what extent will it impact room temperature and will there be extra bedding?

How do guests access bathroom facilities in the dark?

How will it impact the temperature of the swimming pool the following day? Will the pool be drained overnight or will the cold water be reheated?

Can they guarantee that all power will ve restored by 5am? What happens if it isn't?

What happens if there is an accident or other emergency etc?

Keep going with the questions until refund is issued.

I would ask what they are offering as compensation. I’d expect at least a drink with dinner or a bottle of wine in the room.

@Geometry88 Sorry you posted while I was typing. Great result, I couldn't be dealing with the potential hassle of it. Probably would be fine but why should you have to chance it

No that's a fair question! Basically we kept trying to call them but without luck and in the meantime I was getting in a pickle over it 😂. We just tried calling again and managed to speak to someone and reschedule :)

I wonder if you might be staying where we were last night - where they announced on our arrival the electricity would be off from 2am to 4am. In reality it was certainly off until after 6am (as I was wide awake from 4-6) and then again from 8.30 till 11am. In Salford?

I don’t think you are unreasonable to request that the date is rearranged and I would certainly be asking for details of their business continuity planning for fire safety.

I was shocked that our hotel didn’t have an emergency back up system given it’s size and 5 star rating. But then I also didn’t expect to be looked at like I had two heads when asking if we could sit in the bar whilst placing our dinner orders and called through when they were ready to serve us, or be served white wine that had barely been in the fridge, or for them not to have picked up the room service breakfast request form from the door. But you live and learn!

FFS😂

No it's not Salford. Sounds like you had a nightmare so glad it's not the same place! Sorry you had a disappointing stay.

Loads of people get up for a wee in the night. Are they all meant to do it in the pitch darkness? I don't believe this can possibly be true.

Sorry I see it has been resolved for you personally, but they are fucking nuts to do this.

I've often got back to my hotel room after 11, and occasionally left before 5. Let alone watching TV, charging phone, charging medical devices, reading by the lamp, going to the toilet, using the air con etc etc etc.

I'm no hotel manager, but I'm pretty sure they'd have to close it if they had no power for that long.

Say you have a medical device, a CPAP and you are not able to sleep without it so you need a refund on medical grounds

No that's not on. You're paying a fortune and 11pm is not late. What if you were planning a long hot bubble bath/sexy shower and movie in bed? I would expect the basics of bathroom light, tv on, phone charging, hot water etc overnight not having to quietly go to bed in the dark before midnight. Also if you wanted a shower in the morning the water might still not be heated correctly, if you have spa treatments booked the day after then they may be affected (room still cold the next morning), pool/sauna facilities cold, dining area for breakfast cold and so on.

I arrived at a 'luxury' spa hotel on one of the coldest days of the year, had driven through sudden snow flurries to get there, to be casually told there was no heat or power and it would 'possibly' be worked on overnight. I said I wasn't happy with that and even though Ts and Cs said non refundable, they refunded me right away. I'd be asking for the same OP and reschedule.

I also stayed at a more budget hotel and arrived back after a night out at 1am, went to sleep, hadn't noticed any issues other than the room felt a bit cold but no big deal. The next morning around 10am it still felt quite cold and there was no hot water for a shower. The receptionist told me that at midnight there'd been a power outage and the system had been rebooted and as a result the hot water and heating systems hadn't fully warmed up. They gave me a next stay for free to compensate. So as a pp said above, it could take ages for the basic things to be back up and running the next day.

I would be bloody furious if they only told me about the electricity going off on arrival. I use a CPAP machine to breath at night. No electrity, no breathing. But if it's only for a few hours ...

I don't think she's being unreasonable at all 😅

I would let it slip for a budget hotel. For an expensive 5-star spa hotel? No. I'm not paying through the odds to have to faff around with battery packs and the like - that's not relaxing in the slightest.

I'm glad the OP was able to reschedule.