A Wren Says

It was a regrettable mistake. At check-in, the front desk attendant asked me that simple question: Would you prefer a higher or lower floor? With the bias of hindsight, I can say it was foolish of me to say, “Higher.” My initial though was a that I higher floor would put me further away from the street noise. Little did I know that there would be enough noise from the room next door to negate that benefit. But more importantly, I learned a hard lesson when the fire alarm began blaring in the middle of the night. I had 30 flights of stairs to run down to head to safety. Luckily, there was no danger, and we could return to our rooms. But the elevator was not yet in service.

If I’m honest, I had not ever thought about this before. Which floor you choose to stay on doesn’t just affect your view. It can also be a factor in how quickly you can evacuate in case of an emergency. This isn’t how I want to think when I’m heading on vacation, but it’s something to consider.

I’m curious. Does safety in this regard come in to play when you’re booking your hotels? Do you generally have a preference for any floor? How does the possibility of an emergency affect that choice for you?