A personal experience — Osama Samaha, Editor-in-Chief, OUISTARS Travel
Room key cards during the stay at Sheraton Nice. Photograph supplied by the author.
I was enjoying my stay at Sheraton Nice, near the airport. I liked the modern building, its size and its location, and I was thinking about writing a positive story about the hotel. What happened that morning changed how I felt about the stay.
I was with my daughter in room 331 on the third floor. At 9:53am, I heard a light knock. I was writing near the door when it opened straight away with a key card. A woman came in and asked what time I would be leaving.
I was not expecting a visitor. I had not answered the knock or invited anyone in. What upset me was the knock followed immediately by the opening, without waiting for my reply.
Checkout was at 11am. Why open the door at 9:53?
Our checkout time was 11am. That is also the time shown on the hotel’s official Marriott page. We were still in the room, and it was not yet time to hand it back.
Someone could have called to ask when we planned to leave, or knocked and waited for an answer. Opening the door straight away while the guest is inside is the part I object to.
I had also heard singing from the corridor inside our room, which I believe, from what I observed, came from the same woman. The sound alone might seem a small matter. Together with the door opening, it left me asking where the quiet and respect for our privacy had gone.
I had wanted to write warmly about the hotel
In twenty-five years of travelling, this was the first time I had faced a situation like this. I am not saying my experience represents every guest or employee. I am describing what happened to me and why it took away much of the comfort I had been enjoying.
A guest does not book only an attractive building. We book a place to rest and feel at ease, where we can close the door and expect our presence to be respected. Those are basics of hospitality, before the decoration, the view or the star rating.
Having a card that opens the door does not mean it should be used without waiting. My concern is not the question about departure. It is the way the room was entered.
A clear question for Sheraton Nice management
Why was our door opened while we were inside? Had the room been wrongly marked as vacated? What instructions do staff follow before opening an occupied room?
I ask management to review the incident, explain what happened and make sure that, in normal circumstances, staff knock, identify themselves and wait for the guest’s answer before entering.
I do not want to make this complicated. I want a clear explanation, an appropriate apology if a mistake is established and a step that prevents it happening to another guest. We welcome the hotel’s explanation and will publish its response.
I had been happy at Sheraton Nice. At 9:53am, that changed. I now look to management for an answer that can restore trust—trust that a knock, followed by a wait, could have protected.
