When The Hotel Fire Alarm Goes Off Four Times In One Night...

We've been in a hotel for nearly a month now.

For the most part, things have been going smoothly. Yes, I deal with other hotel guests who are assholes. But I'm managing with lots of chocolate and books.

However.

The other night, the fire alarm went off.

Four times.

It started at 1 AM. Then it seemed to go off in half hour intervals.

I was livid. I do not like when my sleep is interrupted. It's why I only had two children. So each time I'd drift off and be woken up by another alarm.

I was PISSED. The alarm would go off for about a minute, then stop. Obviously the hotel wasn't on fire. At first I thought the hotel was on fire and started grabbing my prized possessions: my books. My Macbook. My phone. Then I realized, nope, no fire, just a spazzy alarm system.

I went downstairs to ask what was going on. Several other hotel guests were doing the same. Apparently they didn't know why the alarm kept going off. They were working on it.

"Work on it faster," a hotel guest grumbled and then promptly stomped outside. To this day, I wonder where he went. It was 2 AM.

I almost didn't want to sleep. Suppose I went to sleep and the alarm only went off again. Should I read? Hope for the best and shut my eyes?

Luckily the alarm stopped after the fourth time, praise chocolate. (Oh, but a few days before THAT, the alarm had gone off at midnight. But only once. So maybe I should have expected the crazed alarms.)

I get that things happen. I do. But I have never experienced an alarm going off so often while in a hotel. This note came the following day:

And while I appreciated the explanation, I felt like we deserved a free night. So I asked as politely as I could. (I really, REALLY do not like my sleep interrupted.)


Good news! We got the free night. So far the letter is true: the alarm HASN'T gone off again.

I hope it stays that way. We're until until next week.

Fingers crossed.