Travelling to a Spanish-speaking country can be an exciting adventure. However, encountering problems during your stay can be frustrating, especially if you’re not confident in reporting a problem in a hotel in Spanish.
Luckily, this guide will help you learn how to do that, using essential phrases and vocabulary. Whether the issue is with your room’s cleanliness, size, temperature, or amenities, we’ve got you covered.
Remember to listen to the episode to practise the pronunciation of the phrases, but also to learn more structures that may be helpful in your hotel stay!
Key phrases for reporting problems
When you encounter an issue in your hotel room, it’s important to know how to express it clearly. Here are some common phrases you might need for general issues so you can report them to the hotel in Spanish.
- Hay un problema There is a problem
- No puedo… I can’t…
- No hay… There is no…
Cleanliness issues
If your room is not clean, use this phrase to report it:
- Hay un problema. La habitación está sucia. There is a problem. The room is dirty.
You can change the subject to say things like:
- La piscina está sucia. The swimming pool is dirty.
- La entrada del hotel está sucia. The hotel hall is dirty.
Room issues
If there’s a problem with your room size, you can say:
- Hay un problema. La habitación es demasiado pequeña. There is a problem. The room is too small.
Other problems related to the room can be:
- La habitación es demasiado cara. The room is too expensive.
- La habitación es demasiado ruidosa. The room is too noisy.
Temperature issues
If the temperature is uncomfortable, use these phrases:
- Hace demasiado calor en la habitación. It’s too hot in the room.
- Hace demasiado frío en la habitación. It’s too cold in the room.
You can also change la habitación for a different location to complain about the temperature in different areas of the hotel in Spanish.
Non-functional items
If something in your room is not working, these phrases will help to tell the hotel in Spanish:
- La ducha no funciona. The shower doesn’t work.
- La televisión no funciona. The TV doesn’t work.
- El aire acondicionado no funciona. The air conditioner doesn’t work.
Missing items
If you find that something is missing in your room, use these phrases:
- No hay papel higiénico. There is no toilet paper.
- No hay toallas. There is a problem. There are no towels.
- No hay jabón. There is a problem. There is no soap.
- No hay agua caliente. There is no hot water.
That’s all for this episode of Coffee Break Spanish!
Reporting a problem in a hotel in Spanish doesn’t have to be daunting. With these key phrases and tips, you’ll be able to handle the most common issues confidently. Remember, the staff is there to help you, and a little effort to communicate in their language can go a long way in making your stay more comfortable.
By learning these essential phrases and using the right Spanish hotel vocabulary, you’ll ensure that any issues you encounter can be resolved quickly, allowing you to enjoy your stay to the fullest. However, if you prefer camping rather than staying in a hotel, don’t miss our next episode where we tell you all about camping in Spanish.
21 thoughts on “How to report a problem in a hotel in Spanish”
Hello,
I have downloaded the Lesson 23 of Coffee Break Spanish via iTunes. The actual file downloaded, however, is Lesson 22. Please check.
I hope you’ll fix the problem soon.
Thanks!
Hi Kyo,
Sorry – we realise now that there was a typo in the link we put in the podcast feed. We’ve now updated this so you should be able to refresh your iTunes podcast feed to download the correct episode.
Hi Mark,
Just checked and confirmed the feed now “funciona.” 🙂
Gracias!
Hi Mark and Kara,
I started CBS about 9 months ago, and have gotten through about 55 lessons so far. I think they are great, I have learned a lot and had fun doing it. I was downloading the lessons 5 at a time from iTunes, (thru #60) but I see you have started over and are up to lesson 23. Is there a site from which I can get the later lessons (61-80) and not have to wait? I’m going to Guatemala in Oct. Necesito aprender más español pronto.
Gracias!
Hi Mark,
Just to echo Jose’s comments above. I have been working through CBS for the past few months. It has been a fantastic help to my studies, thanks for that. I am currently on lesson 60 and was wondering if the remaining episodes will be re-appearing on I-Tunes any time soon? I am off to South America in 6 weeks.
Many Thanks,
Pharoah
Off to La Coruna in Spain on thursday so these recent episodes have come just in time, can’t wait to try out what I’ve learnt so far!
Off to La Coruna in Spain on thursday so these recent episodes have come just in time, can’t wait to try out what I’ve learnt so far!
Where’s episode 24? Delayed?
We mentioned in this post that we’ve had some unfortunate delays this week, but we’re back on track and you can now find Coffee Break Spanish episode 24 here. Episode 25 will follow in the middle of next week.
I have been trying to get coffee break spanish 1 but can’t find the lesson – help!!
David
Hola Mark y Kara:
Why do you say that “ruidosa” has four syllables? Don’t the “u” and “i,” both being weak vowels, smoosh together to create a diphthong?
Ej: rui-do-sa
Gracias for clarifying. 🙂
K
Hi Karlaina: 2 weak vowels do not make a diphthong so both the letters are pronounced separately. A diphthong is made up of 2 vowels, one weak and one strong. If there is an accent on one of the vowels [that would normally be a diphthong] then both vowels are pronounced separately.
I totally don’t mind with your accent. Scotish accent is so cute to listen to. It’s fun learning Spanish with you guys. As you can see I’m now in lesson 23 within a few weeks. Thanks a lot Mark and Kara.
I wanted to send a brief msgease to be able to thank you for the amazing tactics you are placing at this website. My considerable internet investigation has finally been rewarded with professional knowledge to write about with my family. I would express that many of us site visitors are very blessed to dwell in a remarkable place with so many special professionals with beneficial tactics. I feel extremely happy to have encountered the web pages and look forward to tons of more exciting minutes reading here. Thank you again for everything.
I like your accents; I think you speak really clearly (in both languages:). Love this show – I find the pace to be just right and appreciate the little pauses to try to say things myself before Kara.
Great way of learning to speak Spanish and your accents are nice. Thanks.
Am a liitle confused by the use of ‘demasiado’ and in particular whether this needs to agree with the gender of what is being discussed, for example es la habitacion demasiado pequena o demasiada pequena ?
hasta pronto! Gracias
HAHAHA!!! I loved the demonstration of true Scottish accents! I am totally baffled by the connection between learning a second language and the accent of the teacher in his native language, but I liked your comeback! And thanks for slowing down when you talk to us! I’ve always enjoyed the Scottish accent but cannot say it is easy to follow at its native speed. Keep up the good work!
Hi Mark and Kara. Love your CBS podcasts, I listen in the car as I’m on the motorways a lot. Couple of questions for Mark? In this episode, you said Cara is the word for expensive, I have read it’s caro? And when you speak of things not working, you say no funcionar, but when I looked it up in my SpanishDict it’s says funcionar is a verb and it should be used in masc/fem form ie, el aire acondicionado no funciono? And lastly, I can’t find your word for smelly anywhere that sounds like welly!! Keep the podcast coming I think they’re amazing and so are you two! Thanks for all your hard work ????
Hi Claire. The word for “expensive” is either “caro” or “cara”, depending on whether you’re describing a masculine word (caro) or feminine word (cara). There are also plural versions. “Funcionar” is indeed a verb – when you say something is not working, you say “no funciona”, regardless of whether the thing is masculine or feminine. The -a ending of “funciona” is the 3rd person singular of the verb form, meaning “it is not working”. The word for “it smells” is “huele”. Hope that helps.
Yes it does help, Thank you so much! It gets a bit confusing at times!! Thanks for taking the time to reply ????