Absolutely unacceptable. One of the worst hotel experiences I have ever had.
I have stayed at Fairfield by Marriott Chow Kit several times, which is exactly why I am so disappointed by what happened on 20 September at around 3:00 AM.
I was literally woken up from my sleep by deafening motorcycle noise outside the hotel. This wasn't the occasional motorcycle passing by. The noise was loud, continuous and disruptive enough to completely wake me and my partner up and make it impossible to sleep.
I went downstairs to speak to the receptionist, and what I was told made the situation even more infuriating.
According to the staff, the hotel has previously contacted the authorities and requested officials to station themselves there because this happens regularly. However, apparently, the officials eventually “got sick of them” and stopped bothering.
So let me understand this correctly:
This apparently happens EVERY WEEKEND. The hotel knows about it. The authorities know about it. Yet guests are simply expected to put up with it.
What exactly are paying guests supposed to do at 3:00 AM?
The reception staff were apologetic, and I want to make it clear that I do not blame them personally. I understand that a receptionist cannot control what happens outside the hotel.
But offering ear protection as the solution is honestly ridiculous.
I paid for a hotel room to sleep, not to spend the night wearing earplugs because motorcycles are making an excessive amount of noise outside at 3:00 AM.
They also didn't offer to change our room. But frankly, I don't think that would have solved the problem anyway. If the entire building has inadequate soundproofing and the noise is coming from outside, moving guests from one room to another is hardly a solution.
What happened next says everything about how serious this was.
My partner and I were already exhausted and half-asleep. Instead of getting the rest we had paid for, we ended up packing our belongings at 4:00 AM and checking out of the hotel to find somewhere else to sleep.
Read that again.
We checked into a hotel to sleep. We were woken up at 3:00 AM. We couldn't sleep. And we eventually had to LEAVE THE HOTEL AT 4:00 AM.
I have never reacted this strongly to a hotel experience before. I am generally not someone who complains or makes a scene. But this genuinely pushed me over the limit.
And this is where I place serious criticism on the relevant authorities.
How is this allowed to continue every weekend?
If officials have already been called and eventually decided they were tired of dealing with the problem, then who exactly is supposed to deal with it?
Hotel guests?
Residents?
People who have to wake up and work the next morning?
This isn't about being against motorcycles or complaining about normal city noise. This is about excessive, repeated noise at 3:00 AM. There is a huge difference.
The fact that this apparently happens every weekend and has become something everyone simply accepts is completely unacceptable.
I don't expect hotel staff to magically control the streets outside. But I do expect a hotel to have adequate soundproofing, especially if this is a known recurring problem. And I certainly expect the relevant authorities to take repeated late-night public disturbances seriously instead of eventually giving up.
“Sorry” is not a solution. Earplugs are not a solution. Moving rooms is not a solution.
I paid for a hotel room. I did not pay for a 3:00 AM motorcycle concert.
After this experience, I genuinely have to question whether I would ever stay here again.
