Nothing takes the shine off a trip faster than a poorly designed hotel room. Finicky thermostats, thin walls, and too few outlets are only a few of the familiar frustrations that have long dogged even otherwise great stays.
Afar recently polled readers and found the top complaint was rooms without proper soundproofing, followed by bathrooms with leaky showers and no doors, thermostats with a mind of their own, and no outlets where you need them. (Other gripes: no hooks to hang things on and not enough storage.)
But hospitality is evolving. A growing number of hotels across the United States and abroad are tackling these issues head-on with smart renovations that prioritize convenience, comfort, and customer satisfaction. Meanwhile, new hotels are designing spaces to eliminate these pain points before the first guests check in.
Here’s how a few hotels are rethinking the guest experience to make your stay all the more enjoyable.
Silence when you want it
In Denver, the Crawford Hotel, which sits above an 111-year-old train station, has guest rooms that were once executive railway offices. They weren’t designed to muffle the sound of passing Amtrak and Rocky Mountaineer trains and their whistles. But during a renovation in 2024, an extra layer of insulation was installed to dampen the noise.
Some hotels are getting creative with materials. The Seagate Hotel in Delray Beach, Florida, is undergoing a refurbishment that’s adding new corridor carpeting and sound-reducing flooring in the rooms. In Chicago and San Francisco, Royal Sonesta Chicago and the Clift Royal Sonesta San Francisco have installed panels behind wall-mounted TVs to cut down on sound transfer through shared walls.
Other properties focus on the windows and walls themselves. Hotel Marcel in New Haven, Connecticut, and TWA Hotel in New York’s JFK airport offer multi-paneled acoustically treated windows—TWA’s are made with laminated glass and air gaps that all but silence the roar of jet engines outside.
Newer builds are addressing noise at the design stage. At Ambiente in Sedona, Arizona, mechanical systems like HVAC units are located outside each standalone suite to reduce ambient hum. The Global Ambassador in Scottsdale, Arizona, which opened in 2023, has a slow-close door system, which eliminates the sound of slamming doors. Meanwhile, Westgate Smokey Mountain Resort in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, has upgraded connecting room doors with high Sound Transmission Class–rated materials to minimize sound bleed. And at InterContinental Indianapolis, traditional ice machines were removed in favor of bagged ice at quieter hydration stations, eliminating the disruptive clatter of refilling.
This Harbor View King room at the Wildbirch Hotel in Anchorage has a comfortable seating area with plenty of outlets.
Photo by Kevin G Smith/Kevin G Smith Photography
Farther afield, at Hotel Las Torres in Patagonia, Chile—located at the entrance of Torres del Paine National Park—early morning trekker activity was once a major source of frustration among guests. Call times for treks were usually predawn, and the walls were too thin to mask the sound of hikers prepping for their day. However, during its 2024 renovation, the hotel added five additional layers of panel insulation to every room to block out hallway noise.
Bathrooms that respect your privacy (and won’t send you slipping)
In recent years, many hotels have embraced deconstructed bathroom designs in an effort to create the illusion of more space. But instead of walls and doors, guests often find frosted glass, sliding barn doors, half-doors, or nothing at all—leaving toilets in full view from the bed. For couples, that might be awkward. For friends, colleagues, or siblings traveling together, it can be a deal breaker.
The absence of partitions that shield from peep shows and contain the sounds and smells of private business is a common complaint on review sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor. It is also a topic that frequently appears on travel-related Reddit threads where frustrated travelers want to know: “Who has asked for this?” One redditor summed it up: “I want four walls that close off.” Another point of contention is showers that aren’t fully enclosed, causing water to splash across the bathroom. “I don’t want to be huddled in the corner of the shower trying to find the position that jets the least amount of water in the rest of the bathroom area where I’m about to spend the next 20 minutes getting ready and trying not to slip and fall on new, sneaky puddles,” one redditor said.
Some hotels are listening. At Sun Siyam Olhuveli in the Maldives, newly added beach suites now have fully enclosed showers to prevent splashover. Newer hotels like the Carlin in Breckenridge, Colorado, Dearborn Inn in Detroit, and the Populus in Denver have also designed bathrooms where no amount of splashing from the shower will get the rest of the bathroom wet, thanks to strategically placed glass around tubs and showers. Populus, recognizing that travelers have different preferences, even allows guests to choose from three types of shower heads: fixed, rainfall, and handheld.
Power where you need it
Insufficient outlets are a common hotel-room frustration, especially for travelers juggling phones, laptops, cameras, and other devices. Some hotels are addressing the issue with more accessible charging hubs, especially near beds and desks where they’re most needed.
From vanity bulbs with no obvious switch to accent lights that seem to stay on no matter what, guests can feel like detectives solving the mystery of the last light.
When the Wildbirch Hotel opened in Anchorage in June 2025, rooms were outfitted with multiple charging stations, including extra outlets built directly into the banquette seating that doubles as a workspace. Sonesta hotels have adopted a quality assurance standard across all properties requiring a mix of USB-C, USB-A, and standard outlets at every bedside and desk. And as of late 2024, all Hilton properties globally are required to offer accessible bedside power.
Hotels catering to international guests are also stepping up. At Westgate in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, the team increased the number of USB-A and USB-C ports at nightstands, desks, and kitchen areas to accommodate travelers who rely on cable-only charging and may not have adapters on hand.
Thermostats that actually work
Another recurring issue: Thermostats that are difficult to use or don’t work consistently. Some properties are rethinking that, too. At Park Hyatt London River Thames, guests can adjust temperature, airflow, and measurement units (Celsius or Fahrenheit) on a user-friendly digital display. In Sedona, Ambiente installed Ecobee Smart Thermostats, which have large, intuitive touchscreens and simple controls. A mobile app adds even more convenience.
Lights that really turn off
From vanity bulbs with no obvious switch to accent lights that seem to stay on no matter what, guests can feel like detectives solving the mystery of the last light. Sometimes it means flipping every switch in the room until you find the right secret combination.
Knowing that this irks travelers, a growing number of hotels are installing intuitive lighting solutions. At Sun Siyam Olhuveli, the Benjamin Royal in New York City, and Casa da Companhia in Porto, Portugal, guests now have access to master switches, often located on or near the bedside table. The Global Ambassador in Scottsdale has two master switches, one near the door and one next to the bed, and also has mood lighting that lets guests fine-tune the room’s ambience.
Bathrooms at the Populus Denver have glass that keeps splashing water contained.
Amanda Proudfit/Amanda Proudfit
Citizen M, a global chain of modular hotels, and Sinclair Hotel, in Fort Worth, Texas, provide bedside devices to control all lighting. And at Roomers Munich, an Autograph Collection Hotel, a golden tassel hangs above the bed like an old-fashioned bell pull, and guests tug it to turn everything off in one go.
Curtains that keep the light out
Curtains are another frequent complaint—especially those that let slivers of light leak through, disrupting sleep. Although Ambiente’s suites in Sedona were designed to highlight the surrounding red rock formations with floor-to-ceiling windows, they didn’t sacrifice guest comfort: Each suite includes custom blackout drapes mounted on a motorized system, easily controlled by a button next to the bed. Guests can adjust each side individually to customize the level of light. Up in Anchorage, the Wildbirch Hotel’s blackout curtains are particularly effective at keeping the room dark during long summer days.
Fontainebleau Las Vegas, which opened in 2024, uses electronically controlled blackout curtains to block out all outside light. Meanwhile, the Westgate is in the process of replacing all slat blinds with blackout curtains to improve light control. Even major chains are making improvements: Premier Inn, the largest U.K. hotel chain, installed floor-to-ceiling blackout curtains across all its properties earlier this year.
