À l’Hôtel — hotel French | Vocabulary
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Booking, checking in and surviving the stay. This French booking checking surviving stay vocabulary list gives you 14 essential words — from une chambre simple / double (a single / double room) to la note (the bill (hotel)) — each with audio and its English translation. Use it to build the French words you need to talk about booking checking surviving stay, then test yourself with the games below.
À l’Hôtel
Booking, checking in and surviving the stay
Réserver
Pendant le séjour
🎬 The 20-second version
5 quick questions on « À l’Hôtel » — guess before the reveal. Practise with the free games → Open this short as a page — transcript included →
📘 Hotel French that works
- Arriving: J’ai une réservation au nom de… — the sentence that starts every stay.
- La chambre donne sur… = the room looks onto: une chambre qui donne sur la mer (sea view!).
- Check-out is le départ; asking the time: à quelle heure est le départ ? — usually 11 h.
- Problems, politely: Excusez-moi, la douche ne marche pas — “ne marche pas” works for anything broken.
- La note is the hotel bill (l’addition is for restaurants).
🇬🇧 The front-desk script, start to finish
Hotel French is a closed script, which makes it the most learnable travel vocabulary there is. Check-in: « Bonjour, j’ai une réservation au nom de… » (a reservation under the name of…) — the sentence that does 90% of the work — followed by the passport ritual and « à quelle heure est le petit-déjeuner ? » (breakfast time, the question worth asking before the room number). The room family carries genders worth learning as pairs: une chambre (room — never *une pièce* in hotels), la clé or le badge, l’étage (floor — « au deuxième étage », and remember French floors start above the ground floor, le rez-de-chaussée), la climatisation, le wifi (« le code wifi, s’il vous plaît » — the modern check-in’s true closing formula).
During the stay, polite problem-French: « il n’y a pas d’eau chaude » (no hot water), « la chambre est bruyante » (noisy), « est-ce qu’on peut changer de chambre ? » — complaint as question, the register France rewards. Housekeeping is « le ménage », towels are « les serviettes » (ask for more with « est-ce que je peux avoir…? »), and the do-not-disturb sign says « ne pas déranger » — the infinitive negation from our negation lesson, working a door handle. Checkout: « je voudrais régler, s’il vous plaît » (settle the bill — régler is the hotel’s verb for paying), « on peut laisser nos bagages ? » (luggage storage, the traveller’s favourite free service). Rehearse the three scenes once on the train in and every front desk in the francophone world becomes a scripted conversation you’ve already had.
Hotel French — FAQ
How do I check into a hotel in French?
« Bonjour, j’ai une réservation au nom de [name] » — then follow the passport-and-key ritual. Add « à quelle heure est le petit-déjeuner ? » and you’ve covered the whole ceremony.
What is “room” in French — chambre or pièce?
In hotels, always « une chambre ». Une pièce is a room of a house when counting them; une salle is a function room. Book « une chambre double » for two.
How do I complain politely at a French hotel?
State the problem, then ask for the fix as a question: « Il y a un problème avec…, est-ce que vous pouvez…? ». Complaint-as-request keeps the front desk on your side.
🔊 Useful phrases
🔊 Example sentences
✍️ Practice
I have a booking under the name… = j’ai une réservation au ___ de… (the opener)
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nom
the hotel bill = la ___ (not l’addition !) (hotel word)
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note
The shower doesn’t work = la douche ne ___ pas (universal breakdown verb)
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marche
🎮 Practise this with games
🎯 More practice — vocabulary recall — both directions
How do you say « a booking »? (recall)
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une réservation
What does « la réception » mean? (recall)
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the front desk
How do you say « the key / key card »? (recall)
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la clé / le badge
What does « le petit-déjeuner inclus » mean? (recall)
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breakfast included
How do you say « one night »? (recall)
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une nuit
What does « l’ascenseur » mean? (recall)
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the lift
How do you say « the air conditioning »? (recall)
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la climatisation
What does « une serviette » mean? (recall)
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a towel
Go further: get the full picture in our guide 25 survival phrases for your trip to France.
French booking checking surviving stay vocabulary — FAQ
How do you say common booking checking surviving stay words in French?
For example: a single / double room is « une chambre simple / double », a booking is « une réservation », the front desk is « la réception ». The full list above has 14 French booking checking surviving stay words, each with audio so you can hear the pronunciation.
What are the most useful French booking checking surviving stay words to learn first?
Start with the basics: une chambre simple / double (a single / double room), une réservation (a booking), la réception (the front desk), la clé / le badge (the key / key card), le petit-déjeuner inclus (breakfast included), une nuit (one night). Master these core French words before moving on to the rest of the list.
How can I memorise French booking checking surviving stay vocabulary?
Learn the words in small themed groups, say each one out loud with the audio, and use it in a short sentence about your own life. Spaced repetition is what makes new vocabulary stick — see our guide to learning French vocabulary that sticks.
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