Spanish hotel vocabulary: Practical phrases for your next trip

If you’re planning to travel to any Spanish speaking country, this post on Spanish hotel vocabulary is perfect for you. We’ll guide you from the moment you make the reservation by e-mail, by phone, or in person, to the moment you are leaving the hotel.

All those situations require some specific words and idiomatic expressions commonly used by locals. If you manage to learn them all, you’ll do just fine when interacting with your hotel staff in Spanish.

Or perhaps you work in a hotel with a lot of Spanish-speaking guests. In this case, you’ll find these lists of Spanish hotel vocabulary to be useful whenever you need to communicate with a Spanish-speaking guest. In other words, this post certainly includes plenty of useful Spanish expressions for hotel staff.

Let’s start by the beginning by having a look at the most common phrases and vocabulary for making a reservation in a hotel or any type of accommodation. We’ll continue with some words and phrases to use at the reception desk. Then, we’ll cover quite a bunch of phrases and vocabulary dealing with the hotel elements, facilities, and staff, as well as common phrases to cover room situations.

We’ll be rounding up this post with other standard phrases you’ll encounter in a hotel environment, and finishing up with a little quiz to allow you to practice some of the Spanish hotel vocabulary that we’ll cover.

So let’s get started with the different types of accommodation you may find in Latin America!

Types of accommodation in Spanish

When it comes to accommodation, there is a wide range of options, depending on the quality, services, and location of the hotel facilities. We have from a 5 stars hotel – un hotel de 5 estrellas to a bed and breakfast – una pensión. Let’s see them all in detail:

Hospedaje en español	Accommodation in English
El hotel de una estrella	One star hotel
El hotel de dos estrellas	Two-star hotel
El hotel de tres estrellas	Three-star hotel
El hotel de cuatro estrellas	Four-star hotel
El hotel de cinco estrellas	Five-star hotel
El hotel de aeropuerto	Airport hotel
El motel	Motel
El hotel de apartamentos	Apartment hotel
El hotel boutique	Boutique hotel
La pensión	Bed and breakfast
El hotel ecológico	Eco-hotel
El hostal, El albergue	Hostel
La casa de huéspedes	Guest house
El resort, El centro vacacional	Resort
La posada	Inn

Now that you know which type of accommodation you’re going to stay in, let’s move on to making the reservation or booking a hotel room – reservar el cuarto de hotel.

Booking a room: Reservar una habitación

The following phrases are the ones you will need in order to make a reservation in Spanish. Some of them are in dialogue form so that you can see their actual usage.

The following may be a conversation over the phone:

• Buenos días. Quisiera hacer una reservación. ¿Tienen habitaciones disponibles? – Good morning. I’d like to make a reservation. Do you have available rooms?

• Sí, tenemos. ¿Para cuántos huéspedes? – Yes, we have. For how many guests?

• Somos 4. ¿Cuánto cuesta la noche? ¿Incluye el desayuno? – We’re four. How much for a night? Does it include breakfast?

• De acuerdo. Reservame un cuarto para cuatro personas, por favor. – Ok. Please, book me a room for four people.

For discussing prices, we’ll point you to our post on numbers in Spanish. Here we leave you with some more vocab that may be useful when booking accommodation in Spanish.

Spanish hotel terms	English hotel terms
Confirmar la reserva	To confirm the reservation
Cancelar la reserva	To cancel the reservation
Con baño privado	With private bathroom
Con buenas vistas	With good views
La fecha de llegada	Arrival date
La fecha de salida	Departure date
En efectivo	In cash
Con tarjeta de crédito / débito	With credit / debit card
La clave de reserva, El código de reserva	Reservation code

You’re all set to continue, so let’s go to the reception desk and see what we can hear and say over there!

At the reception desk: En la recepción

Once you get to the reception desk of your hotel you will need to start by talking about your reservation. Or, if you don’t have one, you can simply ask some questions to the receptionist. Let’s see some common dialogues:

• Buenos días. Tengo una reservación a nombre de John Mendez. – Good morning. I have a reservation under the name of John Mendez.

• Bien. Para cuatro pasajeros, ¿verdad? Me permite su identificación, por favor. – Ok. It’s for four guests, right? May I have your ID, please?

• Aquí tiene. ¿A qué hora es el desayuno? – Here you are. What time is breakfast?

• Buenas noches, ¿tienen habitaciones disponibles para pasar la noche? – Good evening, do you have available rooms for tonight?

• Sí, ¿quiere una habitación individual o doble? – Yes, would you like a single or a double room?

• Ustedes estarán en el cuarto 205, piso 2. Aquí tiene la llave. ¡Disfrute su estadía! – You’ll be in room 205, 2nd floor. Here you have the key. Enjoy your stay!

Now let’s have a look at some more vocab that you may use at the reception desk:

Spanish	English
El servicio a la habitación	Room service
El horario de piscina	Pool hours
El horario de check-in / check-out	Check-in / Check-out time
La llave	Key
La tarjeta	Card
El botones	Bellboy
Los datos personales	Personal information
El nombre completo	Full name
El pasaporte	Passport
El número de teléfono	Phone number
El número de habitación	Room number
Tener / Hacer una llamada	To have / To make a phone call
Los cargos extra	Extra charges
Registrarse	Check-in
La tarifa	Room rate

Around the hotel: Por el hotel

You’ve already checked in – Ya te has registrado, and now it’s time to know all the hotel facilities and the people you may find around the building.

Spanish	English
El bar	Bar
El cantinero, El bartender	Bartender
El centro de negocios	Business centre
El / La recepcionista	Room clerk
El / La conserje	Concierge
El elevador	Lift, Elevator
Las escaleras	Stairs
La recepción	Front desk
El gimnasio	Gym
La piscina	Pool
El cajero / La cajera	Cashier
El cocinero / La cocinera	Chef
La mucama	Housekeeper
El mesero / La mesera	Waiter / Waitress
El jacuzzi	Jacuzzi
El sauna	Sauna
El vestíbulo	Lobby

• La cajera de recepción es muy simpática. – The front desk cashier is very friendly.

• La comida está deliciosa, y el cocinero es excelente. – The food is delicious, and the chef is excellent.

• ¿El elevador me lleva a la piscina? – Does the elevator take me to the pool?

• ¿A qué hora abre el gimnasio? – When does the gym open?

In the hotel room

Now let’s see how we can talk about the different items we may find in a hotel room.

Spanish	English
La puerta	Door
No molestar	Do not disturb
Las cortinas	Curtains
El cubrecamas	Bedspread
La silla	Chair
La mesa de noche, La mesa de luz	Night table
La alfombra	Carpet
Las persianas	Blinds
La tina	Bathtub
La cama	Bed
El colchón	Mattress
Las sábanas	Sheets
La almohada	Pillow
La cerradura	Door lock
El secador de cabello	Hair drier
La caja de seguridad	Safe deposit box
La ducha	Shower
Las toallas	Towels
La bata	Bathrobe
El televisor	Television
El aire acondicionado	Air conditioning
La calefacción	Heating
El agua caliente	Hot water
El grifo	Tap
El jabón	Soap
El champú	Shampoo
El papel higiénico	Toilet paper

• Hay que poner el cartel de No molestar en el cuarto 503. – We have to hang the Do not disturb sign on room 503.

• No hay más papel higiénico en mi habitación. ¿Podría traerme uno por favor? – There’s no more toilet paper in my room. Would you bring me one, please?

• Todos los cuartos tienen caja de seguridad. – All rooms have safe deposit boxes.

• El televisor del vestíbulo no funciona. – The TV in the lobby doesn’t work.

In case you want to go beyond the hotel boundaries, don’t miss this fantastic post on asking for directions in Spanish.

Other words and phrases for around the hotel

Last but not least, we leave you with some additional Spanish hotel vocabulary, with useful phrases and vocabulary you surely will hear and use while staying in a hotel.

• ¿Necesita la factura ahora? – Do you need the bill now?

• El elevador está fuera de servicio. – The elevator is out of order.

• ¿Cuánto cuesta la pensión completa? – How much is the full board?

• Quisiera que recojan una camisa para lavar y planchar. – I would like you to pick up a shirt to be washed and ironed.

• Por supuesto, señor Carlos. Tenemos servicio de lavandería. – Of course, Mr Carlos. We have laundry service.

• Nos marcharemos mañana a la tarde. – We’ll leave tomorrow afternoon.

• ¿Para que hora necesita un taxi? – What time do you need a taxi?

• Si tiene hambre, llame al servicio de habitación. – If you’re hungry, call room service.

• Para llamar a la recepción marque 0. – To call the front desk, dial 0.

• El botones llevará su equipaje a la habitación. – The bellboy will take your luggage to your room.

All these phrases are basic sentences that will help you while staying in a hotel. If you want some other useful phrases for interacting with people in Spanish, check our post with a selection of basic Spanish sentences.

So far so good! We’re sure that learning these Spanish hotel phrases and vocab will help you have more natural and stress-free interactions during your stay. For more pointers while you’re on the road, have a look at our post on common Spanish travel phrases to add to your set of Spanish hotel vocabulary.

To finish off our post while you’re getting ready for your next trip, why don’t you practice with the following exercises!

Exercises

Choose the right option to complete the sentences. The answers and translations are below.

1. La (caja de seguridad / almohada) no abre. ¿Podría ayudarme?

2. La (sábanas / calefacción) no funciona, tengo frío.

3. Si necesita (toallas / botones), avíse a la mucama, por favor.

4. Tengo una reservación para 2 personas. Una habitación con (baño / cocina) privado.

5. ¿Tienen (habitaciones / colchón) disponibles para la semana próxima?

6. Te espero en el (vehículo / vestíbulo) del hotel.

7. Nos quedaremos en un (hotel 5 estrellas / albergue) porque tenemos poco dinero.

Answers

1. La caja de seguridad no abre. ¿Podría ayudarme? – The safe deposit box doesn’t open. Could you help me?

2. La calefacción no funciona, tengo frío. – The heating system doesn’t work, I’m cold.

3. Si necesita toallas, avíse a la mucama, por favor. – If you need towels, please let the housekeeper know.

4. Tengo una reservación para 2 personas. Una habitación con baño privado. – I have a reservation for two people. It’s a room with a private bathroom.

5. ¿Tienen habitaciones disponibles para la semana próxima? – Do you have any available rooms for next week?

6. Te espero en el vestíbulo del hotel. – I wait for you in the lobby of the hotel.

7. Nos quedaremos en un albergue porque tenemos poco dinero.- We’ll stay at a hostel because we have little money.