Hate Heights or Love Views? Pros and Cons of High Level Hotel Rooms and Homes

This week I was on the 12th floor of a building where the power was off for upgrade of electrics around the complex. The letter to owners and occupiers was to minimise foods in fridges and backup data. Our first thought was to stock less food in the fridge. I thought of adding lots of ice inside.

The night before I put out a pill on a saucer above a cup of ice cold water so I did not need to worry about opening the fridge, nor the pill being exposed to too much heat. If I had kept the air conditioning on all night it would have been cooler in the morning.

The first reminder and update in the morning was when I went into the bathroom and the light would not go on.

What happened on the day?
I had thought that because my laptop has a battery I would not be affected. Wrong.

My laptop would not connect to the internet. No business. No social messages. Not even reading the news. I could not write and upload my blog. Could not even log into blogger and save for upload.


I ate apples which had been left outside the fridge and drank tap water from a jug.

Maybe I should go out for a swim. I should have gone down earlier. It later occurred to me this would not be a good idea. The lifts were not working. I would be in a swimsuit and flip flops. Twelve stories walking down. Twelve stories walking up. A good thing I was not travelling to or from an airport with three suitcases, and not in a room on floor 16.

I was in the bathroom when the light suddenly came on. So I knew the power was back. I got to thinking about living high and low. In an emergency such as a fire you are not supposed to use lift. The power supply could stop. You could be trapped between floors. You might spin down into the fire or smoke. People trying to get in could overload the lift. Start a fight with those inside trying to repel those trying to push in and then the overloaded lift not moving.

Firemen unable to use the lift to bring up firefighting equipment, do room to room searches, bring oxygen and stretchers.

Waiting too long for a lift when you could already be two floors below if you were running down the stairs.

It's a hard decision, whether to take a higher or lower hotel bedroom or rental apartment. The top floors may offer better views and command higher prices. The lower floors offer quick exit in an emergency, and quick exit when the lifts are being repaired or cleaned.

A power outage, or maintenance on lifts, would be a nuisance if you were planning a business meeting for several people. The longer you are staying, the greater the chance that one day you will find the lifts not working. This might be fine for a young couple, less good when you have a baby asleep in a buggy, a load of shopping or when granny comes to stay.

Advantages of the ground floor. We have friends who just married and ranted a ground floor flat with a patio overlooking the pool which is floodlit at night. They eat every meal on their balcony surrounded by pot plants and the poolside greenery. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Living like every day is a holiday. Their modern block has tiny rooms. But they love it.

Balance that against a top floor flat with a wonderful view over the city. Any high floor, typing with a view of the clouds, rooftops, the swimming pool far below.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

British English and Americanisms - hose, power outage, consignment store

In today's Daily Mail in the US section I read about a power outage. In the UK we would say power cut.

US-UK
a la mode-French for in fashion but in the USA a pie a la mode is a pie or dessert having additional cream, often whipped cream. (Check with the serving staff what they mean or look at the menu pictures.)
boardwalk-deck (or promenade, although a promenade is often concrete)

billfold - wallet
consignment store-sale or return shop for secondhand fashions
dime store-bargain basement/cheap shop
eraser-rubber
hood-bonnet (part of a car)
Hoover-vacuum cleaner
hose-stockings
Kleenex-paper tissues, paper hanky
make a right/left-turn right/left
over easy- (fried egg) cooked both sides, over meaning turned over, easy meaning whites are slightly runny
power outage-power cut
sidewalk-pavement
pacifier-dummy
purse-bag
pavement-tarmac/road
pleased to meet you-how do you do (formal)
rubber-Durex/condom
trunk-boot

UK - USA

bag - purse

deck - boardwalk

Durex - rubber

dummy - pacifier

bonnet (front of car) - hood

egg cooked both sides - over-easy

how do you do (formal) - pleased to meet you

paper hankie - Kleenex

pavement - sidewalk

power cut - power outage

purse - coin purse

rubber - eraser

stockings - hose

turn right - make a right

(dessert) with cream - a la mode

vacuum cleaner - Hoover

wallet - billfold

I compiled this list from what I found different living in Rockville Maryland and on visits to the USA from England and also on websites and in newspapers. Somewhere in storage I have at last two books of dictionary style translations. One is a small and inexpensive paperback.

For a more comprehensive list go to Wiki comparison of American and English.

Angela Lansbury, author, travel writer, translator and tutor of French and English, A level, conversation, packaging, written work, websites.