Checkin
Check in, ask about breakfast, report a broken AC, and check out — out loud.
Two lines get you through the desk: tengo una reserva a nombre de… plus aquí tiene mi pasaporte — and default to quisiera for every request (quisiera una habitación doble, por favor), which sounds polite where quiero sounds blunt. Know your region's word for room: el cuarto in Mexico, la pieza in Argentina, la habitación everywhere. And when something breaks, two universal starters carry any complaint: no funciona and no hay — el aire acondicionado no funciona, no hay agua caliente.
Below: the phrases for arrival, problems, and check-out, what locals actually say, the slips that cause confusion at the desk — and a way to rehearse the whole stay out loud before you're standing in the lobby.
Say this
Regional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| hotel room | el cuarto | la pieza |
| swimming pool | la alberca | la pileta |
| it doesn't work | no jala | no anda |
| suitcase | la maleta | la valija |
Watch out
The part no phrase list can do
Isabella
Your conversation teacher for this pack
In the Checkin pack, the final lesson puts you at the reception desk of a mid-range hotel — and Isabella is the receptionist on day shift: polished, kind to nervous travelers, strictly usted, and she hands every guest a little map of the area with the room key. You're checking in for two nights. Then the air conditioning stops working and you have to call down and get it fixed — and at check-out there's a charge on the bill you don't recognize. Out loud. And she talks back:
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 5 lessons and Checkin is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
Tengo una reserva a nombre de… — I have a reservation under the name of… — then hand over ID: aquí tiene mi pasaporte. No reservation? Quisiera una habitación doble, por favor.
¿El desayuno está incluido? and ¿a qué hora es el desayuno? In Argentina you'll hear ¿el desayuno viene incluido? — viene doing the job of está.
Lead with the problem, then the fix. No funciona and no hay start almost any complaint: el aire acondicionado no funciona, no hay agua caliente — then ¿pueden cambiarme de habitación?
The flow is short: quisiera hacer el check-out → ¿puedo ver la cuenta, por favor? → ¿aceptan tarjeta de crédito? → aquí están las llaves. If something on the bill looks off: ¿hay algún cargo adicional?
Quisiera una noche más, por favor — I'd like one more night. The formal version you might hear or use: quisiera prolongar mi estadía una noche más.
