City Defences

I stayed in one of several ground floor (actually semi-basement) rooms that opened directly off the relatively quiet street. Noise was a major issue. This was for three reasons: (1) a window facing street and hidden outside by shutters and inside by curtains behind desk was left ajar. Closing it required moving desk, and a shorter person would have needed to stand on a chair. (2) Noise travelled from floor above easily - everything from footsteps to phone conversation was audible at 2am. (3) During heavy rain, the gutters somehow ran internally above the bathroom ceiling creating an echo chamber of dripping water noises! The front desk was not open for all of the advertised hours. I only stayed because I got three nights for price of two and location was conveniently close to the old town but not on busiest strips.