A1 · Beginner · Stay · 139 words · ~2 min read

🏨 Checking into a Boutique Hotel

Language focus: have got · there is / there are

Before you read

Two structures carry this whole story: have got for possession and there is / there are for saying what exists. They look similar but do different jobs, and mixing them up is one of the clearest markers of an A1 learner. Watch which one appears where.

Nadia arrives at a boutique hotel. She goes to the reception to check in. “I have got a reservation,” she says. The man has got her name on his screen.

He gives Nadia a key card. “Your room is on the third floor. There is a lift over there,” he says.

The room is beautiful. There is a big window with a lovely view. Breakfast is at eight, and her luggage is already there.

There is a small desk in the corner and there are two soft chairs by the window. Nadia has got a good view of the old market square.

She has not got a kettle in the room, but there is free tea downstairs. “Have you got a map of the city?” she asks at reception. The man has got several, and he gives her one.

Key vocabulary (8 words)

receptionnoun: The desk where you check in and ask for help.
reservationnoun: A room you have booked before you arrive.
key cardnoun: A plastic card that opens your hotel-room door.
floornoun: One level of a building.
liftnoun: A small room that carries you between floors.
breakfastnoun: The first meal of the day, eaten in the morning.
viewnoun: What you can see from a window or high place.
luggagenoun (uncountable): The bags you carry when you travel.

Phrasal verbs in this story

check in — To check in means to arrive and register at a hotel or airport.

The grammar in this story

have got says who owns it

“I have got a reservation.” “The man has got her name on his screen.” Use have got to connect a person to a thing they possess or an arrangement they hold. Note the change with he, she and it: I have got but she has got. In questions the got stays put: Have you got a map?

there is / there are says something exists

“There is a lift over there.” “There is a big window.” This structure introduces something into the scene without saying who owns it. Use there is for one thing and there are for several: there are two soft chairs. The there here is not a place — you can say there is a lift there and both words are correct.

Choosing between them

Compare “Nadia has got a view” with “There is a view”. Both are correct but they say different things: the first is about Nadia, the second about the room. If a person is doing the owning, use have got. If you are describing what exists in a place, use there is.

The negative drops got or keeps it

“She has not got a kettle” is the have got negative. With there is, the negative is there is not or there isn’t: There isn’t a kettle in the room. Both sentences describe the same fact from different angles.

Phrases you can reuse today

I have got a reservation.: The first thing you say at any hotel desk.
Have you got a room for two nights?: Asking without a booking. Do you have…? works equally well.
What time is breakfast?: Note the present simple for a fixed timetable, not will be.
Is there a lift?: The question form of there is — the two words simply swap.

Comprehension quiz

Where is Nadia?
- A hotel
- A school
- A market
Show answer
A hotel
What has Nadia got?
- A reservation
- A puppy
- A bicycle
Show answer
A reservation
Her room is on the third…
- floor
- street
- platform
Show answer
floor
How does she go up?
- By lift
- By boat
- By plane
Show answer
By lift
“Check in” means to…
- register on arrival
- pay the bill
- go to sleep
Show answer
register on arrival

Now use it yourself

Reading builds recognition; writing your own sentences is what turns it into something you can actually say. Three short tasks:

Describe your room with four there is / there are sentences.
Write three things you have got in your bag right now, using have got.
What do you always check when you arrive at a hotel? Answer in two sentences.