Alojar or alojarse

Question

If im talking about staying in a hotel would i use the reflexive version - alojarse - or just the normal version - alojar - because im not sure if staying in a hotel is an action to yourself or not?

gracias

Welcome to the forum, :) - 00494d19, May 4, 2011

Answer 1

because im not sure if staying in a hotel is an action to yourself or not?

Alojar is not to stay in a hotel, but to provide accomodation to someone. Obviously, you do not normally say that you are going to provide yourself accommodation, but you are simply going to stay in a place, i.e. accommodation is provided in your case. This is the whole point of using "se" here. I wouldn't call that reflexive, even though the meaning is close. Bear in mind that "Voy a alojarme a mí mismo" sounds rather ridiculous in Spanish, because "a mí mismo" is reflexive, and the meaning is not.

Answer 2

alojar = to provide lodging
alojarse = to stay

Answer 3

I, somewhat, agree with lazarus1907, but in any event:

to lodge=alojar

Me voy a alojar en la casa de un amigo/hotel cuando vaya a Miami.