Quando arrivo in hotel, lascio la valigia alla reception.

It can describe either, depending on context.

• As a habit/routine: Whenever I arrive at the hotel, I leave the suitcase at reception.
• As a future plan: When I arrive at the hotel, I’ll leave the suitcase at reception.

Italian often uses the present tense for both of these meanings when the time reference is clear.

Because Italian very often uses the present tense where English might use a future form or a habitual present.

Here, the present tense works well because the sequence is clear:

• Quando arrivo... = when I arrive
• lascio... = I leave

This is especially common after time words like quando.

A useful comparison:

• English says When I arrive..., not When I will arrive...
• Italian similarly says Quando arrivo...

Italian then often keeps the second verb in the present too if the future meaning is already obvious from context.

Italian usually omits subject pronouns when they are not needed.

The ending -o in arrivo and lascio already tells you the subject is I.

So:

• arrivo = I arrive
• lascio = I leave

You could say io arrivo or io lascio, but that usually adds emphasis, contrast, or emotional tone:

• Io lascio la valigia alla reception, non tu.

Without special emphasis, leaving out io is more natural.

In hotel is a very common, idiomatic expression in Italian.

With places like hotel or albergo, Italian often uses in in set expressions:

• essere in hotel
• stare in albergo
• arrivare in hotel

So this is something you should learn as a natural phrase rather than translating word-for-word from English.

Other forms such as all’hotel may sometimes be heard, but in hotel is extremely common and natural in everyday use.

Yes. Hotel and albergo are both common.

So you can also say:

• Quando arrivo in albergo, lascio la valigia alla reception.

Very roughly:

• hotel is an international borrowing and very common
• albergo is the traditional Italian word

Both are correct here.

La valigia refers to a specific suitcase that is known from the situation.

• la valigia = the suitcase / the suitcase in question
• una valigia = a suitcase, any suitcase, not a specific one
• la mia valigia = my suitcase, with extra clarity or emphasis

Italian often uses the article where English might use a possessive if the ownership is already obvious from context. So la valigia can sound perfectly natural even if it is clearly your suitcase.

Here lascio means I leave in the sense of I leave it there / I drop it off / I leave it with someone.

The verb lasciare can have several meanings, including:

• to leave
• to let
• to leave behind
• to drop off

In this sentence, it means something like:

• I leave the suitcase at the front desk
• I drop off the suitcase at reception

So it is not about departing from a place. It is about placing or entrusting something somewhere.

Alla reception means at the reception desk or at the front desk.

Alla is a contraction of:

• a
  • la = alla

So literally it is something like:

• to/at the reception

In hotel language, reception is commonly used in Italian and is treated as a feminine noun:

• la reception
• alla reception

This is the normal expression when you mean leaving something with the hotel staff at the front desk.

Because Quando arrivo in hotel is an introductory time clause.

Italian usually separates this kind of clause from the main clause with a comma when it comes first:

• Quando arrivo in hotel, lascio la valigia alla reception.

This is similar to English punctuation:

• When I arrive at the hotel, I leave the suitcase at reception.

If you reverse the order, the comma is often not needed:

• Lascio la valigia alla reception quando arrivo in hotel.

Yes. You can also say:

• Lascio la valigia alla reception quando arrivo in hotel.

The core meaning stays the same, but the emphasis shifts slightly.

• Starting with Quando arrivo in hotel... highlights the time/situation
• Starting with Lascio la valigia... highlights the action

Both are grammatical. The version with quando first is very natural if you want to frame the action by the moment it happens.

It is a very common borrowing used in Italian, especially in hotels.

So even though it looks English, Italians do commonly say:

• la reception
• alla reception

You may also encounter more traditionally Italian words in related contexts, but in a hotel, reception is completely normal and widely understood.