Learn Polish: W jakim hotelu mieszkacie? - What hotel are you staying in?

In Polish, the verb zostawać means to stay in the sense of remaining somewhere. When you talk about staying in a hotel or other temporary accommodation, Polish naturally uses mieszkać (to live).

What case is jakim hotelu in, and why?

It is in the Locative case. The preposition w (in) requires the Locative case when describing a static location, such as being physically located inside a building.

Why is the Locative ending for hotel -u instead of the typical masculine -e?

While many masculine inanimate nouns take -e in the Locative case, nouns ending in -l (like hotel or szpital) take the -u ending. This is because -l functions as a soft consonant in Polish declension, which triggers the -u ending for masculine nouns in this case.

Could I say w którym hotelu instead of w jakim hotelu?

Yes, both are correct. W którym hotelu translates to in which hotel and suggests a specific choice from a known list of hotels. W jakim hotelu is broader, meaning in what hotel, but they are often used interchangeably in everyday conversation.