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Estoy perdido. ¿Dónde queda el hotel?

Estoy perdido. ¿Dónde queda el hotel?
I am lost. Where is the hotel?
From Lesson 231:Adjective meaning changes (ser vs. estar)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Estoy perdido. ¿Dónde queda el hotel?

Why do we use estoy instead of soy with perdido?
This is a great example of how ser and estar change an adjective's meaning! Estar perdido means you are physically lost (a temporary state or condition). If you use ser (like soy un perdido), it changes meaning completely to describe your character as a 'lost cause' or a hopeless person. When talking about losing your way, always stick with estar.
If a woman is speaking, does she also say estoy perdido?
No, she would say estoy perdida. Even though it looks like a past-tense verb, perdido acts as an adjective here describing the speaker. Because of this, it must change to match the speaker's gender.
Why does the sentence use queda instead of está for 'where is'?
Both are perfectly correct for asking about location! However, in Latin America, the verb quedar is incredibly common when asking for or giving the location of a fixed place, like a building, store, or city. Using queda to ask about a hotel sounds very natural to native speakers.
Could I ask ¿Dónde es el hotel? instead?
No, not for a building. You only use ser for location when asking where an event is taking place (for example, a party or a meeting). To ask about the physical location of an object or building, you must always use location verbs like estar (¿Dónde está?) or quedar (¿Dónde queda?).

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