I stayed here for one night in mid January 2012 for a meeting. I did arrive at the ridiculous hour of 8 am and, not surprisingly, had to wait for a room. I was given one within a couple of hours. Having read previous reviews, I asked for a renovated room, but don't think I got one. I will echo other reviewers' comments about the construction and elevators. While it never became a huge problem for me, it was kind of annoying, especially when one of the elevators was being held on the main floor to be unloaded of old furniture (which took several trips) and it did not allow you to call another elevator to the floor. The room (303) looked like it needed to be redone. It wasn't terrible, but if it had been redone it was getting beaten up very quickly. The bed had an odd slope to it and the bathroom just seemed a tad dingy. I think it was relatively clean, but certainly did not seem newly renovated. As I was going to bed, I noticed that the clock (which was unplugged when I arrived) had a blinking battery on it which continued to blink all night. It was not an i-phone dock but just a clock radio on which the alarm was rather hard to set. When I called to ask about other pillows to replace the feather or down ones in the room, the only thing they could offer was regular non-allergenic foam pillows. They worked, but I was disappointed not to be able to try one of the more 'exotic' pillow types. There were several outlets on the desk so I could charge all my devices at the same time. I also liked that in the bathroom they had dispensers of soap and such in the shower rather than masses of tiny bottles.
Service was just ok. The guys at the main desk were pretty nice and the concierge was somewhat helpful, except for finding transportation tot he airport. I told the bell/concierge desk that I need to get to the airport and would have to pay by credit card. She said they had a car service that would take credit and it would be around $70 dollars or so. I did think if it's a car service they have a relationship with, they should know the prices. But anyway, I was taken to the driver of one of these cars. When asked the price with credit he said $85. I said I thought it would be closer to $70 & he said it was a surcharge for credit cards. A 20% surcharge!! I felt lie I had been misled and would have been taken advantage of if I had not asked the driver the price before I got in the car.
My other main complaint was that in a couple of the meeting rooms (on the first floor) there was a very bad odor and loud noise. This started during our first session in those rooms and continued through the second morning session. It smelled like fuel and the sound was that of a very large engine or machinery of some kind. I developed a headache and nausea from the combination of the sound and the smell and I know I was not the only one it bothered. I was not the meeting organizer, so I don't know whether there was ever a reasonable explanation, but I was told by hotel staff that it was laundry machines. Either they decided not to stop the laundry even though they were getting reports of it bothering attendees, or that was not the real explanation.
It is possible I would stay here again if there was no construction, and I was given a renovated room. Except for the fact that the location is excellent, it would not be my first choice though.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
4 February 2012
Dear nosinAround,
Thank you very much for telling us about your recent stay. It is with feedback like yours that we can constantly improve.
I would love to speak to you. Could you call my office at your convenience? I would love to hear more about your stay.
All the best,
Claudia Eggspuhler
General Manager
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC