In the late 80's, my family lived in Johnson City. My parents, not being wholly comfortable with life in a small city but not prepared to travel extensively with two kids, would take "vacations" to Knoxville, Asheville and, many times, right within Johnson City. And this was the hotel we came to. Back then, it was called something like "Park Suites." As kids, we were giddy over the indoor/outdoor pool and the glass elevator. We also, of course, loved having a hotel room to ourselves.
So I was definitely excited to get a chance to stay here again after all of these years. I only had fleeting memories of the place, including what I mentioned above and that it was right by the mall. These were exactly as I remembered. The lobby and hallways also seemed somewhat familiar.
We had a room on the HHonors floor with a view of the mall. The view is actually nicer than it sounds, because there's a wooded area behind the mall that you look out over. Being on the floor was, overall, quiet, although it may have also been because of the room design.
The room had an odd layout because it had an odd size. Instead of a standard rectangle, it had one angled wall, resulting in a somewhat unusable space right next to the window. Personally, I thought it was nice and it seemed spacious. I just mention it because it was odd. The bed was very comfortable and strewn with pillows. There was also a desk, a chair and a mini-fridge. No microwave in the room, but there was one by the vending machines. Everything was clean and comfortable.
I appreciated the location. We were able to walk over and do some mall shopping (this was post-Thanksgiving weekend), but also able to walk over to one of my favorite restaurants in the city (Jack's). It's not a particularly pedestrian-friendly area, but there's relatively light traffic around. It's also nice being set back from the main road a ways so that you're not bothered by traffic noise at night.
The staff were nice and very efficient. We were able to check in a little early but still get the quintessential cookie. After the stay, I realized I had been double-charged, and called to try to rectify the situation. They had actually already realized the problem and were in the process of doing so, and I was credited roughly 24 hours later.
The breakfast was decent. Nothing immaculate or fancy, but certainly a good variety with some good options. We didn't go to the happy hour (or whatever they call it) because it was a cash bar and I wanted to hit my favorite local restaurants anyway.
We had tried to go to the pool that night but, the problem with the indoor/outdoor pool is that, if it's even a little cold outside, the indoor pool is pretty much not usable. The water wasn't cold outright, but it was chilly enough that we didn't want to get in (and neither did anyone else, I guess). It would be a nice spot to sit around in though.
If I could rate a 1/2 star, I would probably do a 4.5 on this one. Nothing decidedly wrong with it, the property is just a little old and it shows up in some places. I also tend to hold Doubletree to higher standards than I do some of the other hotel brands I end up at, and among Doubletrees that I've stayed in, this isn't a top property. For Johnson City though, I think this may be the best choice for room quality, service quality and location.
- Doubletree Johnson City
- Johnson City Doubletree
