I grew up in Oak Cliff and I watched the Belmont transform from a run down hideout for homeless people to a great little retro spot. The area is Oak Cliff, however, so there are pockets of run down neighborhoods. It's not like driving through Uptown or Park Cities where you find a nice hotel surrounded by nice homes. Oak Cliff is still transforming. But don't let that scare you. Plenty of people are migrating to OC now and The Belmont has a great little bar to meet friends and hang out.

The Bar: the bar is a nice place to get drinks. Prices run from $8-14 per drink. I think most of their drinks come out nicely but I always think Dallas bartenders could use a lesson in making a good strong drink. The Belmont is no different in that area. Regardless, there is a nice, small sitting area inside and a larger patio outdoors with a skyline view. You can also walk to the pool and there is a grass lawn you can sit on with the #1 best view of Dallas.

The Hotel: The hotel is overpriced and not worth the money. Their nicest room (The Terrace Suite) is about $500 a night. That competes with a room at the Ritz and for the money & service, you get a FAR better deal at the Ritz. If you're going to compete with the Ritz Carlton, you better step up your game, Belmont. The Terrace Suite (which I have stayed in twice now) is cute but stripped of any frills. It's not charming. It's just there. Furniture, decor, amenities; it's all on par with a normal motel. The bed frame falls off if you accidently hit it while climbing into bed. It has a hot tub, yes, but it's never hot enough. For $500, I expect more than a lukewarm tub of water and a broken bed frame. I think customer service should be judged on everyday service but also, and almost more importantly, on the service you get when you are unsatisfied with something. In that area, the Belmont lacks greatly. If you have a problem, don't expect the Belmont to step up and give you immediate, great customer service.

I had a recent stay in the Terrace Suite and had an extremely disappointing experience. Four people in our party complained in person and after hearing nothing back from the Belmont, I finally wrote a formal letter of complaint. I have yet to be contacted personally with feedback about that letter. I believe the assistant manager, after a week and a half of verbal and written complaints by our party, offered half off our next stay. This was after I contacted the hotel manager and she told me "oh, he (asst manager) must have forgotten, I'll remind him to call." I find it ridiculous that it took four different people complaining, a formal letter on my part, and a reminder to the hotel manager before we received feedback from the Belmont staff. On top of that frustration, the Belmont offered a coupon that holds no value for us since we already told the manager we would not be back in the near future because, 1) we all live in Dallas and 2) we were only there for a special event. The real issue is that after what we experienced, we do not want to come back. Not only do I think I will waste my money on another room at the Belmont, but I do not trust that if I have a problem with my next stay that the staff will take the initiative to solve my issue in a prompt and appropriate manner. I have included the letter I sent to the manager of the hotel below.

"Dear Ms. Spagna,

I grew up in the Oak Cliff area and I along with my family are regular, returning customers to the Belmont. On Friday the 20th, I attended a bridal party located in the Terrace Suite. During our stay, we had repeated noise complaints against us from the woman in the adjoining room of our suite. She became so aggravated that she banged aggressively on the adjoining room door, shouted profanities and called us names --. This was reported to your staff that evening, Jerald, who took no action against the woman’s verbal abuse. We considered the matter closed so you can imagine our surprise and embarrassment when the police arrived while the bride was showering and guests were in their pajamas.

The Belmont Hotel was aware in advance that this was a bridal party and that, according to the hotel's own staff, the other guest had a history of noise complaints throughout her stay. The hotel staff member inspected our suite and confirmed there was no music, loud games or alcohol. The fact is, a small group of five women arrived late following a concert Friday night and the noise was not atypical of any hotel guest arriving to their room (doors opening/closing, people talking about sleeping arrangements, toilets flushing, etc.) Half of our bridal party was asleep immediately following the concert and any noise the woman in the adjoining room may have heard consisted strictly of four women speaking at a normal volume.

The lack of concern or effort from your hotel staff, Jerald, was extremely upsetting. After presenting my valet ticket to him upon departure, he gave me the wrong set of keys. He then laid out all the keys in which he had possession (20 sets) and told me to “pick one.” You can imagine how this act of disorganization and carelessness looks to a guest trusting your hotel with their car. It was a blatant lack of security. When Jerald finally did pull my car around, he opened the door and walked away, leaving the car running with the door open in the middle of the road. Jerald did not return to the lobby to notify me the car had been pulled around so it sat in the road running, door open, without my knowledge.

The manner in which the incident was handled by the hotel escalated rather than resolved the matter and, in fact, prevented us from full use and enjoyment of our quite expensive suite. As a result, the entire bridal event was highly diminished by the experience. We are particularly upset in view of the significance of the event not to mention the fear caused from a verbal assault by one of your hotel guests. We would have gladly accepted a comparable accommodation in another suite had it been offered.

The entire bridal party was extremely apologetic not only the night of the event but also on the following Saturday and Monday. However, we do not feel that anything we did warranted the verbal assault from the other hotel guest or a visit from three policemen. The bridal party would appreciate the hotel’s attention to this disturbing matter and compensation for our embarrassment and inconvenience."

If you do decide to stay at the hotel, just make sure your car keys aren't being strewn out for other hotel guests to pick from.