David H.
Yelp
I'll start by saying that I'm not a fan of modern architecture and given the fact that this hotel has only been open for three weeks, I'm willing to agree there may be some growing pains going on. But.....
My wife and I celebrate our wedding anniversary at a different hotel each December and after 47 years, there aren't a lot of really good choices left (Motel 6 isn't on our list!), but when I read about this new luxury hotel in the Arts District, I decided this would be THE place and I would surprise my bride. I made the reservation (paid for in advance - no choice), which was "non-cancellable, non-refundable and 100 percent cancellation charges apply", by the way. That should have alerted me to be wary, but I forged ahead.
It seemed as though there were about ten red-coated valets waiting for us when we drove up, all wanting to help us with our one bag and holding doors open for us. Fine.
Check-in was also fine, although the desk clerk's hands were shaking. Whether it was her first day or we looked really scary, I don't know. We WERE offered water or a glass of wine, which was part of the website's room description, but we declined and were given the key to our room. By the way, the website spiel indicates "complimentary snacks and beverages", which were non-existent. There is no snack bar in the room, although there is a small locking refrigerator, which did contain two bottles of water.
We were surprised at how small the room was, but it was nicely appointed with interesting wall coverings (the "toilet room" had wallpaper that looked like blue crinkled paper, but was actually smooth. Actually pretty cool!) But the commode in said toilet room was very dirty. At first, I thought it might be part of the "marble", but a quick swipe with a Kleenex confirmed that was not the case. I called housekeeping and was apologetically told someone would be "right up". An hour later, my wife and I were getting uneasy because we needed to change clothes for a night out, so I called again. Again, "Someone will be right up". Ten minutes later, the phone rang. "Is there a problem with your commode?" Uh, yes. "Someone will be right up", not so apologetically.
Ten minutes later, a maintenance worker rang the doorbell (a nice touch!) and cleaned the commode, saying "It's from construction". I asked him if he could reset the bedside clock, which was set to military time and an hour fast (I tried, but it wouldn't work for me). He said he didn't have a clue but would send someone else up. That never happened, so we just put our phones on the nightstands.
The king bed was actually quite comfortable, but in the morning, when my wife wanted coffee, she discovered only decaf and black tea - no regular coffee. The large shower, complete with hand-held nozzle, was gorgeous, but even though I turned the lever to the hottest setting, the water was only luke-warm at best and alternated between that and cooler. Quick shower.
As I was dressing in front of the full-length mirror, I looked down at the carpet and there was "construction debris", for lack of a better term, against the wall. There was also a sizeable clump of what looked like dog hair in front of the closet.
Check-out was easy, with our receipt sent to my email. Getting the car back was simplified with a simple text to the valet and a reply as to how long until the car arrived (four minutes). When we got in the car, we realized the sunroof had been closed (fine), but the temperature control had been readjusted to "Maximum Heat" and the right mirror had been repositioned. How far away did they park the car?
At home, I checked out the receipt on email and discovered we had been charged $36.00 for "Valet Overnight Parking". This was not mentioned during checkout and I have no intention of sending them any more money.
So, in summation, if you're determined to pay a visit to the Hall Arts Hotel because you really like modern architecture and throwing away a wad of money, I'd wait about a year until they get all their ducks in a row. Right now it's not worth it.
