Jennifer J.
Yelp
This is a beautiful new property that has a few kinks to work out.
On the great side:
* Our suite was beautifully decorated, spacious, and had gorgeous views of Charlotte. It had one of the biggest hotel suite bathrooms I've ever had in my Bonvoy travels, with a huge shower that we joked could fit 8 people.
* The hotel gym is packed with great equipment, including a Peloton. It might feel a little small when there are several people in there at once, working out, but I appreciate how clean and well equipped it is.
* Three restaurant/bar options in house -- Dean's, the steakhouse that also offers breakfast and lunch; Caroline's, the oyster bar/restaurant with a smaller menu; and Aura, the outdoor bar, which had some delicious looking tapas food.
* Valet is very efficient. Loved the ability to communicate the need to get my car out by text.
* Elevators. Never had to wait long to catch one. They use technology that allows you to indicate your desired floor when you call the elevator.
* Great location -- very close to BoA Stadium and other key downtown visitor spots.
On the "needs work" side:
* The hotel bed could use a really nice pillow topper like the Ritz, because the mattresses are very firm and not comfortable.
* The lobby floor bathrooms are unisex and were consistently gross (i.e., not clean, wet floors around the toilet, toilet paper chunks and paper towels on the floor, etc.). They were the dirtiest lobby bathrooms I've ever seen at an upscale property.
* Dean's Restaurant was totally unprepared for the sizable pre-football game crowd for breakfast the morning of a game at Bank of America stadium. Lots of frustrated people were standing all around the area, and there was no clear line of who had checked in with the hostess stand and who hadn't. There was only one iPad being shared by two employees at the stand, and when one of them was off with the iPad, seating someone, the other employee was rendered helpless and couldn't do much. We had Platinum Bonvoy breakfast vouchers and couldn't use them in the end because it took us 20 minutes to even try to get on the wait list. We ran out of time.
* While the executive lounge is open during the week, it only has sodas/water in refrigerators, some coffee options, and a few peanuts/pretzels and other light snacks. No other food.
* While I didn't use the spa, it seems to have a lot less of the spa amenities versus the Ritz in Charlotte -- no steam room, no sauna, etc. -- for a similar price point for services. The spa menu looked great, but for the money I would prefer to go to someplace where I can get all the bells and whistles, like the Ritz in Charlotte. It sounded like there were some very nice showers available in the locker room but it sounds like there is not a lot other than that.
My guess is this hotel will be amazing once the management is able to figure out solutions to some of these problems. I can imagine it's been tough to try to open a luxury property during a time when staffing is such a challenge. Once it gets up to speed, it is going to be fabulous having another top tier Bonvoy option (along with the Ritz-Carlton) in downtown Charlotte.