Casey M.
Yelp
Room type: King Premium (not the King Suite). King bed, walk-in shower with separate soaker tub.
Tl;dr: Hotel had a great aesthetic, staff was friendly. Bathroom was great, but overall room was just adequate or a little below. Glad we stayed, but the improvements that need to be made combined with the price point would prevent us from staying again.
Early 30s millennials, if that helps put this review into any perspective for you.
Hotel: Cool 1920s/30s art deco vibe in the lobby and hallways. Layout of the first floor gave it a busy feeling, but in a nice communal way and not in a congested way. In the morning there's a complimentary coffee bar downstairs, a nice touch. Despite this freebie, the place ultimately gives you a feeling of being nickel-and-dimed that is unattractive. See more below.
Staff: Check-in/out staff were very warm and welcoming.
Dining: We ordered in-room breakfast from the in-house hotel restaurant, The Katharine, as a splurge. On a separate occasion we'd eaten at the Katharine and both of us had gotten sick (Salmon Benedict for both of us), so we avoided any egg dishes this time. We both ordered the waffle ($15), which was good, if not a bit overly sweet and too scant on the strawberries, and a small pitcher of coffee ($8; serves 4 cups). The real problem here is that they charge a 20% service fee AND a $5 delivery fee. There was no "pick-up" selection on the in-room ordering card, though again we were looking to treat ourselves so we wouldn't have opted for it had the option been there. We would normally tip 20% on a bill anyway, so one of the surcharges needs to go, and it should really be the delivery fee. Calling it a "delivery" to go from the lobby to the third floor and just off the elevator is a stretch. The fee is undeserved.
Room: Immediate impression was that the room was a bit small, but it did have everything we needed, if only everything worked as intended. Cleanliness was a B+. Potato chip remnant on one side of the bed and old travel lotion bottle on the floor under the bathroom vanity. Bathroom was otherwise, thankfully, spotless. The biggest disappointment about the room was its view. In a building with floors into the double-digits, we expected to be on an upper floor with a nice city view. Instead it seems they did a disservice to guests paying a premium for non-standard rooms, since we were only situated on the third floor and the one window looked directly into an office building where people were working. We kept the curtains closed. The rest of the issues discussed below should not go unmentioned, but such a poor view is definitely one of the more egregious complaints I have.
Bed - Note that although a king bed is provided, it is a weird extended California king mattress. So, it's narrower than a standard king, which we noticed right away and at first made us believe we'd been given a room with a queen bed; and it's also cartoonishly long. I'd gladly trade the extra length for the missing width that I expect from a king size mattress. Pillows didn't have much structure and just kind of sank under you.
Bathroom - Oversized in the best way. Half of the bathroom is a splash room with shower and separate extra deep soaker tub in the middle. This was honestly the reason we chose this room, since most hotels are doing away with tubs, and they certainly don't offer something this luxurious. The bathroom garners major points for the room where it is otherwise very lacking.
Amenities - Severe missteps abound. Room temperature continued to rise throughout the day, up to 75deg, despite air conditioning being set in the upper 60s. Other reviews mention similar issues with the A/C, which is partly to be expected in an old building retrofitted with air conditioning. It's still not acceptable, though. The minifridge, likewise, probably did not get below 50deg, rendering it mostly useless. There are USB charging ports at bedside and built into the desk below the television. None of them worked. There were also two USB ports in the alarm clock, which fortunately did work. The television leaves a lot to be desired. Standard hotel cable with channel and movie packages available for purchase. No options to log into streaming services or cast from your device. TV is against the wall and surrounded by a frame, preventing you from plugging in any stick-type streaming devices (Fire, Roku, etc.). Remote needed multiple button presses to get a response. For the lack of a decent window view, the television needs a real upgrade to 2022. The hotel does have wi-fi available. If you're a member of their rewards program (free to join), wi-fi is free, though we didn't test it out. If you're not a rewards member, the cost is a steep $16.
Overall, the look of the hotel is fun and the staff are inviting. The King Premium bathroom is what we were mainly after. But the shortcomings of nearly everything else are what tank this hotel. We're glad we had our stay, but we likely won't be back.