TOB2911
Google
Quite a mixed bag. ||The good: ||charming as hell. The 22 themed rooms (named for historical guests who all stayed here, like Annie Oakley, Sitting Bull, and Bill Hickok) are a brilliant idea. The location is good, not great for downtown walking, especially in October when I visited. But just a five minute drive. ||The lobby smelled great from some fragrant candle they were burning, and there are two fireplaces and many cozy leather couches and chairs to hang out in. Historical photos and objects are everywhere. The common spaces are great. ||There are free custom chocolates waiting for you, very unexpected at this price, and my room, among the cheapest, was very spacious. My room had a nice desk area and a big leather arm chair and ottoman facing the bed. ||The bathroom was a particular plus, with a big clawfoot tub, and a wealth of high quality toiletries that far exceeds most hotels at this level. Towels are very soft, and not at all crunchy. ||The restaurant and bar (a gift to Buffalo Bill from Queen Victoria herself) are charming and the food passable. Bartender was very friendly and knowledgeable. The hotel desk staff that I encountered are actually American (rare enough these days) and very friendly. ||The bed was very comfortable, and the bedding is contemporary and fresh seeming. No gross polyester bedspread to have to toss in the corner by fingertips. ||The bad:||The lighting is a problem. There aren’t many lights, and they’re all about 20w yellow bulbs, and the windows are small, meaning the rooms are dark. Tough if you have to get any work done. ||I like that my Wild Bill room had a couple pictures of him, but they were sparse, and left the long shotgun walls mostly bare and cold. The other decor is western themed, but of the cheap, made in India/built from scrap lumber sort. Pure pastiche, and thin at that. ||There’s no gym, no mini frig (a problem for us road trippers carrying food), and no TV at all. Kind of liked that, but still not ideal for most people. ||The ugly:||my God, the noise. The trains that shake the whole building all night long bothered me less than the fact I could hear every footstep and every door slam seemingly in the entire hotel, upstairs and down. I was saved by staying out of season so the activity was relatively modest. But my whole bed shook from a group of people walking down the hall, UPSTAIRS.||The windows are single paned and I could hear every car from blocks around. And the hotel is on the corner of a main artery. I was woken up several times through the night by all of these things. I’m afraid this alone might keep me from ever returning. But if I do I’ll ask to be on the SW corner, furthest from the train and the road. And the restaurant. ||I went to bed around 9pm, and my room suddenly filled with the powerful smell of what I can only describe as a very garlicky pizza, as if an oven was venting directly into my room. I literally made my nose burn and my eyes water. It lasted an hour (about when the restaurant closed, which was just below my room) and then went away. ||Charming, but I’m leaving more sleep deprived than any hotel stay ever. A shame, because it’s close to being a real bargain. But you can’t call not sleeping a deal.