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| - Here's a problem with building your mid-sized downtown business-class hotel around a third-floor courtyard that almost all the rooms face. When one guy, wearing headphones, decides to go out into said courtyard to sing at the top of his lungs, there isn't a room safe from the noise. Yes, seriously, this happened two nights/mornings out of four I stayed here, which basically turned a mostly pleasant stay into 50% of one. (The Courtyard is a nice concept, although dressing it up with plants and a bar might be nice). I'd be happier with a pool in the space, if it weren't for the fact the noise levels would go up even more...but enclosing it and putting skylights on top would have been a good idea when they were rehabbing this building. Lost opportunity.
Some other areas for improvement: the attached restaurant which provides room service closes up early and isn't even open Sundays. (The hours posted in the elevators and the room guide for the previous restaurant are inaccurate as well.) That's your bar, too, so you're SOL if you come back from a meeting after 10 on a weeknight and want a nosh or a cocktail (although you're across the street from a few joints open later, not exactly the same level of relaxation as being able to pad up to one's room directly.) The "bistro" is OK, although it's basically an order-up counter -- their quick-order breakfasts from a limited menu are actually better than Starbucks, although they're building off the Starbucks brand -- but it's not a lot of food for a $15+ breakfast if you get a basic breakfast, juice, and coffee. And they were short on a few amenities - advertised all-day Starbucks coffee in the lobby, which wasn't available, and the business center was basically a computer station without much in the way of supplies or privacy to do any work, being out in the lobby. The room WiFi did work well (except for one slow period) with only the customary login required, although as with most hotels, if they're going to give you WiFi for the duration of your stay, they shouldn't force you to reauthenticate every day.
The rooms have extra high ceilings, which is a nice plus. They also had the requisite number of outlets, although the ones by the bed were mis-installed and the chargers I plugged in fell out due to gravity. I also had a leaky toilet which had gone unaddressed for a while, by the look of the mold in the grout where the leak was. The TV also suffered from mysterious fuzz as if there was interference on the coax, and HD channels had pixelated artifacting, and there was no on-screen guide showing what shows were playing (a paged list of channels is not useful) - this seems wholly inadequate to the standards of technology. It made the TV useless. Strangely, though, I had good FM radio reception on the cheap room alarm clock, although the faceplate on that had fallen off.
Desk staff were pleasant, although they seemed just a bit under-trained in negotiating small issues, which lead to some unnecessary misunderstandings about trivia. Housekeeping kept rearranging my stuff. I know that sounds fussy, but for downtown hotel rates, I have a right to be. There was no housekeeping-waiver option, which I found odd; I've gotten that at Marriott's before recently. Just leave me my extra coffee, that's all I need on a daily basis from housekeeping. (I note I always tip the housekeeping staff, no matter what; but issues go on the hotel management, not the housekeeping staff.) And, twice I had the door knocked on while I had the Do Not Disturb sign out. I won't even bother with that one.
I'd stay again, because it's a fantastic location and if they can get that guy out of the Courtyard, it will be better sleeping, I'm sure; although this place really needs to attend to details a lot better. But this was a mediocre stay, overall.
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