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| - Hotel Arts is a pretty fancy hotel. Nice design and style, comfy racks with plenty of room to roam, art on the walls, music ranging form deep ambient techno to... classical? in the lobby, a hip swank pool in the lobby and a couple of high-end attached bars and restaurants. All the trimmings of a classic boutique hotel. Except some of the staff.
The night staff could use a refresher course on the art of smiling. The guy who checked me in, I believe his name tag read "Grumpy McSandypants" or something, definitely was not feeling it that night. You know how when you run into someone and you can't tell if they hate their job or they just hate you? Well, I had that same confusion checking in to Hotel Arts. And my making-light and offering up a smile and a joke to upgrade the situation didn't seem to help.
Other than the sullen graveyard shift, the rest of the folks working there seemed plenty nice and friendly when I engaged them with random questions from "did someone really just change the lobby music from a Jamiroquai remix to classical mid-song?" to "What's good around here?" The daytime staff, that is.
The wifi situation also leaves a little to be desired... free in the lobby but charge in the rooms? That's kind of backwards. I pay $200 to stay in a second-floor room and I have to pay $11 more to use wifi in my room but some random person can walk into the lobby, pay nothing and use wifi for free? Most boutique hotels have gotten over the antiquated notion that it's okay to charge for wifi. Arts should catch up.
Otherwise I enjoyed the soft bed, the plethora of pillows, the rad shower head, the Aveda bath products, the plush towels, and the sleek feel of the room. It's a swanky place that I would endeavor to stay at again, especially if I could find someone who's not begrudged to check me in at 11pm.
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