Stayed here for 1 night while in Charlotte on business:
Pros:
- Cool building, brand new
- Nicely furnished
- Good bar set up
- Easy parking (valet or parking deck next door)
- Convenient to Uptown restaurants/bars (but may border on dangerous area)
Cons:
- Borderline customer service from the front desk
- Sketchy area
I was really looking forward to staying here due to its location and also that it had a unique design. Upon checking in I was told that due to being fully booked I had been "downgraded" to a room with 2 queen beds vs. a room with a king bed that I had reserved a month prior. Not the end of the world, but the message could have delivered better and they could have offered something in return (a drink at the bar would have been a nice gesture). Other interactions with the front desk were just okay. They could use some customer service training. So minus 1 star there.
Minus 2 stars for the location. There is a transit station across the street and I noticed a lot of people loitering. No big deal in and of itself. Charlotte is a big city. However some people may not be comfortable walking through that area. But from my walk (in daylight) from the hotel to the Uptown restaurant area, I passed at least 6 ARMED security guards outside various business within 2 blocks. Once I reached a certain point in Uptown, no more security guards. Hmmmmmmm. Upon returning, l had to walk past a potential police situation to get to the hotel. It was going down less than 50 ft. from the hotel lobby. Basically some teenage (15-18 years old) kids were yelling and trying to intimidate people on the sidewalk. Cops showed up, 6 of them - THANK YOU MEN AND WOMEN IN BLUE. The cops were very calm as the punks tried to escalate the situation. People going in and out of the hotel were very uncomfortable and it was a fairly volatile situation for 15 minutes or so. Obviously the hotel has no control over what goes on in the streets around them, so it's not their fault but...
Bottom line is you will more than likely be totally safe if you don't walk alone at night around the hotel...typical big city advice. However, there are a lot of other hotels in different parts of Uptown that are safer and where I wouldn't think twice about walking around by myself at night. And that's where I'll be staying in the future.