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| - I really wanted to like this place. Great reviews and a renovated priory--what a great idea! The pictures on the website are beautiful.
We found a grumpy old man at the front desk, and he could not have been less interested in our arrival. It felt like we were disturbing him to ask for our room key. But the fun started when we returned later in the evening. We found the rollaway we had requested (and paid for) not present, and I went back down to the old gentleman. He stared at me and then went back to pecking at his computer. I waited. Suddenly he looked up at me and started yelling, something to the effect that there wasn't anything that he could do, and that he would see if someone could do something but probably not. He also angrily admitted that the reservation did show the rollaway.
I slunk away with my guest who had by now come down, too, embarrassed and insulted. It shouldn't be this way. If this is personalized service, I'd rather stay at a motel.
Even without grumpy old man, there's nothing special about this place. The rooms were ok, but the bathrooms tiny (I guess they should be called showerrooms). Everything else was sub-par. The dining room breakfast was served in was tacky and the coffee awful. We did not dare try the free wine. The hotel is in a bad neighborhood.
For the money, find a special at the William Penn on the Omni Hotels website. If you want a boutique hotel, try the Inn on the Mexican War Streets--a beautiful building with friendly owners just across from the National Aviary and that beautiful park. The Priory does not feel boutique and is not worth the hassle.
Priory, get grumpy old man out of a customer-facing role.
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