Tony Rivas, bellman, was fantastic!
I visited this facility for short stays two weeks consecutively. Generally speaking I will give the hotel good reviews. The hotel is clean and the beds were very comfortable. I had two experiences however, where one bellman stepped in and truly went above and beyond. The first occasion happened when they had repaved the front entrance to the hotel. I had never been there before and I had no idea where to park and or how to get into the hotel. When I arrived I had no idea of how to enter so I called the hotel, and I was told to go to the North parking garage and I could take the walkway across. It was 9:00 PM, raining, and I was from out of town so I had no idea what direction that was. I finally found the dark parking garage and the elevator. When I entered the elevator the sign said "Cross walk to hotel located on ___ floor. It didn't give me a floor. I then took the elevator to the first floor and the doors had red tape in an "X" over them. Back into the elevator I went and pressed the help button. The operator told me to go to the third floor to find the crosswalk. Wrong, it was actually on the 2nd. I FINALLY found a door to enter the hotel and by that time I was furious!! Really, should it be that much trouble just to get inside. The hotel could have texted or sent an e-mail to guests arriving that night, but they did not. The young lady at the front desk was very accomodating and offered to upgrade me to the club level. The bellman graciously offered to help me to my room, but by that time I was in the "No thanks, I would rather just do it myself mood." I found out later his name was Tony Rivas and he had come to the U.S. to escape a dangerous situation in his own country in South America. I finally relented and let Tony help me upstairs, but now it gets even funnier. You have to use your key card to access the 12th floor. Tony used his card and it took us to the 4th floor and back down again. He did again with the same results. Finally, on the 3rd try we made it to the 12th floor. My second trip exactly a week later was a little less eventful. I was at the hotel for a conference and I had had boxes shipped ahead of time. I had to wait 45 minutes for anyone to locate the boxes. I was told by 2 individuals that they were not there. Finally I spotted Tony Rivas, gave him a description of the boxes, and told him the approximate quantity. He came out with one set of boxes, but those were not mine. He returned to their storage and the 2nd time he came out with my boxes. That was two weeks in a row he had come to my rescue. Another situation happened on the 2nd day when I asked the front desk to send a bellman to the 2nd floor to help me load the boxes at the close of the event. I waited 15 minutes and no one came so I went downstairs myself, got a bellman cart, and loaded the boxes myself. Room service was fast, courteous, and the food was good too. The valet parking attendants were very courteous and helpful. Overall there is room for improvement and it appears that some of the staff really do not want to go above and beyond. I think I will try the Marriott right around the corner the next time!