Don't Be Fooled!
Beware - We (my wife and I) were unaware this was/is a "pet friendly" hotel. We are not pet owners. On our very 1st day, after checking in, we entered the elevator in the Lobby to go up to our 6th floor room (612)wherein the elevator stopped on the 2nd floor and a man got on with a dog who jumped on my wife then proceeded to lick my bare leg (We were wearing shorts). Later that afternoon, we took the elevator to the roof top pool on the 7th floor. Upon exiting we see another pet owner with a dog wiping up urine with a pool towel in the hallway. WTF? Then later in the week, while having breakfast in the lobby, we see another pet owner perusing the offerings in the dining area (at the buffet) with a dog in her hand. Again, WTF? As you may have already discerned, we're not "dog people." That said, had we known this was a "pet friendly" hotel, we wouldn't have stayed there. Lesson learned - our bad! Moving on. The 2 elevators in this hotel are extremely small and are the slowest elevators on the planet. It literally took less time to walk down 6 flights of stairs than to wait on/for the elevator. Again, moving on. We planned this vacation in mid-May hoping to avoid an onslaught of unruly school kids; however, the hotel was inundated with school kids. They would show-up at the free breakfast buffet without shoes, half dressed, cell phones in-hand, butting in-line and generally wreaking havoc. Again, moving on. We ask for directions at the front desk, only to be sent in the wrong direction, twice. Later, we asked if they had a concierge only to be told by 3 young ladies at the front desk that they were "all concierges." Ask about getting tickets to see Loretta Lynn at a local theatre and was told: " We can give you the phone number for Ticket Master." Wow! Not what we were expecting. Again, moving on. Since we booked this vacation through Hotels.com, we were relegated to a room on the 6th foor right next to the elevator with no view. This was a nightmare. Noise all night long and into the wee hours of the morning. Remember the aforementioned school kids? In addition, for the 1st 2 nights, we had no hot water in the bathroon sink, albeit the shower hot water was adequate. We went to the pool all 4 days we were there wherein there were no pool towels twice. In addition, the pool area was littered with cigarette butts and paper cups. Not sure if smoking was allowed; however, there were no ashtrays anywhere in that area. In addition, signage on a wall indicated "no glass" in the pool area but people were actually in the pool as well as the surrounding area with beer bottles and other forms of glassware. No big deal, just saying... Now, the good news. Location of this hotel is really good in relationship to the River Walk; the "free" breakfast buffet and Happy Hour offerings are more than adequate; and the hard working people (maid service) who make-up your room do an outstanding job! That said, I would never stay at this hotel again and would not recommend it to anyone use to the requisite customer service normally afforded vacationers and business travelers, unless they were die-hard pet lovers who can't be separated from their dogs. In closing, I tried to locate the Manager several times ( a Mr. Oscar J. Cepada) but he was never available when I was... CAVEAT EMPTOR!