Location and service help, but over all a dissapointment
Stayed last weekend for my birthday, it was ok. The hotel is old, but some of the common areas are well kept (lobby and check in). Our room however, which was on the executive floor, was showing it's age ten fold. Marks on the walls, sink and floors, cracking plaster and peeling wall paper. Cramped space and no counters at all in the bathroom. Outdated decorating in the rooms and executive lounge. Then there is that everything at the Palmer House costs extra, even a mini-fridge so be prepared to pay for anything more then the bed.
The executive floor elevators were fast, but the lounge was so packed that you could not move or sit - a real dissapointment. We stay at Hilton's on a regular basis and always book the executive floor so we get free wifi and other services. It was not worth it here. The private check-in had no staff, the lounge was so packed you could not move and had to wait in line for 30 minutes for "snacks", "adult" beverages were not included (like they usually are at other executive floor Hilton's), the rooms on the floor were small and had no "extras" included. All of that we would have been ok with but the fact that there was no free wifi at the executive lounge, was too much. This is a staple of why we book and for it to be a charge in rooms and even in the lounge is a real miss. 
I booked a spa appointment, which was an easy process and my massage was wonderful. However again a dissapointment that there was no real place to go and relax, the waiting area was the spa lobby chairs, of which there were 6 and they were all full with people waiting. The spa lobby was right out in the open so you heard all the noise from the meeting rooms and saw everyone walking by. With a hotel/spa of this level I expect a locker room/lounge area and was sad that they did not invest in one.
Potter's was a great place to have a drink, overall the service at Potter's and every place else was really top notch, that saved the trip in my book.