21c Museum Hotel Louisville — Attraction in Louisville

My friend and I were guests of 21C hotel in which Proof on Main is located. Immediately upon arriving at the restaurant, we were greeted with staff and a bartender exhibiting extremely rude behavior. They were unwilling to be of assistance as we were hoping to have a few appetizers and drinks before heading to dinner. When asking for a menu, we were handed a small square piece of paper containing a bar code and told to scan it, “if you don’t like it, you can talk to a Manager.”

When asked for a bourbon menu, we were told they didn’t have one, but to “look on the shelves.” Being in bourbon country and considering they had what appeared to be over 200 bottle available, simply looking on the shelf didn’t seem like a prudent endeavor.

When pressed further about why the staff seemed unwilling to serve me and my friend, we were promptly asked to leave by the Manager, without cause or provocation. We then the front desk agent to speak with the GM, whom was not available and we offered a chance to speak to the MOD (Manager of Duty). Great we thought, only to be greeted by the very Manager from Proof in Main that had just demanded we leave the restaurant.

Note: this occurred at approximately 5:50pm on a Thursday and the bar / restaurant was practically empty During a time when 95% of all Louisville businesses are closed or boarded up, one would think a restaurant would happily welcome paying customers.

The experience got worse when we attempted to return the following night (Friday), hoping for a better encounter. We were met at the hostess stand and immediately advised “we aren’t allowed to serve you” by the young female hostess. A male Manager then approached us and after tying to have a conversation with him, he sternly stated, “we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone and right now we are refusing service to you. Get out of the restaurant now.”

It was apparent the hotel, which was understaffed (we saw 2 hotel employees total), and restaurant collectively, did not want our business. It became apparent, the restaurant staff and Management Team became triggered by the “Keep America Great” hat me and my friend we were wearing.

We then returned to our room, made a reservation at the Galt house hotel and began packing our belongings. We then had a knock at our door and upon opening the door, I was greeted by 2 Louisville Police Officers in Riot gear. They stated the hotel reported me and my friend to them for damaging the hotel. This was at 7pm on a Friday night and we suggested to the Officers they verify the inaccurate claims by reviewing hotel surveillance. The Officers were polite, told us to have a good evening and we promptly departed the property.

I would never recommend this place, not 21c hotel, and wouldn’t return if they gave me free dinner and drinks for life. The lack of customer service and downright nastiness is something I’ve never...

We were visiting family over the weekend and chose 21c for our hotel as the rates were reasonable and we'd always been curious about the hotel as ex-pat Louisvillians now living in North Carolina. The Iron District is so much fun to be in and brings back great memories. Being so close to the river with, depending on your location on the grounds or where your room is, a nice view of the river is an added bonus. The room, with one exception, was absolutely fabulous. Very comfortable beds, lovely decor, wonderful bathroom. The front desk staff, the housekeeping staff, the valet staff without exception were pleasant, polite, friendly, and super helpful. The hotel, including our room, was very clean and appealing. Of course, the main attraction was the galleries and we spent a good bit of time exploring the main level gallery and, when it was open on Sunday, the ground floor galleries. Absolutely LOVED the installation, though it was necessarily depressing, given the subject matter (humans ravaging the earth).

The one exception, which actually proved the rule, involved our neighbors on the 4th floor who were quite loud. We let it slide on Friday night and I don't think it affected our sleep much at all. But on Saturday, arriving back at the hotel at about 10:00 p.m., they were at it again and by midnight, when we were ready to go to sleep, showing no signs of letting up. We called the front desk and explained the situation and they promptly sent someone up who we could hear talking to the neighbors in a friendly, respectful way, asking them to be considerate since it was after midnight. I wouldn't say they complied 100% but they toned it down enough that with earplugs, we were able to sleep.

The next morning, as I was going out for some coffee, I opened the door to the hall and there was, on a piece of hotel notepad paper, a crudely-drawn (6 finger!) hand flipping the bird. We dropped it off at the front desk and, again, explained what had happened. The young woman at the desk was aghast at this juvenile behavior and offered to move us, or to even move them. That was nice, but not necessary even though we were all still staying one more night. We really appreciate that they took it seriously, made note of it, and I've no doubt were ready to step back into the fray if necessary. They really seemed to care about the effect this rudeness might have had on our stay and their concern really offset that unpleasantness.

Finally, we shared a meal with my brother and his GF at Proof and it was fantastic. The server was totally on top of her game and the food was wonderful, as were the...

All of the gentleman working valet/entry were exceptionally well mannered, hospitable, polite and accommodating. I expected great things from 21C given the level of service these gentleman provided only to be woefully let down once I interacted with the individuals at the reception desk. The bed linens, larger bath towels, toiletries, and overall aesthetic of the lobby/"gallery" were exceptional. Location is ideal for anyone staying in Louisville with obvious ease of access to downtown as well as convenient access to 264, 64, and 65. However, Gone are the days of above and beyond customer service, especially at hotels, especially at this 21C. The individuals at the reception desk have an attitude of indifference and haughtiness. We decided to stay at this 21C as we were attending our good friends wedding in Louisville and the location is really great and was close to all of the venues we would need to get to. I had called ahead of time to ask if we would be able to secure a few extra chairs for the room as the groom and his father and brother would be getting ready in our room prior to the ceremony. I was told that it was too far in advance to facilitate such requests and I would need to call closer to the date of stay, which made sense and was fine. When we checked in, the receptionist was cold. Basically think of any antonym of hospitality that one could find in a thesaurus and you would be able to get a good idea of the overall attitude of almost all of the individuals working behind the receptionist desk. Exceptions to this were the one individual who helped my husband secure the needed two additional chairs for our room on Saturday and the phone customer service lady who helped me get a hold of the front desk when we had to call on Monday as to lost items (after being hung up on twice after being connected through to the front desk). Notwithstanding the terrible attitudes and general disdain for hospitality exhibited at reception, perhaps the biggest issue with our stay was the absolutely paper thin walls in the rooms. Over the weekend we were able to hear everything, and I mean everything from the adjacent rooms, including private telephone conversations, a crying infant, hair dryers, televisions and of course, sounds of intimacy. I would have expected that a hotel at this price point and at the level of "refined comfort" promised by the 21C brand, would have put more thought into noise cancelling...