Really cant believe this place.

Wife and I stayed here for a work function. She told me it was a renovated 1930s era hotel that had a reputation for being in a not great neighborhood. I was expecting the worst.

First of all, it's not beautiful from the outside, but it is neat and quirky. There is a very cool neon sign over the entrance, I have no idea if it's original (I'd think not, but it's possible, neon signs date back to 1910). Parking is in an adjacent ramp that's free to guests. It was a bit of a pain to walk from the ramp to the entrance in the -30 degree temperatures (this was during that really painfully cold weather) but I imagine it wouldnt have been any better if they'd had a normal lot.

The lobby is GORGEOUS. A lot of it is original, down to the marble floors and light fixtures. The areas that have been renovated have been done true to the original decor. I was very impressed.

The elevators are probably the worst part of the hotel. They are not original, but they are very old, and small. They groaned and creaked but worked without issue.

I have stayed in 1930s area hotels and apartments before, and normally the rooms are very tiny, so again, I was expecting the worst. The rooms are huge and beautiful. Normally fancy hotels have nice lobbies and plain rooms. These rooms have tray ceilings, recessed lighting, etc. Did I mention our room was huge? The bathroom WAS small, pretty sure my elbow was in the sink when I was on the toilet. And the wiring, probably some of it being original, is weird. There's one master switch that turns off ALL the lights and outlets in the room. It took us a while to figure out that there were other light switches and we could turn off the room lights and still have the TV/outlets/bathroom lights on.

Every staff member I interacted with (mostly the night staff as I was working until very late) was very friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. My wife's work events were during the day and she said she encountered a few less than helpful staff members. I asked one of the people that had been helpful to me about it. She said, unlike most hotels, The Ambassador puts their best people on the night shift, since the staff is very limited at night and one person has to be able to handle a lot of things. Smart move. I cant tell you how many unhelpful people I've found at other hotels on the night shift.

We got a group rate through the work event which was very reasonable. Looking online, the rates through websites range from $55-120, with most being around $99. Well worth it.

We would definitely stay here again.