The Junto — Hotel in Columbus

DANGEROUS FOR WOMEN Last night at Junto Hotel in Columbus, my friend and I experienced one of the scariest situations I’ve ever been in.

We called the elevator, and two men were already inside. They were going to floor 8 asked what floor we were going to and then pressed 5 themselves.

Neither of them used a key card to scan the elevator- which the elevators are supposed to be equipped with. One of the men then said to the other “Actually, I’m getting off on 5,” and the other said, “I’ll hold the hotel room open for you.”

When the doors opened at 5, we refused to get off. One man stepped out, while the second insisted, “This is your floor,” we said we’re going to 7 and then watched him pull out his phone, opened his messages, and began typing.

We got off at 7 while he continued up. My friend suggested the stairs, fearing they were coordinating via text, I worried one of them might be waiting.

Moments later, the SAME elevator we had just been on came back down immediately and a man exited and started walking the floor. We hid pressed up to another elevator, called 911, and hid while we heard someone walking around our floor.

When I called 911, the dispatcher told me I had to speak louder although I was pleaing “ I am in danger I am at the Junto Hotel they are looking for me and I’m hiding”

911 asked why I didn’t call the front desk multiple times as I’m still hiding while the man is walking around the floor. I do not know the front desks number but I know how to call 911

An elevator finally came and thank god the second man was not in it. We closed the door as quick as possible went to the front desk who was very rude and dismissive.

A couple minutes later the police came. Police and, staff moved us to another room—only one floor away from where this happened. The front desk was dismissive, minimizing what we went through. When the police arrived, I told them the entire story, assuming they were taking a report.

They escorted us to the new room and then left. I told the police and hotel staff I did not feel safe staying there and when I asked if they were just leaving, they said no—they were going downstairs to get information on the suspects. But just a couple minutes later, the front desk called to ask if I was okay (I was not) and told me the police had already left.

That’s when I realized no official report had been filed. The officers never asked for my ID or phone number. My friend called family to pick us up and we got out of that hotel immediately. Even though there was no imminent threat there was no attempt to locate these men, no one looked at the video cameras. Nothing. I didn’t even get an email from management until I reached out to them. And they apologized that I felt “uncomfortable”

The most alarming part: this elevator at Junto did not require key card access, (when the others do) meaning anyone could go directly to the guest floors and wander freely. This is a major safety risk and should never happen in a hotel.

I did not feel safe, I was not treated with urgency or empathy, and I will never...

TLDR: Beautiful hotel, reasonably well maintained, some amazing staff, and some terrible staff. Would recommend the Junto, as long as you can avoid Angel (rude front desk lady) and the extremely out of touch hostess at the Little West Tavern.

The Junto holds a special place in my wife and I’s heart. I proposed to my wife on the terrace of one of their suites July 2023 when they first opened. I coordinated everything with Mikayla Bisson, and she went above and beyond to make the day as wonderful as I envisioned. From a discreet check-in upon arrival (making sure to keep the surprise!), to a clean and overall beautiful, luxe room, a champagne toast ready at the rooftop bar (Brass Eye), and an overall welcoming and kind demeanor from all staff. As we left the next day, we began planning our next visit to the hotel..our wedding night. It came! And we stayed this past weekend. We pre-booked our stay 6 months in advance. Knowing we would arrive late in the evening, we called ahead to request a late check-in. It took multiple phone calls to get “approved” for a late check-in, thanks to Angel, the less than pleasant desk attendant. Eventually, this was resolved by a friendly gentleman who answered our 3rd call. Alas, we arrived, still in our wedding gowns, and Angel was manning the front desk. We were told to wait at the adjacent tables until our turn. No problem, not the issue. The issue was when she finished helping the guest in front of us, she began helping a new guest that had just walked up without acknowledging us at all. My wife proceeded to approach the desk, and Angel rolled her eyes and reluctantly agreed to finish our check in. The check-process was another issue (yet to be resolved), but we got our room. The next morning, we come to find out our room did not have the amenities that we were expecting (bath tub) or basic requests (hot water). We approached the front desk, and requested to switch rooms, if available. After 3 follow ups in a time frame of 4-5 hours, no response. Not until the TRUE angel, Julia, came to our rescue. She got us the Terrace room where I proposed, and she genuinely worked to make our stay magical. The Junto needs more Julias. Also want to shout out other amazing staff we came across: all bartenders (shoutout to Joey), all valet attendants (shoutout Kieran), friendly front desk gentleman (Anthony maybe?). Also, quick call out to the evening hostess at Little West Tavern…While waiting for our desserts, I mentioned how excited I was to be back at the Junto because I proposed to my now wife here on the Terrace. Her response? “Well that’s a choice” sarcastic tone. Even without the tone, I don’t know how that comment would be taken positively. Overall, very offended. Overall, our view would be this; Beautiful Hotel, Mixed Customer Service, but if you find the gems of the Junto, your stay will be memorable. We plan to come back for our next special occasion, especially now that we know who to ask for and...

My husband and I visited Junto this weekend and had a great time from the start of our stay until the end. Our room was exactly as pictured online when booking and was a nice corner location from which we could see part of the COSI park grounds. Our room was clean, comfortable, and pretty quiet. There was a small amount of audible street noise and the fire alarm went off a couple of times Monday morning, but this seemed to be an outlying issue. We were offered a later checkout for the interruption, but noon was late enough as it were. The bed was on the firm side but not uncomfortably-so. No issues with water pressure or temperature at all. The large soaking tub filled quite quickly and was both a great depth and length for me. The shower was large as well. HVAC system for our room worked perfectly.

Parking was easy-peasy and we used street parking (free on Sundays) for our entire stay, without ever needing to drive anywhere.

We visited the COSI on Sunday and had a great visit! Fun and interesting for adults and kids. We did not get to utilize the gear garage but it looked like it had lots of neat things in it.

We had multiple meals at the Brass Eye (2) and Little West Tavern (2) and were pleased with each experience. We were a little disappointed when we returned from an event late on Saturday night and went back to the Brass Eye for 2nd dinner and were informed their kitchen was closing at 11:15 pm; we made it work but did feel a bit rushed to order. We went earlier in the evening and had been told the kitchen was open until midnight, so we were surprised to learn otherwise and would have adjusted our expectations/plans if we'd known differently. The food we did have was really good.

Maudine's is a fantastic touch to the location and a real gem. I really appreciated not being beholden to Starbucks for delicious crafted coffees while on vacation. The Trade Room was constantly bustling. Seems like a really great hangout and community center.

Special shoutout to Anthony, whom we saw each day and took an interest in ensuring our experience...