Virgin Hotels Dallas — Hotel in Dallas

Disappointing Stay for Birthday and Holiday Weekend

Dear Virgin Hotel Dallas Management,

My husband and I recently booked a two-day staycation at your hotel to celebrate my birthday and the 4th of July holiday weekend. Unfortunately, our experience was far from satisfactory.

Upon arrival, we waited in our car for five minutes at valet due to rain and the lack of greeting from the staff. My husband eventually had to get out to check in, which went smoothly. The front desk attendants were very pleasant. The valet attendants finally came to our car and collected our belongings, and I appreciated being greeted with an umbrella. The doorman escorted us to our room, which was a nice touch. Our queen bedroom was clean, although I noticed clear streaks on the toilet, and the bathroom and shower were smaller than expected. I did appreciate the lighting and fully stocked bar and snacks.

We had high hopes for our dinner at Commons Club, your on-site restaurant, with our 10 PM reservation. Although the host greeted me warmly with a “Happy Birthday” and honored our booth request, the experience quickly deteriorated due to our waitress. She was not warm, frequently forgot our requests, and was unapologetic. For example, she brought a straw for my club soda only after it had gone flat and forgot the napkins. Additionally, she never brought the fries I ordered and didn’t acknowledge the mistake. The red snapper I ordered was chewy and lacked flavor, and the non-alcoholic beverage was unimpressive for its $18 price tag. I was a bit disappointed with the lack of menu items and that they didn't have anything special to celebrate their guests birthday like most high end hotel restaurants I have been. Disappointed, we asked for the check without ordering dessert, as the overall experience had been soured.

Day two held promise as we booked a cabana and day beds, expecting a pleasant experience with my siblings joining us. While our waiter, Sam, was excellent—attentive, friendly, and professional—the treatment of my family upon their arrival was upsetting. They were interrogated and made to feel unwelcome until it was confirmed they were under our reservation. We told the staff my family would be joining in advance but the two girls who were working the front was very rude to them. Additionally, despite initially being told we could use the cabana curtains to block the sun, the security guard who was watching us immediately came over and told us that we had to keep it open, only for the manager to later apologize and allow it. This incident left a sour taste. The mirror at the cabana had streaks all over it and the furniture could have used some cleaning. I just didn't get the luxury feel, especially for the $400+ price tag. We planned on buying the cute hotel merchandise but after that experience we decided not to.

Additionally, the food we ordered to meet the minimum was extremely salty, and the quesadilla was greasy, despite its potential. I also didn’t appreciate that as we were leaving, the host didn’t say goodbye or thank you. Also when arriving back to our room we noticed there was no replacement of complementary water. We had to call the front desk from our personal phone because in room phone was not working properly.

Given our experiences, we decided to dine elsewhere for our remaining night. We were looking forward to using our $25 voucher for commons club but due to our experience, we didn't want to take a chance. Also, we had to ask the front desk for the voucher, as it wasn't given to us at check in. Overall, the lack of consistent service and disappointing dining experiences at the Virgin Hotel Dallas overshadowed the few positive interactions we had.

Thank you for your attention to these matters. We hope our feedback will help improve the experience for future...

This place had so much potential, but it was ultimately a let-down.

First and foremost, the staff are top-notch, friendly, helpful. No complaints there.

Rooms and decor is a swanky 60s feeling mid century setup. It's definitely a plus one on style. The mattress in my basic king room was nice. Linens were clean. The shower is amazing and I want one at home. I really liked the toiletries. The pool and gym area were nice, although confusingly laid out with multiple "clubs." I never figured out if I had access to. That had potential for sure. Adequate outlets in the room, and that may be a first! I dig the light switches even though it took a minute to figure out.

Now on to the bad - and there's a list. Our bathroom floor was dirty. I thought it was discolored, but I was able to clean it with a simple wipe. Gross and unacceptable in a hotel at all, let alone at this price point. Further confirmed when cleaning staff came and actually cleaned the floor. I get things end up getting missed, but I'm adding it here because it piled up rather quickly.

They should be embarrassed by the quality of toilet paper they offer. I've never seen anything so thin and forget if it gets wet. No bidet either, so ladies prepare to need a shower after every use of the toilet paper.

The refrigerator was packed to the brim with the garbage they're trying to get you to buy. Unusable if you need refrigeration at all. I had to spend 5 minutes emptying the fridge so I could put my own drinks in. One or two items? Cool. Not leaving room for my stuff? Uncool.

$50 a night for the guest valet is robbery and that's all I have to say about that.

There's no store I could find, and I looked. First hotel I can remember without one. No Walgreens or any equivalent nearby to make up for it either. Come prepared or prepare to drive or Uber for sundries.

They do dumb things like call ice "rocks" on the sign telling you where stuff is. I get it, but don't be cute with directions. Be clear. Legit thought this hotel HAD no ice until curiosity got the better part of me.

The coffee service in the room sucked. Literally, every hotel I've stayed in for years now has had a Keurig machine. I make it a point to pack a few of my favorite pods every time I travel. Nope. Not here. Some tea-bag style coffee singles that were, again, of an embarrassingly low quality. I'd expect this in a Motel 6, but I'm pretty sure the last time I stayed in one of those, they had a Keurig.

The desk is the size of a postage stamp. I get that not everyone is a business user, but they should be accounted for better than "nowhere in my room to comfortably open a laptop and work."

Only two microscopic towels that a single person couldn't dry themselves off with both. There was room for 8 towels in the storage area, but I guess that would've destroyed the looks or something? I ended up jacking a stack from the pool so I didn't have to drip dry for an hour.

Look, I get it. This place has a vibe, and they lean into that vibe hard. On another person, it might work, but its charms were ultimately lost on me. I'd prefer a more vanilla style and actual amenities I can use to swanky style and cutesy rat pack slang on the signs. It's not bad by any means, but for me, at this price point, you could do MUCH better. I am comparing this to a Hyatt Regency I stayed in a couple of weeks ago. It was equally stylish. My room was far more spacious and usable with a balcony, and it was in the financial district of San Francisco. They had a store. And signs that said "ice". And a Keurig. Somehow, that far superior experience in a nicer part of a far more expensive city was about the same price as my stay here.

You can do better. But yeah it's got...

We stayed at Virgin Dallas on a Wednesday night because it was close to where our daughter lives. I joined their membership club, "In the Know," after booking. When we arrived, the front desk guy who checked us in was super friendly and helpful (didn't catch his name, but he is an Aggie). He told us we were upgraded to a pool view room because we were "In the Know." Not sure what a regular room looks like, but I'm assuming this was an upgrade because it was a corner room, very spacious, not so much because we could look down on the pool four stories below. The room had a great layout with a sliding door between the bedroom and the bathroom areas. There are closets on either side of the double sinks that have a motion-detected light. On the opposite wall is a shower behind one door and the toilet room behind another. In between was a lighted vanity with a rolling chair, along with a standalone magnifying mirror. They also have a yoga mat and umbrella available in the room.

Part of their "In the Know" club was being able to have free drinks during their Spirit Hour, a nice extra. My birthday was three days before our stay, so I was surprised to find a birthday cake with truffles and macarons along with a card waiting in the room for us. Everything was delicious.

Now the issues:

We were told that the pool area closed down at sunset, but a DJ was playing in the pool bar and blasting the music out to the pool area which reverberated in our room. My husband called the front desk to complain. A few minutes later, we received a callback saying the DJ had stopped the music in the pool area (which helped some), but he would play until 10 p.m. It did stop a few minutes after 10 p.m., but if you want peace and quiet, I would stay away from a room on the poolside.

There are 23 different buttons throughout the room that control the lights, yes, 23! It was difficult to find which button controlled which light. Seems like this could have been more intuitive.

Minor issue, but the faucet handles turned on clockwise and off counter-clockwise. I kept turning the water up when I thought I was turning it off.

We had very little water pressure in the sink faucets. We did tell the guy at the front desk when we were checking out, and he said others had told him the same thing. He was reporting it to their engineering department.

They have a mini-bar fridge in the room, but there is no room if you store a doggie bag from a restaurant. They have lots of alcohol and snacks available for purchase in the room if that's your thing.

There is only one small ice machine per floor, and it isn't the kind that makes its own ice. When we went to get ice in the morning, it was completely empty.

My husband likes to sleep in a cooler room, but even though he turned down the thermostat, it never felt cooler.

So, overall, clean and comfortable room, friendly staff, and nice membership perks. Definitely trends younger and hip. They also offer a discount for Texas residents which was nice. Just a few issues kept it from being a five-star review. Just fyi, the valet parking was $45 per night, but there is a self-park lot just a few steps away that costs $25 for 24 hours,...