W Dallas — Hotel in Dallas

It was an exceptionally disappointing hotel experience. I’m pretty easy to please when it comes to downtown hotels - a comfy bed, a view out the window that isn’t a brick wall, being otherwise uneventful...and typically I’m happy. I usually love stays in downtown city hotels. But this experience was one thing after another that went poorly and I would never return.

First of all, the room. I’m not sure who thought their design was really cool and edgy, but it is a terribly inconvenient design for a hotel guest. There is a curtain partition between the bedroom area and the bathroom, rather than any door. It is strange and provides basically no bathroom privacy. Without a shower door, we kept soaking the floor right outside the shower (despite trying to be careful not to), and then blasted through our towels trying to dry it up. Without a shower door or curtain, showers felt super cold...and then on top of that, the water kept getting cooler through the shower and we had to keep cranking up the heat of the water. If it wasn’t enough that we kept wasting towels trying to mop up water, our room was never serviced in the THREE nights we were there. We had not enrolled in the “no service” thing they offer, because we were exceptionally busy with wedding party preparation and didn’t have a chance to call to request service during the mornings....but we shouldn’t have needed to. The first morning we thought it was a little weird, but after that we realized the service was just that poor. Then without a bathroom wall, outlets were few and far between and half of them didn’t work in our room. I never used a hair dryer, but other guests complained they had to hunch down to the floor to use the hairdryer because of the outlet situation and another said their room’s hair dryer was working at less than half the drying strength you would expect from a hotel room hair dryer (that bar is already set low!). Next there were minimal places to set up a suitcase at a high enough level to provide easy access. There was one small surface meant for suitcases, but it was this weird and totally non-functional furniture. The lighting was too dim and the switches were confusing as every single one was different and some needed a master switch on, others turned on nothing. I heard from a lot of guests that they were having serious problems with too dim of lighting. The furniture was just weird. We were not all about the blingy handles and the animal skin prints.

My least favorite part...there were labels all over about additional things we could purchase - $5 water bottle...and a $5 laundry bag?! I get it with the mini bar...that’s fine. But this was excessive and I felt nervous to touch anything out of fear we would be using something with an additional charge, and i already felt like this was in no way worth the hundreds we were paying per night. Then a WiFi charge? Even cheap hotels offer free WiFi. That’s just a scam at this hotel. And we needed to print a document, which cost $7 or $8 per 15 minutes at the computer in addition to around $1.50 charge to print a page. Like I got surprised they weren’t charging per square of toilet paper or per breath of air I took in.

Then the food...breakfast for one costs $27 for mediocre food. In the bar one afternoon, I ordered duck tacos from the bar, but instead got the Mediterranean plate. I pointed this out nicely to the bartender, who apologized but then just kind of stared at me. I told him we were in a hurry (it had already taken 15 min to get a cold plate of food while the bar was quiet), so he basically shrugged and walked away. Then brought us the bill for the dish we never ordered plus our two glasses of sparkling water that cost $4 each...?! I would rather they charge a few extra dollars per night for the room and not make me pay crazy rates for every tiny little thing. Water should be cheap. Provide some sort of compensation when your service screws up. It made the entire experience feel cheapened (despite the fact that it required paying more and more). We spent over $800 at the hotel for the weekend and I wouldn’t value it for any more than $200.

Another thing...the elevators were a pain in the butt. It was hard to get it to take our floor with our room card. You have to touch your card to a pad, then select your floor. It only intermittently works. Sometimes it took multiple tries swiping the card and pushing the button fast enough. There were 3 elevators but you had to push different buttons to call them because they weren’t all on the same system.

They were not very well equipped for a wedding. The elevators got even weirder here. We had the wedding ceremony on the second floor, and then the reception on the 33rd floor. So people had to take an elevator down from the first floor to walk around to another set of elevators to take to the 33rd. This was poorly designed. Also, they didn’t tell us the rooms for the wedding until the day before or day of. They set the bride up in a room to get ready that had a wall of windows (you do realize people have to get dressed when prepping for a wedding, right??), absolutely no where to hang dresses, and no trash can (I wandered around and found one myself). It seemed as if they had never hosted events...these are basics! Like I said, super disappointing.

The only redeeming quality were the little swings out front.

I will not ever return to this hotel and I will recommend everyone I know to...

Just returned from a 6 day stay at the W Victory. Here’s the short version:||- Staff was respectful|- Valet was great|- Location is best thing about hotel if you’re downtown focused|- Hotel is going through renovation it desperately needs|- Would not stay here unless discounted rate applies|- Considered staying another night @ discounted rate||Reached out to hotel a week before stay. Coming into town for convention and getaway. Manager and I exchanged pleasantries and I was assured that although a reno was underway she’d help to make our stay enjoyable. Did not hear from her again until checkout when inquiring about extending stay (she did offer us an appreciation gift at that time). No worries…she was out on vacay and we completely understood. ||Upon check in I inquired about an upgrade. Was offered one level up from Fabulous to Spectacular. Didn’t seem like a big difference on website but it was. The additional space proved itself to be a game changer for our stay. Didn’t feel cramped and that was most appreciated. Valet (shout out LA) pulled double duty and got our bags (7 total) to the room and made us feel welcome. Please note that construction has the lobby somewhat restricted for space but it wasn’t terrible.||Room, hallways, elevator all have the obvious signs of an older hotel. Hallways were warm and we assumed the A/C was limited due to construction. Room cooled off nicely although it wouldn’t get that hotel freeze we’re used to when dropping thermostat. Bathroom counter space was lacking but was functional. Layout of room non traditional (check website) but it worked. Room service was limited due to renovations, but they did say it would be an additional $6 service charge for a limited menu with delivery delays due to short staff. Oh yeah, the hotel is understaffed but hiring. Saw a couple of applicants filling out applications when checking in. Kinda surprised this was done out in open in a smallish lobby but whatever it takes to get this place rolling again I’m all for😂||The location is what made the stay. Lots of eating options, both quick and dine in. Starbucks, Chipotle, late night deserts, dry cleaners, CVS all within 3 mins from your room door. Easy to get to convention center….took 5 mins. Sometimes less depending on the lights. Great restaurant options nearby - The Henry, Yardbirds, Perry’s to name a few. Didn’t get caught in convention center madness - traffic (both car and foot), lack of convenient food options and Uber aggression. Valet folks were great as they kept my car at the front of hotel during the day because of all the running back and forth I was doing to ferry my wife between convention events all around downtown. Can’t stress how much easier this made my 6 day stay. Valet staff were the stars of my stay - bags, keys, suggestions, encouragement🤣. All appreciated.||I caught a discounted rate due to length of stay that was basically 50% off. I would not stay here for the full advertised rate or anything close to it. At that rate there are FAR better options within 5-10 mins that are not in a current state of disrepair or experiencing a staff shortage. Marriott should be ashamed of themselves for charging +$500 a night. The hotel is next to the basketball/hockey arena so I get the convenience thing but both those seasons are over and you’ve got a renovation underway. They even had to move the restaurant to the conference rooms for 1 day due to the renovation but still charging +$500 per night! No hamburgers on the limited menu - NO HAMBURGERS! The most basic, let me grab a quick bite meal isn’t available😂 Sorry W….kinda ridiculous.||Housekeeping was available after a couple of calls. Did a good job but we didn’t ask for much, just fresh bed linens. Weird thing was she took 3 sheets, put a mattress pad in the middle and made a comforter/blanket instead of actually replacing our comforter. It worked but REALLY? Used the laundry to press some clothes. They delivered to our room while I was gone even though I told them don’t go in room and had do not disturb sign up😏 At least the clothes were there and well pressed. Needless to say I used the cleaners down the block after that.||All in all the main things were the main things…..comfortable, safe stay with nothing missing, no erroneous charges and an acceptable rate. Based on this we even considered staying another day to sleep off the convention fatigue before driving home to a city without power due to a hurricane. We elected to check out on time. What does that tell you?😂 We’d stay again only for the right rate. Maybe even full rate if the hotel can reach the potential it has….||Safe travels to...

Overall I was somewhat disappointed with this hotel…mostly the room furnishings. We requested a 2 Queen bed arrangement because our 17 yr old daughter was with us on this trip.

Our Spectacular Room (1205) had a spectacular view of the city, and overall about the size you would expect for this class of room. However, I we were quite surprised to find the most uncomfortable bed. The mattress significantly leaned towards the middle of the bed. We checked in very late the first night so I was not going to call maintenance at 2 am…we crashed but didn’t sleep well at all. The next day I went down to the front desk and explained the bed issue. Two gentlemen arrived in about 20 minutes with a new (or probably repaired) box springs. Sure enough ours was busted in the middle. They had to change the six legs from the old box springs to the new. The guys were very efficient and were gone in about 15 minutes. We slept much better the next night, but you could still tell the mattress was getting old, and the box springs were of a very cheap variety. I have never experienced a bed that cheaply made in a comparable US hotel. Ratings…(5.0 view) (3.0 room in general not counting the view or beds) (1.0 Beds)

This hotel is frequented by a lot of people that like to party…and there was definitely a lot of partying had occurred on this bed, if you know what I mean, sometime before our stay. The housekeeping staff should have discovered the broken bed and made sure it was repaired. Furthermore, the Dallas W should significantly upgrade their beds to handle all the banging going on at this location.

Other problems…The stand-up lamp didn’t work.

My daughters bed was also uncomfortable, but not as bad as ours.

I have never stayed in a hotel room in my entire life that had only one drawer to put your clothes in…it was a small drawer at that…also very small closet.

Not enough strategically located electrical outlets.

The shower curtain was too short…caused water to puddle outside the tub area next to the sink where you stand.

Not enough hooks (only 1) in the bathroom area…WHY do nearly all hotels skimp on hooks…they want you to reuse your towels to cut down on laundry expense but they never have enough hooks in the bathroom to hang your towels on to dry and keep clean so you want to use them again!

On the up side…(5.0) The gym was large and well equipped…I ran on a treadmill which was one of the more nicer ones you will find in any hotel. (5.0) The pool area was very nice.

(5.0) Room Service was very fast to deliver (15 min or slightly less) breakfast for one around 11 am. The food was very good and hot. (2.0) I still can’t understand any hotel chain charging $50 including 23% gratuity for 1 waffle, 3 eggs, a glass of orange juice and two large cups of coffee.

(5.0) The lobby, lobby bar room and staff for both were great. The Craft restaurant and Ghostbar looked fantastic, but we didn’t go to either one.

(4.5) The Acura Experience to take you to a nearby location is a great service as long as they have 2 or more vehicles in service at once. I wish they would also pick you up…thus the 4.5 rating. That service would really make them stand out from all other hotels in the area that I know of. Our driver was great.

(3.5) If I choose not to Valet and park myself I should have the ability to come and go from the parking area without being charged each time I leave. All you need is a paper mirror hanger to indentify the dates of your stay.

(5.0) Mike at the front door was very helpful and went out of his way to try to help me find the cab that brought us back to the W. Somehow I lost my money clip, but thankfully not the money.

(2.5) Overall for what you pay for a regular room at this hotel I expected much more in the...