Hotel Drover, Autograph Collection — Hotel in Fort Worth

Update:

Pretty much immediately after my initial stay/review I was contacted by the hotel manager inviting us to come back whenever we chose and give them another chance. This offer alone speaks volumes about how much they actually DO value customer experience.

This weekend, a little over a year later, we were able to take them up on their offer. We reached out last minute hoping it might work out. The manager and hotel went above and beyond to make sure our experience lived up to their standards and what a difference our experience was! Special touches that were missing in our initial visit were accounted for during this stay and beyond. The pool experience was much nicer than the last time and our room was phenomenal. We hadn’t tried the restaurant 97 west the last time so thought we would give it a try this round. When we approached the host stand they said they were full, then asked if we were hotel guests. When we told them yes, they said that they always save a couple of tables for hotel guests and sat us immediately. I think this is definitely the way hotel restaurants should be operating!

Any place that actually cares if your expectations were met and are willing to make things right are good in my book! And while we may not be able to visit too often, we will definitely be back and I wholeheartedly recommend. IF there is something you are unhappy with I’d suggest mentioning it in the moment so they can fix it, because they will!

Original Review: Hotel Drover has been on my bucket list for some time now. When Midland was playing at Billy Bob's near my birthday, we thought it would be the perfect opportunity. The hype I saw on instagram and other reviews only added to my excitement. At over $300 a room, it was a little bit of a splurge but within reach... BUT then when we actually went to book the rooms were no less than $950 a room for a very standard room with 2 queen beds and a shower.... My sweet boyfriend decided to splurge for the special occasion and we booked it!

Now, I have never stayed a hotel that cost that much per night so my expectations were maybe unrealistic but I dont think so... For that price I imagine EXTRAORDINARY service, little perks maybe a cocktail at checkin? Before our stay we did receive a little questionnaire about any requests and even reached out to my boyfriend. He had mentioned it being my birthday and if at check-in it was available, we would love a room with a tub. The concierge said they would do something special for my birthday and he would put a note on our account about the upgrade. When we arrived we quickly found that self park was a hassle, chaotic and not much cheaper than valet.. again we are paying over $1000 a night at this point and are paying additional for parking....

We were able to check in a little early, however there was no mention of upgrade and nothing in the room to celebrate my birthday. Everyone was nice... but again nothing special, nothing warranting the price of this stay. The lobby and the ground are beautiful but that is kind of it... Our room was beyond basic. ABSOLUTLEY NOT worth that price, hardly worth the $300 weekday rate to be honest. My boyfriend had to remind the concierge about the request and they did eventually put a cheese plate and bottle of wine, which was nice....BUT I have received much more at places that cost a third of this. Our room was not cleaned until after 3pm and coffee pods and water was not refilled. Again, the sort of details I expect to be taken care of at this price point.

We didnt end up eating at the restaurant but did have some cocktails. Pricey as expected but were delicious.

The pool area was nice but small and the gate is broken... odd. We did get a "free" branded luggage tag... The ambiance is very nice and the location cant be beat if you want to do all the tourist-y stock yard things. Nobody was unkind but the level of service is that of a Holiday Inn.

Bottom line, would not recommend. Will not return. Not worth the price and am confused reading...

My wife and I have wanted to stay here and I was able to find a Saturday night that I could use a free night certificate with the points I had to make it happen. THE GOOD: Excellent service. The valets were great. The concierge Debra really was above and beyond. She emailed me about a week before our arrival, made a few suggestions and she took care of our dinner reservations at Cattlemen's Steakhouse. Location is great and close to everything in the Stockyards. They also have a hotel car that will drive you within a 10 mile radius, so Bass Hall, Shipwreck Tiki Bar, Botanical Gardens, etc. They had a cool perk where you got a leather luggage tag and they branded our initials on them. Of course, they only give you one per room, so if you each want one, you pay $25 additional, but in my opinion worth it. The atmosphere and decor of the hotel is outstanding and fits the Stockyards area perfectly. We absolutely loved it and will be back. ||THE MEH: Nothing really bad about our stay, but a couple of things to not give it five stars. The issues with the non-hotel guests crowding in the lobby and at the bars. I'm not complaining too much because we live close by and that might be us some day when we aren't staying here. But the Hotel Vin limits valet parking and lobby seating on busy nights to hotel guests, as an example. The hotel room, loved the furnishings, but it was a bit small and not a lot of closet space. We were also lucky enough to be put next to a suite where a bride getting married at the hotel was getting ready and when a big group of revelers came up around 11 pm to that room, we found out how thin the walls are. The pool area was nice, the temperature of the pool was, to me, perfect and they have a nice hot tub. And good service around the pool. The pool is not huge though, and I can see on a warm day how it can get really crowded. But we went in the pool around 7 PM and nearly had it to ourselves. ||The other things were money related. First, the valets give you a card where you can scan a QR code and tip them if you don't have cash. But, if you tip on it, it will charge you 3.25% extra to cover processing fees. So the hotel is profiting even more if you use a card where the processing fees aren't that high. I mean, on a $7 tip, it's only a little over 20 cents, but for me it's the principle because for what the Drover charges, they can't cover 20 cents to the employees who represent them so favorably. Nope, the guests get to pay that much more. ||then there was the matter of the valet cost. In reality, it was $40 plus tax for a night, but in your hotel room, on the hotel information screen, it says valet is $32 plus tax. That's a pretty big discrepancy. Again, more principle than problem, but should be an easy fix. ||Overall, we loved the hotel and if the price is right, we'd love to stay here again. Thankfully, I had a free night award because the same room we stayed in, and a standard room overlooking the parking lot, cost $1,200. I have never been to the hotel worth over...

Ft Worth is always accessible to me being the next town over from my hometown of Dallas. I’ve been to FT Worth a billion times for a billion different reasons and occasions all my life. If this hotel is your destination missionupon arrivalthe glam does kinda allow you to forget you are in Ft Worth. After all, this hotel is the golden ticket VIP star attraction of the ancient Stockyard Tourist Trap. And I am a huge bonafied fan of the campiness and history of the Rodeo/Stockyards. The hotel itself is a wonderful ranch style fortress set way back down a stretched mission style block, lined with upscale, long standing familiar boutique names like Lucchese Boots. If one Lucchese store isn’t enough for you there’s two. It was kinda smart to add a Karren Friendly Shake Shack and Biscuit Bar if nothing more to ease in the breed and temporarily pacify them. If you drink, there is plenty of alcohol accessible and readily flowing dressed up or down in many different luring disguises.

I do perceive the one thing that will be the hotel’s downfall is it can become very dated very quickly unless it can cleverly switch out scenery. Consistent Reinvention will be their savior after they burn through the average short lived nine lives of a typical hyped up Boutique Hotel who caters to that bored entitled over stimulated crowd of 30k millionaires who never seem to be satisfied and sole purpose is to simply be unimpressed but mission is to make multiple mountains from molehills.

The breakfast (and I hate to complain) was terrible. So I cancelled our dinner reservation. The Valet staff was so friendly though! They are very accommodating. The bar staff in the restaurant when just ordering a early evening coffee couldn’t be nicer. They have the fastest damn elevators in the West! Major Hotel plus if you ever have been on the other side of a hotel elevator moving at a snails pace. (Shoot me) comically, all the male patrons wear the same straw cowboy hat so definitely check the memo before arrival. It’s also entertaining watching lobby hopers tripping over scattered furniture decor while texting on their phones. IN Room Bathroom was the bomb. Bed is so comfortable. Worth the money for the upgrade.

The pool is so very nice when there isn’t a booze cruise crowd. Prime Covid hours 3-5. Those lazy pool girls desperately need a manager with a whip. The trash piles up around the pool edges and I stepped on plastic cups at the bottom of the pool. Which is totally kinda gross and preventable. There is a large in ground hot tub that’s honestly incredible after the cups and soggy towels have been removed .

The grounds are impressive being they are landscaped beautifully and just like Texas, there’s room for every one. I suggest giving this place a try. You might like it! ...