Element Dallas Fort Worth Airport North — Hotel in Irving

As a business traveler that spends many nights in hotels, this was my fast stay at this hotel and it is my LAST. As a member of the SPG Hotel loyalty program with almost a 75 stays, I booked my room almost a month before my stay for 3 nights and decided to take advantage of booking my room at the cost savings rates that required me to PREPAY for my stay.

Well after a long day of meetings and travel as I was driving to the hotel around 9:00pm I get a call on my cellphone asking me if I was going to be checking into the hotel this evening. I told them yes; in fact I was about 10 minutes away. They informed me that they were overbooked and would not able to accommodate me at the hotel that evening. I told them I would be there soon and that there must be an error since I prepaid for my room.

When I arrived they informed me that they would have to "WALK ME" to another hotel because they didn't have a room for me. I explained to the front desk staff there must be an error since I had paid for my room in advance. They apologized but told me they had given my room to someone else. Imagine that! They decided to sell the room that I had already paid for too someone else! I guess that marketing their hotel as a "green" hotel means more than environmentally friendly it means they wanted more "green" as in money by selling prepaid rooms to other guests.

What was a real shock to me was they keep telling me they have no control over what 3rd party companies do with their reservations. I guess that they thought I had booked my room through a company like Hotwire or something. When I explained that I had booked my room directly from their website (SPG.com) and not a 3rd party, so I guess loyalty to the hotel brand doesn't mean anything to them. The General Manager did give me some options: 1. they would pay for a room at a Sheraton hotel about 15 minutes away for the night, and then return back to their hotel for the remaining 2 nights or 2. They would cancel my whole reservation, credit my SPG loyalty account 3000 points, and I would need to find someplace else to stay.

Not much of choice since it was after 9:30 at night and I was exhausted and want to go to bed to get some sleep before my meeting the next day. So I optioned to be "walked" which meant they gave me a letter and driving directions to the other hotel.

As for this hotel it is just as others that were lucky to have their rooms available and not “walked" have reviewed; nicely appointed rooms, large bath, etc. With the exception that I was never told about the refreshments available in the lobby or that they served breakfast in the morning when I returned for the remainder of my stay. So, I got something to eat and a coffee at Starbucks across the street.

Be cautious when booking rooms PREPAID at this hotel or through their website. Because that room you paid for doesn't guarantee they won't sell the room to someone else before you arrive. Please understand that I didn't guarantee my room with a credit card, I PREPAID for the room.

As for me, I won't return to this hotel and maybe not to any of the hotels that are part of the SPG loyalty group (Sheraton, Weston, etc), and I will not prepaid hotel reservations again because they won't guarantee the room you PAID for at the hotel you have the reservation at.

Oh and when I went to schedule the free shuttle ride to the airport; it was not available at the time I needed to leave (8:30am). So I had to take an...

I am going to tell you first, first impression always counts, and you know what? I underestimated this Hotel to just be an un-modern designed Hotel, but when you and your guest walk in as a first timer, boy was I surprised of how welcoming the staff is and how Eco, well-designed and built so upscale and modern impression, never once have a stepped into a hotel with so much lighting. And yet beautifully exceptional in the evenings. I wanted to make a shout-out to one of the best staff members there, Thank you to Mrs. Andrea and Mrs. Daniella, they are like the best of best of all staff members, they will comfort, introduce, and persuade really well for another visit, you will know who I'm talking about when you visit, but most importantly they will address every situation as best as possible, never let me down. And wished they worked the night shifts too. But enough about impressions, reserving this hotel was most surely the best decision to the environment and to the guest. I had the most beautiful 2 Queen Studio room with the sleek lookin' bathrooms and a kitchen, the kitchen was a nice touch, I had my dad tag along and the kitchen was a great way to re-connect with family like old times cooking with your parents, meet them once in awhile to accommodate their busy schedule# Was a delicious meal, Walmart is a mile away and the Element shuttle will take you and bring you back in time to prepare if you are the most awesome home cook# Everything is provided in the full kitchen, from the pots and pans to the plates and dishes# How wonderful# After that great meal, your just looking to chill for a great rest in the evening, nice Champagne, with Wine Glasses, and a Heavenly Bed to rest yourself# Comfortable level of Stay, the beds here are almost equivalent to the Sealy PosturePedic I sleep on everyday# Quiet air-conditioning and quiet peaceful area to accommodate# Next to a bunch of delicious chain restaurants and quiet street way after 6pm# Amazing# Great lo#ation, it may look dead but its not# The workout room was there never used it, looks so nice with an extra paine of windows facing the pool# THE POOL, morning out, dipped right in IMMEDIATELY! Such a constant warm temperature and when I heard No Chlorine = no chemical odors to burn your friggen eyes and nose. Saline, you know the stuff to re-hydrate us and soothes us in the hospital and is in the Element pool! Environmentally friendly and Soothing. Love the all natural rule. Breakfast was delicious, and never have I had smoothies served as a breakfast item. Blueberry, Strawberry Banana smoothie? Tried them all and a blast after that nice swim. and the Element bikes. Don't forget to ride the bikes, they're complementary and they may just look like someone's bike parking at the front of this beautiful hotel but It's not! The last best part is check-out fastest check-out of my life, and yes I had Mrs. Andrea check me out. All of these recommendations and a farewell to next time. Yes I am 2 weeks consecutively am I staying for my business trip. And my answer is YES, I recommend this Hotel to everyone! Oh and cleanliness, after reading the reviews, I find this not TRUE, I've seen the process, they clean the room nice and sleekly and have an inspector check them off, so no mistake there. Thank you again Element, you 've earned my trust for a...

I stayed at this hotel because it was part of the SPG hotels and I was curious to see what an Element hotel would be like compared to the other SPG properties. I was in town for a convention at the Irving Convention Center and was only in town one night so I figured I would try it out even though it’s a SPG Category 2 hotel.

As I parked the car and noticed the outside of the hotel it was clean, well maintained and looked very inviting. We were off to a good start. As I attempted to check in (1:30pm) the front desk staff took my ID and credit card and told me that rooms were not ready and that I should come back later. I asked if I could check my luggage and he taped a note to it (no claim checks) and said it would be stored in the back. I asked if my Platinum number was on file to which he replied – Yeah, it’s there. That snapped me back to reality that I was not at an upscale SPG property. He didn’t even have a name tag on but was dressed similar to other hotel staff. He had no clue about the SPG rewards program – amenity, late check out, etc…

I left the hotel to grab lunch and returned close to 3pm and the room wasn’t ready but the (different) front desk person called housekeeping and in a few minutes was able to check me into my room. I had an executive room and it was well maintained also. Sometimes eco-friendly hotels can start looking worn immediately because they aren’t maintained. So far everything looked clean and fresh. The eco-friendly table was starting to show some dings but nothing major. I have a feeling this furniture will need replacing quickly and as long as they do that this will continue to be a comfortable hotel. I couldn't get the temperature to go below 72 degrees which I felt was a "eco friendly" feature of the hotel. Just FYI for those who like it very cold in their rooms.

A few hours after check-in I received a call from the manager on duty to check and see how my stay was going. I discussed my check in experience and she listened and apologized that I didn’t have a great experience. She explained that the hotel was sold out the previous night so that is why it took a little longer to get all rooms ready for that day which was also a sell out and that the staff should have been friendlier and offered an explanation. As far as the SPG rewards program she offered to comp the water I bought in the hotel market and offered me some bonus points as a gesture of goodwill.

Even though I had a not-so-great check-in experience, I am still giving this hotel 5 stars (compared to other similar eco-friendly hotels) because it’s well maintained and the manager genuinely wanted to address any concerns with her staff. When I went down to the lobby that evening and the next morning there were 3 staff people cleaning floors, dusting and cleaning all the fixtures in the large lobby. That impressed me. This hotel would be perfect for families or even businessmen on a tight...