Element Lexington — Hotel in Lexington

The reviews on SPG and on Trip Advisor pick up on the pros and cons of this hotel; our experience echoed most of them, as follows:

Pros: Sleek design, though basically IKEA-esque so if you look closely the materials are already worn or not too solid looking.

Very nice king bed in the 1BR suite, and excellent layout with kitchen, family room, and bathroom in addition.

We did have a tub/shower combo in the 1BR unit, and the rainhead shower/handheld worked just fine. The curtain rod is arched so that the curtain bows outward and gives you more room to move around, and therefore also prevents water from getting splashed outside the tub/shower. I'm guessing the studio suites and deluxe rooms have shower stalls and that may be where the water leakage referred to in other reviews has occurred.

Decent breakfast for a free breakfast; french toast, breakfast sandwiches (2 choices, incl one with egg white and asparagus--pretty good), hard boiled eggs, cereal, granola, several kinds of yogurt, juices, and good coffee. Options for seating at breakfast were great--various sofas/chairs/ottomans in the expansive lobby/great room area, plus terrific seating outside. In the evening you can order delivery pizza etc and sit outside on stools at high tables/chairs and tables/lounge chairs, all of which are near the pool.

Lovely setting near Minute Man National Park, and right off I-95. You can hear the road noise a bit but it's not so loud it's too noticeable.

Requested and received an upgrade to a 1BR suite as a Gold member (from a studio suite)

Cons: Front desk staff member (the Asian woman) could not be bothered to provide any information, e.g., where to go for the elevators, what "3" vs "3R" would mean on the elevator [apparently some rooms are more accessible by the rear door, i.e. the "R" button, but we lucked out with the regular button we pushed and were on the front side]

We were not offered an amenity on check in for being a Gold member [granted, we got the upgrade], but when my daughter pointed out the options as we were checking out, the staff member said she couldn't add the bonus points after we'd already checked in. She did offer a free beverage for the market but I'd have preferred the points.

If you're not on the 4th floor you'll hear footsteps from people above you.

The sofabed is NOT comfortable, and there were white stains (figure out from what) on the cushions that had not been fully removed.

No information supplied in the room as to check out time, breakfast hours, or other info about the hotel. I called the front desk and she said there were no info books, but that she'd be happy to tell me what I needed to know. Incredibly inefficient for a hotel that usually only has one person at the front desk. The phone there is often ringing while the staffer is talking with people checking in/out.

Breakfast area can get nearly emptied of food without replenishment on a busy morning (eg Sunday). Was told by front desk on phone there were smoothies but saw none there.

Overall: Very convenient and beautiful setting and excellent space/layout in the 1BR suite, but I wouldn't suggest staying at this property with a family unless you can afford the 2BR. The sofabed is awkward to set up and very uncomfortable. The 1BR would be nice for a couple because it gives you room to stretch out in the family room and kitchen facilities are quite good (though half of the wheels on the dishwasher's lower rack in our room were broken). Nicer choices for breakfast than the usual "departure snack" at many hotels with an included breakfast, and good,...

As a long time platinum Marriott member, with the SPG/Marriott merger I decided to give this property a try due to proximity to my meetings. I booked in advance and as a Platinum member had one request...top floor, didn't care about upgrades. With only 4 floors, figured that wasn't a huge ask (25% chance). As a light sleeper and in reading other reviews that indicated noise from rooms above them I was worried. I even used the app to check in early (which didn't work--not as good as the Marriott app). When I arrived at the hotel at ~8PM, my status wasn't even acknowledged. I was given a 2nd floor room. When I told the desk clerk I was Platinum and asked about the 4th floor and noted my previous request, I was told there was no way they could accommodate my request since there were not many rooms available upon check-in. He was incredibly dismissive. Definitely not Marriott quality. Interesting, since the parking lot was more than half empty. The employee didn't even attempt to look to see if there was a room. I seriously got the impression the fact I asked a question had annoyed him. Well, I hoped the other reviews were wrong. Turns out they were not. At 3 AM the person above me got up and it sounded like it was a 800 lb beast marching on my head. I have never stayed at a hotel that had such poor sound isolation between floors. The second night it was the same thing. So, I had one of the worst business trips in ages thanks to this hotel. You stay at hotels primarily for sleep..that was not possible at this hotel. Even with ear plugs. Other aspects of this hotel? The rooms are aged and need better maintenance. The beds were so-so. The temperature control was highly inadequate. The water pressure was lacking. The so-cold evening reception? What a joke. Cheap cheese and crackers..that is it! Plus cheap beer and wine...no drinks for those you don't want alcohol. The only good was proximity to my meetings and free parking. Stay elsewhere... Marriott needs to do something to ensure SPG properties/franchises meet the Marriott customer service expectations and are quality properties. That is why I am a long time Marriott platinum member. Consistency from hotel to hotel is key to my patronage. I won't stay at this hotel again and will avoid SPG properties as a result of my experience. Maybe this property is an anomaly among SPG properties..if so, SPG needs to do something. If you value sleep--stay away, unless you are lucky and get the top floor or no one above you that is either up late...

I’ve stayed at this hotel a couple times in years past and never had an issue. However, this time was not great. First, I got an email encouraging me to download the app but I was unable to login using both my email and my member number. Finally I used the app to “reset” my password, used my same existing password and then it worked. We arrived Friday night and the room was really hot — the thermostat said 80 degrees. I attempted to turn on the A/C, but only the fan was blowing, the air wasn’t actually cold. I fiddled with both the “cool” and “auto” settings on the thermostat, but no matter what I did, the air was not cold. I slept the first night and dealt with it. The next morning at 9 a.m. I used the app to chat with the front desk, asking if someone could come take a look at the A/C. I got the automatic response that someone would be with me shortly, and they were dealing with other customers at the moment. No one ever responded. That afternoon, I tried calling the front desk but the room phone wasn’t working, no dial tone. I then tried calling from my personal cell phone, but after selecting “1" to be connected to the front desk, I was on hold briefly before being redirected back to the main menu, in an endless loop. So I tried calling reservations instead, was on hold for 10 minutes, and then gave up. I physically went down to the front desk and no one was there, there was a sign that said they were out and would be back shortly. A few hours later, I went down again and asked about the A/C and the woman said the engineer had left for the day, and that I should have asked earlier to get my request in. I told her that I had tried to get in touch with someone, but no one responded. She offered to move me to another room, but since this was our last night, I didn’t feel like it was worth the hassle to move all of our stuff. On our last night, I was woken up by noisy neighbors next door. The insulation of the doors between the rooms is nonexistent. The guy wasn’t even talking that loudly, it’s just that the sound totally carried through the barrier door. At 2 AM, I noticed what I thought was a piece of lint in bed. I was about to brush it away when I realized it was not lint...but a bedbug. Fun! I immediately called the front desk from my cell phone (since the in room phone didn’t work) and asked to be moved to another room. They moved me to another room right away, but didn’t apologize at all, which I thought was an interesting customer...