Elwood Hotel & Suites — Hotel in Lexington

I am perplexed as to the rave reviews of this hotel. My impressions are that it is a restaurant trying to run a hotel as a secondary endeavor. My daughter attends UK and we try different hotels in the area so that we have recommendations for family when they come to Lexington. This would definitely be a no from me.

As many other reviewers have mentioned, the outside and first floor are beautiful. That's where it ends. You do oddly feel you are walking through the restaurant when you head to the check-in desk, which is unmarked. The front desk also serves as the host/hostess for the restaurant so it's confusing to discern that it is the check-in and often there is no one there since they are attending to the restaurant patrons. You have to walk by the kitchen door, where servers are walking out with arms full of food, past the highchair storage, to the heavy fire doors that lead to the hotel rooms. Our room was 100% disappointing. You can see the comparison in the photos between the public spaces and hotel rooms.

I will say that the staff were friendly (aside from the manager), but seem way overworked. We checked in after midnight, and had to wait 10 minutes for the front desk to return from getting a mop for the restaurant. The bartender was cleaning and acknowledged we were waiting. The next day, we slept in and got a late start after doing some remote work. Before we left, I asked the manager at the front desk if we could have our linens changed because we had spilled something on the sheets and we also needed our trash removed. Her response was that housekeeping was only available until 2 (it was 1:50). She asked if we had left our sheets and trash outside our room since the DND was on. What? That seems a bit odd. When did that become a thing?

She said that chances were it was too late, that our floor had already been done. When I pressed her for other options, nicely, she said to me, "We are not, like, a full-service hotel". What? I definitely felt like I was paying "full-service" prices - I'm still not sure what that comment even means. She said she would "try to get you linens and you can change the sheets yourself, but I can't guarantee it." I then became a bit more assertive and told her I expected linens in our room regardless of whether or not housekeeping had left for the day. I realize they are considered a boutique hotel, but usually management at boutique hotels are super friendly and will be sure guests are taken care of. To tell me that MAYBE I could change my own sheets seemed ridiculous.

At the end of the day, there were clean linens put in our room and the trash was removed. We did not get housekeeping service until the fourth day of our stay and there was no communication from the front desk or in the room about anything related to our stay. Seeing as there was a restaurant, it was weird that there was no room service either. When I asked the woman at check in at midnight if there was water in the room, I was told there was a snack area on the second floor where I could purchase water. This turned out to be a closet with two vending machines that held nothing other than chips, candy, and energy drinks.

Overall, a weird experience. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone going to Lexington. There are great, welcoming hotels in the area for the same price and much better service from management. For the rest of the visit, I had the odd feeling that we were intruding on the restaurant business and were out of place and unwelcome. I can't remember a place I've felt like that...

I am perplexed as to the rave reviews of this hotel. My impressions are that it is a restaurant trying to run a hotel as a secondary endeavor. My daughter attends UK and we try different hotels in the area so that we have recommendations for family when they come to Lexington. This would definitely be a no from me.||As many other reviewers have mentioned, the outside and first floor are beautiful. That's where it ends. You do oddly feel you are walking through the restaurant when you head to the check-in desk, which is unmarked. The front desk also serves as the host/hostess for the restaurant so it's confusing to discern that it is the check-in and often there is no one there since they are attending to the restaurant patrons. You have to walk by the kitchen door, where servers are walking out with arms full of food, past the highchair storage, to the heavy fire doors that lead to the hotel rooms. Our room was 100% disappointing. You can see the comparison in the photos between the public spaces and hotel rooms.||I will say that the staff were friendly (aside from the manager), but seem way overworked. We checked in after midnight, and had to wait 10 minutes for the front desk to return from getting a mop for the restaurant. The bartender was cleaning and acknowledged we were waiting. The next day, we slept in and got a late start after doing some remote work. Before we left, I asked the manager at the front desk if we could have our linens changed because we had spilled something on the sheets and we also needed our trash removed. Her response was that housekeeping was only available until 2 (it was 1:50). She asked if we had left our sheets and trash outside our room since the DND was on. What? That seems a bit odd. When did that become a thing?||She said that chances were it was too late, that our floor had already been done. When I pressed her for other options, nicely, she said to me, "We are not, like, a full-service hotel". What? I definitely felt like I was paying "full-service" prices - I'm still not sure what that comment even means. She said she would "try to get you linens and you can change the sheets yourself, but I can't guarantee it." I then became a bit more assertive and told her I expected linens in our room regardless of whether or not housekeeping had left for the day. I realize they are considered a boutique hotel, but usually management at boutique hotels are super friendly and will be sure guests are taken care of. To tell me that MAYBE I could change my own sheets seemed ridiculous.||At the end of the day, there were clean linens put in our room and the trash was removed. We did not get housekeeping service until the fourth day of our stay and there was no communication from the front desk or in the room about anything related to our stay. Seeing as there was a restaurant, it was weird that there was no room service either. When I asked the woman at check in at midnight if there was water in the room, I was told there was a snack area on the second floor where I could purchase water. This turned out to be a closet with two vending machines that held nothing other than chips, candy, and energy drinks.||Overall, a weird experience. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone going to Lexington. There are great, welcoming hotels in the area for the same price and much better service from management. For the rest of the visit, I had the odd feeling that we were intruding on the restaurant business and were out of place and unwelcome. I can't remember a place I've felt like that...

I have sat on this review for a bit because, honestly, I am kind of underwhelmed by the whole experience. I thought some time to think about it, I would feel differently. Didn't change. We stayed the first weekend of June, only for 1 night instead of the 2 we originally booked. The reviews, photos,building mural, plants. The aesthetic all right up my alley. Was so excited to get there. Until we got there. Building is gorgeous! No doubts. but to go inside you literally have to walk through everyone eating with your luggage rumbling about. Made it feel like we were super disruptive to the people paying good money to eat there. Couldn't imagine walking kids through to a room! So after feeling rude AF for walking through a dining experience with luggage, you are greeted by an ipad. There is no concierge. Then after not knowing how to check in, the woman who helped us was very rude Almost like she was annoyed to have to come help us with check in, Which when you're in hospitality that is part of your job, well I guess maybe not here because they don't have someone to help new arrivals. This hotel is cashless, I enjoy paying cash for life still while putting 'incidental holds' on my cards. Which those holds are $50/PER NIGHT. Meaning you stay 3 nights you're giving them an extra $150.00 to hold. No where was this mentioned when I booked the room 1.5 months prior to us going! I have never stayed in a hotel with a per night incidental charge. So we finally get checked in and get to our room. The room was nice, spacious, clean sheets. Then I shut the bathroom door. Yea, no. It was so gross, like it hadn't been wiped down in months. Hand prints, water drops, bathroom germs (ew!) They hang clean towels there! How could no one not see that?! Then when told about it they simply said 'we don't look at the back of the doors!' You would've absolutely seen the back of the bathroom door as a housekeeper putting that clean towel there. The lead housekeeper should've seen it when checking the bathroom after it was cleaned for new guests. There is also no ice machines or vending machines. They give you an ice bucket in the little fridge, which ours also had the previous people's waters in it, but no ice machines anywhere. Just over all an...