Hyatt Centric Beale Street Memphis — Hotel in Memphis

There are many things I can say about this hotel as I was here for over 30 days during a business trip. Overall, I am cutting my stay here early due to the lack of professionalism I’ve experienced from the hotel staff. Whether this is a new hotel or not, there are certain standards that must be set in place and adhered to.

Housekeeping- I have never stayed in a hotel where the housekeeping/front-desk staff enter your room, despite the "do not disturb" tag being visibly placed on the door. One distinct example I have is a morning I was awakened from my sleep by someone attempting to enter my room. Luckily, I had the stop lock in place on the door. I immediately went to the front desk afterwards for clarity on why someone attempted entry to my room with the “do not disturb” tag on the door. I was informed they were attempting to deliver a package inside the entry-way of my room. This is not a reason to enter someone’s space without their permission. There could’ve been a note left to inform me of the package or a phone call to let me know, but coming into my room was unnecessary.

Housekeeping, though they entered my room multiple time with visible signage indicating they should not, would make the bed, but not take out the trash, sweep/vacuum, or tend to the normal tasks generally expected of the staff.

Valet- The young men working valet are absolutely awesome and provided me great service when they were available. The short-staffing of valet and the distance they have to go to retrieve your vehicle makes for a bad customer experience. I’ve waited 30 minutes-plus for my vehicle some mornings and even had to walk the 2 blocks to retrieve car myself on more than one occasion because there was no one staffed to provide valet service for which I paid $36 a night!

Front-desk- the front-desk staff, Braylen specifically, stated he would call me within 20 minutes of an issue I brought to his attention concerning extending my stay. I called back after over an hour and Braylen informed me the desk had gotten busy and that he’d give me call within the next hour. I received no call back that night, resulting in my having to approach the desk the next morning for resolve and re-explaining my need. Though the manager was able to fix the issue, the experience provided by telling a customer you will be returning a call or tending to an issue, but not following through is concerning. Additionally, I had a package delivered which Braylen stated he couldn’t find. He called hotel security down to look into it and security couldn’t find it. The security manager decided to look behind the front-desk where Braylen was standing, only for my package to be found sitting in a chair, not secured.

This may be a new hotel, but the training and focus on service has to be improved. With the amount of guest traffic entering this building, forecasting out the need for valet staff to ensure your guests are not late to events, work, etc due to poor service times has to be fixed. Lastly, entering someone’s room while “do not disturb” signs are visible is a poor habit and should be immediately addressed with all hotel staff members who have access to rooms. The best thing about my stay, which the staff does not control, is the proximity to Beale Street and the modern feel of the hotel. Outside of these factors, I would not recommend until the training for the staff...

If you are trying to decide between the Centric and the Caption, read this review...

I will list out features and differences of each hotel so you can best decide which one you prefer:

Price: Caption is less expensive. Pool: Centric has one. View: Caption has more rooms with river / sunset views. Rooftop Bar: Only at the Centric. Digital Key for Elevator/Room: Both (but finicky). Elevator Security: Caption key works for any floor. Centric key works for your floor only (+ Roof). of Elevators: 2 in each. Floors: Centric 7 + Roof. Caption 5. Self Check-In at Hotel: Caption. Black-out curtains: Caption only. Thermostat: Both on wall, but Caption is around the corner and light fully turns off, while Centric faces bed and does not turn off. Toilet: Caption is open in bathroom, Centric is in private room with door. Bathroom Lights: Centric turn off after 3 minutes of no motion. Caption stay on till you turn them off. Bathroom Sink: Caption is inside room w/ sliding door. Centric is around the corner from Bed. Shower: Both are Waterfall w/ secondary handle option. Centric shower is bigger than Caption. Light Switches: Centric has "master" light switch by bed and by main entrance. Caption has no master light switch, but does include more funky lights, including an Edison bulb in the corner. Motion Lights on Floor: Centric (easily turn on during the night). Mirrors: Centric has 3 (including full-length), Caption has 2. Workspace: Centric table is larger and has two big chairs. Caption has smaller table with one small chair and one bench. Pillows: Both suck. Flatten out with little effort. Mattress Comfort: Same in both. Not too hard, not too soft. "Text the Hotel": Centric has responded. Caption has never responded. Water Bottle in Room: Centric has 1L bottles provided every other day. Caption you must get 20oz bottle from Talk Shop Cafe every day. Bench under TV: Centric only. TV: Both (same size). Alarm Clock: Both. Fridge: Both. Freezer: Neither. Safe: Both. Hangers: Both. Robes: Both. Iron/Ironing Board: Both. Phone: Both. Umbrella's Available to Borrow: Centric always has some, but they'll let you use them even if you're at the Caption (since both hotels are connected via a hallway).

Phew. I think that about covers the...

I stayed at this Hyatt after driving across the state on a trip. Upon arriving at the valet I inquired about pricing for valet services and was told the amount would be taken out of my incidental charge and when I asked what the incidental charge was the valet associate was unable to explain it so I choose to use private parking across the street for $12 instead of the hotels $33. The valet associate proceeded to shout at us after I made this decision and went to check into my room. I also saw said valet associate perform a drug deal on the corner of the premise, not sure if selling or buying, but there was a sly hand-off. Not sure I would want my customers cars being driving by someone potentially in possession of narcotics or on narcotics.. After going up to my room, the floors were gritty and unswept, but that's besides the point. I went back down to let the manager know what had happened and she let me know that I would get a cool $20 credit towards my stay. I was then harassed by the hotel security manager to fill out an incident report, not given a writing utensil so I waited until morning at check-out to complete the form. I was pestered multiple times to complete the form upon entering the lobby even after letting them know I would be completing it prior to leaving. At checkout they were unable to give me a copy of my receipt which I wanted to confirm charges on as their "system was down" or slow or something(?) and was told I would get my receipt via email. I did not get the receipt until a day after checking out where I saw that the $20 credit (ha ha) was actually charged as an additional fee on my stay as a "Guest Room Allowance". I was also contacted later in the day after checking out by their 3rd party valet/security team to keep me updated and low and behold they provided no information. The hotel staff is incredibly condescending and unprofessional, one might say unfriendly, they smile and nod well but the look in their eyes says they want nothing other than for you to stop talking. Suffices to say it was not a fun stay and certainly not worth the price tag.

TL;DR nice views if you get a room looking at the Mississippi, just pray you don't have an issue or need...