Drury Plaza Hotel Pittsburgh Downtown — Hotel in Pittsburgh

Our recent stay at this hotel was a bit of a mixed bag. While the building itself is beautiful and the facilities are very clean, the overall experience left a lot to be desired—especially for families traveling with young children.

Upon arrival, we pulled up to the valet area (who, by the way, were incredibly helpful and courteous). Unfortunately, that warm welcome didn’t carry through to the front desk staff. We entered through the closest doors with a luggage cart and three kids in tow, only to encounter a small staircase, making it tricky to navigate with all our belongings. The valet kindly helped me maneuver the cart down the stairs, but we were immediately and rather sternly instructed by front desk staff to exit and re-enter through a separate entrance with a ramp. The tone felt unnecessarily harsh, and the lack of flexibility or support at that moment was frustrating.

Check-in became another challenge. Although I had reserved through Booking.com and selected Affirm as the payment method, I was told the hotel doesn’t accept Affirm—something that really should be updated on Booking.com to avoid confusion. I offered to pay in cash and place a card on file, but that wasn’t permitted. Ultimately, we had to use a debit card, which unfortunately overdrew our account—on Memorial Day weekend, no less.

The hotel has an old-bank layout, which is interesting but somewhat disorienting. To use the elevators, you need your room key—every single time. Whether heading to the pool, coming back from a delivery, or even just trying to meet someone in the lobby, that keycard is required constantly. It’s not family-friendly, especially with wet kids, pizza delivery coordination, and multiple trips back and forth.

Due to the long check-in, we missed the complimentary dinner. Nearby dining options within walking distance after 7 PM were limited and not very accommodating for a family of five (two adults, two kids, and a baby in a stroller). We ended up ordering delivery—$71 before tip for a pizza and two hoagies. The food was decent, but the delivery driver couldn’t come past the lobby, which added another round of elevator keycard acrobatics while dripping wet from the pool.

The pool and hot tub were nice, although the pool didn’t feel heated and we couldn’t locate nearby restrooms. The room itself was spacious, clean, and had a nice shower. However, there were no trash bags provided.

Breakfast the next morning was a highlight: nothing fancy, but plentiful and satisfying for all of us. Checkout through the valet was smooth and professional—even during a busy rush.

To be fair, not all the staff were unhelpful. The woman who brought the crib was lovely, and the front desk manager truly tried to accommodate us within her company’s policies when the payment issue arose. Unfortunately, the initial treatment by other front desk staff and the lack of family-friendly features left a lasting impression.

In summary, this hotel may appeal to adult travelers or couples looking for a clean, stylish experience in a unique setting. However, for families—especially with younger kids—it may not be the most welcoming or convenient option.

Update: The manager followed up with me, and we had a great conversation. She sincerely apologized for the check-in experience and was incredibly helpful—and, most importantly, genuinely cared. We all have moments when we're not at our best, especially during a busy holiday weekend, and that includes myself. After speaking with the management both on the day of and afterward, I truly appreciate their responsiveness and would definitely give them...

TLDR: Excellent quality hotel with amazing staff and exceptional service! Free dinner (kickback) and breakfast! Very large pool with amazing jacuzzi style hot tub. Don't book third party, it causes issues in their system.

I took my fiance here for Valentine's Day weekend. We checked in Friday afternoon and checked out Sunday morning. When we first arrived, we noticed that the entrance was very narrow. There's evidence of people catching their wheels on the curb on the inside of the turn, as well as bumping into the barrier on the outside of the turn.

Parking is valet only and is $39/day, but a bit less if you don't stay the night. I drive a manual car, so they kept it out on the deck just in case they didn't have anyone on staff the next day who knows how to drive manual. This meant my car was available almost immediately every time I requested it, so I never had any real delays from valet :)

When we booked, we did it room Priceline. We booked a "King Double Room" with pictures of a large king bed, a suite style living room, and a large bath/shower combo. When we arrived and checked in, we were given a room on the 10th floor with an amazing view! Unfortunately, when I opened the door to our room, it was just a regular hotel room with a bed in the middle and a shower (no tub), as well as no living room or suite. I picked up the phone, called the front desk, and they really listened to me and understood the situation.

My fiance and I went down to the front desk per the instructions over the phone and were given an upgrade to a suite with two queen beds, a spacious living room and large shower/tub combo. We were very happy with the accommodations, and we were never charged anything for the upgrade!

The front desk staff told us that these sort of issues can happen when using 3rd party websites (Hotels.com, booking.com, Priceline, Expedia, etc...) and informed us that booking from the hotel's website would avoid these issues.

The beds were extremely comfortable, the room was clean and good smelling, and the bathroom was immaculate! Both dinner and breakfast were free and the bar/restaurant upstairs is open until midnight every day except Sunday (11pm on Sunday). Bartenders were very polite and made ordering very simple and convenient, especially for someone like me who's never drank before and had no idea what to order.

The staff was amazingly pleasant through the entirety of our stay. We witnesses a Karen in her natural habitat when the bar/restaurant was very busy and said Karen did not receive her food the exact second that she submitted her order. The staff was calm and understanding towards this monstrosity and diffused the situation before the storm could really start.

A++ TO ALL OF...

We were on a staycation here for our anniversary. Overall the hotel was okay. I would not stay here again unless it was for a MUCH cheaper rate.

Pros: free breakfast (typical hotel breakfast) (see con section) 3 free drinks at the 5.30pm kickback free kickback of food at 5.30pm (see con section) cleanish rooms clean hotel nice rooftop area to relax at Body wash in shower was nice

Cons: the kickback offered no pescatarian or vegan options but salad. It was all meat based or diary based. When you can't eat meat or dairy, the only option left was salad. (That salad was only lettuce and grape tomatoes) the breakfast had no GF bread options the lobby coffee was horrible we could hear the people above us walking around until at least 11 pm our room was right by the elevator and so we heard EVERYONE going on and off all day and night we heard multiple banging and loud noises all night long coming from the hallway (it sounded like big carts were being moved back and forth) they only had facial soap no hand soap in the bathroom. This soap made your hands very very dry. we paid extra to have an upper floor to have a view of the city. And that upper floor view was the wall of a building next door (see picture) the free popcorn at check in looked very burnt your car is kept in an off site lot so there wasn't easy access to get something out of your car if need be the free soda is open until 9pm. We came in at 8.45pm wanting a soda to take to the room since we just came back from dinner (since there was nothing for one of us to eat at the kickback but salad) and they were already closed. We would have gotten something while out to bring back if we knew it was going to be closed but we timed it to be back by 9pm and therefore was very disappointed when it was already closed the bed was very firm and not super comfortable someone's old clothes were left...