Joinery Hotel Pittsburgh, Curio Collection by Hilton — Hotel in Pittsburgh

I want to share a little bit (or a lot) about our experience staying at the Joinery Hotel this past weekend. Our friend was getting married and chose this hotel to host her wedding party and guests. At first glance, I could totally understand why she chose it! The hotel lobby has a fun, modern vibe and the location is great. The addition of the bar, restaurant, and rooftop terrace were also nice perks. However, our positive experience ends there. On the night of the rehearsal dinner, the bride attempted to check into her room only to be told “it would not be ready until 1 o’clock in the morning”. This is the night before her wedding, when all her other guests have already checked in that afternoon, and the bridal suite of ALL rooms was not ready for the bride. After hours of discussing this issue with the staff at the front desk, she was given NO solution and instead had to spend the night with a friend in another room. For this reason alone we should be appalled, but our story does not stop there. On the night of the wedding, guests returned to the hotel for a prearranged (with management) after party. While riding the elevator, the bride, two of her bridesmaids and a few other wedding guests got stuck. The same front desk employee from the previous night began making calls to “fix” the situation, while my husband and one of the groomsmen worked to get the elevator door open. Fortunately, the guys were able to open it after a period of time and everyone made it safely out. Two minutes later, other hotel guests who were warned about the elevator issue by our group, chose to ride the second elevator. That elevator also malfunctioned, dropping a foot below the floor it was on before it stopped and wouldn’t open. Once again, my husband and our friend worked to get the door open to free the people inside without any assistance from hotel staff. Eventually, they were successful and minutes afterward two cops showed up (unsure what they actually did as we had already helped everyone escape). Following this disaster, the wedding group was then forced to walk up TWELVE floors in order to attend the wedding after party. ZERO apologies or consolations were offered by hotel management. In addition to these egregious events, our room was not attended to by a maid service throughout the duration of our stay. I also agree with other reviews that the room itself was VERY dark, no overhead lighting, and one of the floor lamps would not work. We were told upon check-in that we were not to get any “makeup” on the towels. (I’m sorry, what?) As a hotel, if you’re incapable of cleaning towels properly, then perhaps you should provide an alternative option like supplying makeup wipes to your guests (a courtesy many other hotels already extend). During our stay, a window in our room got stuck open and would not close—this meant listening to sounds of the city the entire night. Finally, on our way out of the room on the final day, a maid’s cart (so they do exist!) and several full trash bags were blocking the hallway (we had to move them to pass). There was also a pile of dirty sheets just laying on the ground by the elevator. I seriously never take the time to write reviews, but my heart hurts for my how much unnecessary stress and embarrassment this caused my friend on what should be the best weekend...

PROS: I have stayed at Distrikt several times over the last few years. It’s our go-to when staying in the city. The location is perfect for doing the things I enjoy downtown. It’s affordable as well. Luckily every visit, I’ve gotten a room with a beautiful view. I’ve eaten at the restaurant and the food is very good. Staff is usually friendly and informative. There is an area for bike storage and we always bring ours. Several parking garages are located all around the hotel as well as on site valet parking for a fee with your stay which I’ve used a few times with ease. The valet is usually quick and personable. The building and rooms are tastefully decorated. Bathrooms/showers are spacious and they have good shampoo, conditioner and body wash. Not that usual yucky hotel stuff I’ve encountered at other places. I love the area names sign in the elevator. The rooftop terrace is my favorite part about staying there, it’s got a beautiful view and it’s peaceful during the day. During one stay, they had Salsa dancing up there that night. The property is very clean, beds are comfortable, lobby is very nice and the hotel is easily navigated. The housekeeping staff is friendly and courteous. CONS: The rooms are rather small. One window didn’t have a curtain, only a shade, so it got very bright first thing in the morning. My most recent stay (June 22-25, 2022) there was construction. So, no place to put bikes other than back in the car or up in our room which would have really limited the space, the restaurant/bar was closed and we noticed there was no longer a trash can on the rooftop terrace so there was a few items left by guests that could have been easily cleaned up with access to a garbage can. There was no Do Not Disturb sign available in the room for the door. I would appreciate a lamp with more than one outlet on the side of the bed. I have a phone, watch, AirPods. All of which needed plugged in for the next days adventure.

Overall I will continue to book my stay at this hotel anytime I visit downtown, which is often. I highly recommend others book their stay here as well. There are some small issues sometimes, but they are easily fixed either during the stay or with honest customer feedback! Once the construction is finished, the hotel is going to be beautiful! I look forward to staying again! Thank you for an enjoyable stay every time Distrikt! Even with the construction going...

While the Joinery Hotel has a lot of aesthetically designed common spaces throughout including a rooftop terrace, its positive attributes stop there.

I personally did not have the best experience with the front desk. I'm sure this is hit or miss and depends on the employee you deal with, but this was my experience: The entrance to the lobby is cramped and upon arriving and walking in, we weren't greeted, but rather stared at, waiting for us to ask what we needed. The front desk also acts as a coffee bar and therefore looks like a coffee bar, and since we had never been there, we didn't know if we were in the right place to check in. When we asked if it was the front desk, the employee's response made us feel like that was a dumb question, and they seemed annoyed that they were having to check us in.

We were given zero direction about how to find our room, which certainly could have used some guiding, as we had to go to floor 10, NOT floor 10 TERRACE, and we then had to go DOWN steps in the hallway to get to our room. This information would have been beneficial considering we had a loaded luggage cart.

We booked the Standard King and the room was extremely tiny and cramped. I even double checked with the front desk that we had the correct size room because I could not believe how tiny it was for the price. Their response was "yeah, I know that room, it's pretty cozy"...? There was barely enough space to get by the closet to the other side of the bed (one of the doors of the closet didn't even open all the way and could not be used because it hit the bed). The shower space was also quite small. The room did seem generally clean.

A cup of coffee at the restaurant in the morning was $4, and it was completely undrinkable. It tasted like hot water. There was a breakfast menu and the bar and restaurant seemed nice, but we did not eat there.

After check out, I was charged an additional $39 for parking, despite already having paid for parking with my room. It was refunded only after I called the hotel and then waited a day for the manager to be back in, but it should have never happened in the first place because the original charge was clearly called "PARK AND STAY PACKAGE". Glad I double...