The Thayer Hotel — Hotel in Town of Highlands

The Thayer Hotel is a cornerstone at West Point. While they do many things well, there is some work to be done. • Check-in was handled efficiently as pre-planned. • Valet Parking was an unexpected good option; they reacted quickly when we needed the car. • Room was billed as an “Executive Super Suite” with a price to match; unfortunately it fell short of its billing and expected value, as follows: o Only 1 bathroom, with access only through the King bedroom; great for a family, but not necessarily for multiple families; fortunately we were roommates at WP and so made it work. Access SHOULD have been through the common central room. o Tub/shower was a hazard; there were NO nonskid strips on the bottom, AND no grab bar for safety; also, no soap dish or any place to put soap or any other shower accessories; shampoo and conditioner on the wall were a nice touch o No door on the King bedroom for privacy o Door on Murphy bedroom, BUT it locked from the OUTSIDE!?!?!?! People sleeping there could get locked in!! o Only one dresser in the three rooms o Door stops on the floor were a foot tripping hazard; AND in the middle room the door passed easily OVER the door stop, rendering it useless. o Must not offer laundry service as there was no bag or order slip in the closet o The advertised “modern conveniences and amenities” eluded us; most noticeable was the lack of electrical outlets featured everywhere in most contemporary motels/hotels; fortunately I brought my own power strip to handle the computer(s); camera battery chargers; phone chargers; etc. o The suite is definitely NOT, “ideal for one to six guests” as advertised. That is especially true if all six people were seniors tripping over each other to get to the sole bathroom in the middle of the night. o Appreciated the power saving lighting, BUT never did really get the hang of how to use it properly. Still don’t know how it is supposed to work. o TVs were in the right places and were easy to use; watched a lot of the Olympics. o Stupid me; didn’t realize that I should have asked for a military discount; it wasn’t offered, except in the fine print on the reservation confirmation. o The maid service was severely underwhelming. She would show up mid-afternoon and ask if we needed anything. We had to ask for fresh towels and our waste buckets were never emptied and the suite was never vacuumed. • Zulu Time Lounge was great, though it wasn’t open Monday evening when the hotel was fully booked on a major weekend!?!?!?! • Patton Bar was open Monday evening, BUT was staffed with only 1 bartender and 1 barback, again on a major weekend with a fully booked hotel. Some classmates went to Highland Falls and bought drinks to bring back. • Breakfast buffet in restaurant was good, but a little overpriced, IMHO. Only ate there one of three mornings. • Bell Hops were always available and provided excellent service when needed; and especially when they had to move lots of luggage up and down stairs to get to our Suite.

Now, to be fair, I am well aware of the history of The Thayer; it’s renovation(s); the conversion of the “Dorms” (where my wife of 46 years stayed most of the 3 years we dated) to rooms and Executive Suites, etc. I clearly recall staying there over the years in a micro-sized room and burning my rear on a radiator when getting out of the shower in a 4’ wide bathroom!!! It holds a very special place in our hearts, and is MUCH better than in the "good old days," but not an average of $450 a night’s worth for an “Executive Super Suite.” Your self-ranking as a 4 star hotel is a little exaggerated, in our view. Some of the things we bring up can’t reasonably be changed, but others can. Next time you review what you can do to improve The Thayer Hotel, please look at...

There was a time when the great hoteliers truly desired to make their guests feel like they were, well, guests. There was never a condescending attitude. They didn't think of themselves as superior, nor of their guests as inferior, only with genuine humility thought of their guess as important. They were eager to fulfill any and every reasonable request solely because you were their guest. It was a wonderful time to travel.|Last week I discovered that this wonderful time still exists at The Thayer Hotel. While The Thayer has all the architectural and decorative trappings of the great hotels, it would be nothing more than a museum if not for its people. They all are simply the best I've encountered in years. It begins with being greeted with a smile upon arriving at the front entrance, but flowers when checking in at the front desk, where Alison and Erin "meet" their guests, forming a friendship exhibited throughout your stay. Whatever the request, there always seems to be in its fulfillment a bit extra included, all done with that humble attitude of a host. You will catch yourself thinking, "Wow! They make me feel important."|And that attitude doesn't stop at the front desk but permeates the entire staff. For example, its in every restaurant, and particularly in MacArthur's, where every person there desires to please. A special recognition belongs to the master chef creating the best omelet ever. (I previously considered my omelet to be rather good. Not now.) He is truly a master, but unlike many of today's self-important chefs, has that same humble attitude of desiring to fulfill each request.|Another special recognition should be given to their bell staff, which traditional title is woefully short of all they do, for they wish to help whenever with whatever is needed. The young bellman Harry, and his twin brother Cam, manifest this ever-present desire to please. I believe Harry looks at any request to be fulfilled as if he had made the request for himself, thus going beyond merely providing the service requested. When we were at a loss of how to get something done, my wife would say, "Just ask Harry."|But she could have also just as truthfully said, "Just ask Alison, or Erin, or Harry, or Cam, or any other of our hosts, yes, our hosts. For once again, after years of absence, we have found a place in which we feel like welcomed guests. Please,...

There's tons of reviews on here about how loud the rooms are with hearing bathrooms and people partying at the rooftop bar. One reviewer said that the train going by really wasn't loud, in fact it was rather muted. I went midweek off season so there was barely anyone there, and the rooftop bar was closed. So I thought we were in good shape. Well that reviewer lied about the train. The train is VERY loud and very frequent. I am a deep sleeper and the train actually woke me up. It comes at least 3 times an hour and is awful. Now keep in mind that I had taken care of all the neighbor and bar noise. Can you imagine staying here over a weekend on season while dealing with the train, the loud bathrooms and rooftop bar all at once? This place would be an UTTER NIGHTMARE.

I walked around the hotel looking for vending machines. There is one by the fitness room with the best food but it didn't take dollar bills or my credit card, both broken somehow. It also is a royal pain to get to, where you have to go to the 2nd floor then go back down 2 flights to the bottom. The doors leading to the fitness room slam really loudly, in a place where there are signs saying "quiet floor". So that can't be good for people trying to get to the fitness room bothering those rooms. Yes you can get in from the outside but it in winter time you are not going outside the hotel in your workout clothes just to get there.

Another really scary thing is we noticed at the bathroom light fixture and the fire sprinkler, you could see up into probably a maintenance area above. It was lit up and everything. If some peeping tom had access to that I figure you could see right into some people's rooms. The holes were big enough that if I had a pen camera I could fit it right through them.

Good parts, this hotel is pretty, and the lobby and mezzanine are extremely comfortable. I hung out reading on the mezz all night, it was quiet and peaceful and the chairs are so soft. It was the best part of the hotel. I would come back only for that. The staff was also great and when there was a loud neighbor they took care of...