Hotel Alex Johnson Rapid City, Curio Collection by Hilton — Restaurant in Rapid City

Stayed here a few times - once for work last year and once for a 5 day vacation in March 2020. Both times it was during their non-peak season, so it only cost about $85 per night. An absolute steal in my books. Overall, I enjoyed staying at the Hotel Alex Johnson. It has a charm to it that is not the easiest to describe, but extremely enticing nonetheless. I would give it 4.5/5 but since Google doesn't allow I am rounding up to 5 since I did have a great time staying there. I will try my best to detail why I liked staying there so much.

To start off, the lobby is well kept and cozy. I enjoyed sitting by the fireplace on the couches, there is a Starbucks right by it, a gift store and more. At check in, they treat their Diamond members well. They give you coupons for all kinds of discounts and perks around the area. Not sure how often they do this these days, but they also gave me a chocolate coin that from a local chocolate store known for being in the gift bags for celebrities who attend the Oscars. It was really cool, but I only got that pre-COVID so I do not know if that is still a mainstay. I go to a lot of hotels, and this check in process stuck out to me for good reasons. Staff were all courteous as well.

Location wise, there is not a better place to stay in Rapid City than here. You have an instant access to the downtown area, and are within reasonable driving distance of all the major attractions. A lot of good restaurants in the downtown area for any meal of the day within walking distance so I really like that element of it. Parking isn't terribly tough and there is a valet service in case you need it which is helpful. Rooms were nice and well kept, but they are a bit small. If you are traveling with a family, definitely book a larger room in advance. I typically do not spend much time in my room so it is not that important to me, but it is worth noting.

Unbeknownst to me until after the fact, I was told that the hotel has ghost stories behind it, with two rooms specifically having ghost origins/presences in them (can't remember the room numbers). This didn't affect my review either way, but it is not something you hear everyday so it stuck out and felt it was worth noting. I did not see any ghosts personally, nor did I see any emergency contact information for the Ghostbusters. So if there's something strange in the hotel room, I am not sure who you are going to call, but odds are you will be okay.

Without a doubt, the highlight of the stay was the Vertex Skybar. Every night, I went up to the rooftop there to grab drinks, sit by the fireplace (weather permitting) and relax. It was very peaceful up there and I enjoyed it a lot. Nothing stuck out to me from a food or drink perspective, but the experience alone of being up there was worth it.

All in all, assuming the price is affordable (it gets very expensive during tourist season), I would definitely recommend the Hotel Alex Johnson for anyone looking for a uniquely fun experience and a great place to stay in Rapid City. At the very least, check out the...

👍🏼 Normally I love to stay at old hotels with history and charm and the Alex Johnson’s lobby has plenty of it. The painted ceiling is beautiful. Location is superb. This hotel was once IT in Rapid City. But this beauty queen’s looks have withered and the upkeeps has been done on the cheap. Common areas fare better, but the room needs TLC. First the stale smell hits you. Cigar. Never went away and the windows can’t be open. Some of the furniture has been updated, mirror, wallpaper, chair at desk, TV, chest of drawers and wonderful room darkening curtains, but others like the chipped night table and worn carpet that appears to be dirty have seen better days. What’s with the 21 inch wide closet? But it does have an ironing board and iron. And a refrigerator that stays on for only two hours is totally useless. Safe deposit is at the bottom of the closet. Bathroom is tiny, shower is nice, but very low water pressure. Hand lotion bottle over the toilet? Not too hygienic. Wall paper by toilet with yucky stains. Crabtree and Evelyn toiletries are large refillable bottles, which is fine, but bath gel is refilled with Dove. Room cleaning was not done by 3:30pm on day one, so we phoned. A housekeeper with a surprised look on her face came and we told her we just needed fresh towels and a couple extra hangers. We asked if housekeeping was on demand. She said the housekeeper on this floor was “having problems” and my husband said he was sorry. She added that she spoke no English. We asked what she spoke and she replied, “Spanish,” to which we replied that we spoke Spanish. ??? No problems after that. TV has no guide button, hotel should provide a printed one. Last night, our fifth, the smell of fish on our floor, the 9th, one below restaurant was overwhelming. 👎🏼 Paddy O Neill’s. The photo shows a lovely bar, even elegant bar. It’s nothing like that. Dinner is very noisy from people having drinks at the bar. Four or five young servers hang around talking to each other, yet service is abysmal. Husband had Shepard’s Pie, he said it was OK, but a very small portion. Smash burger onions ingredients-buns, onions etc were good, but beef was overcooked and too dry. Only one dessert, pudding, and they didn’t have any. Then for breakfast there was only one harried server. Please be aware that all food comes from kitchen somewhere else, ours was cold. In spite of the daily $20 breakfast coupon, we chose to eat across the street at Tally’s Silver Spoon, highly recommended. Had dinner at the rooftop one night, too tired to go anywhere, and the only seats available were outside on a counter overlooking the city. We lucked out. It was quiet and beautiful. Indoors is noisy and hotch-potch. Not elegant at all. Server was very pleasant, but service erratic. Never met a professional employee. It’s like there was a casting for a Fellini movie and those rejected were hired by the Alex Johnson Hotel. However, the valet parking service was stellar and friendly. Hilton Corporation needs an urgent visit to this hotel, it reflects poorly...

My husband and I got married here and had a less than average experience with the Alex Johnson as our wedding venue. During high school, both my husband and I had worked here and so it was extremely special for us to get married here. We love the hotel and the aesthetic--it is a gorgeous venue for weddings and other events! Unfortunately, working with the staff was just a mess, it was expensive, and overall just a stressful experience. When we booked the venue, we were told that a staff member would be in touch to work with us on the details of our wedding, especially because they require you to use them for catering and for alcohol. This was fine with us as we have always had excellent meals at the Alex Johnson and it took away the stress of having to find, choose, and coordinate with another vendor. After a while, when no one had reached out, we sent an email to the person we were told would be our point of contact only for the email to bounce back. When we asked Allison, who we had originally booked with, she apologized and let us know that our point of contact was no longer working at the hotel and gave us the email of a new staff member, Lexi. Lexi seemed very unsure of what she was doing and it gave us the impression that she was just thrown in the deep end of this position. We were able to set up our tasting with her and Renee, but about half way through Lexi disappeared for about 45 minutes, leaving us unsure of what to do. The menus we were sent were also extremely confusing and we were sure of what we needed to choose from or what was actually available to us and our event. Lexi was slow with replies to questions, rarely had answers to our questions, and was just unorganized and left us feeling insecure about what our wedding was going to look like. As our wedding got closer, and with so little done, we reached out to Allison who then took over. Things went smoothly until the day of. We had pre approved the use of cold sparks during our first dance but during our wedding, an employee tracked down my mother to tell us that those weren't allowed and that we couldn't use them. We also had booked a cotton candy vendor (Sweet Fluff--check them out! They are fantastic) and had worked out with the venue on where they could set up their booth. At the wedding, after having set up they were told they had to move outside! With the Alex Johnson being downtown it allowed for random people to use our vendor, which just wasn't great and they ended up leaving early and would not accept payment for the event because Sweet Fluff felt bad about something that the Alex Johnson did. It was also expensive-- with the rehearsal dinner not being included nor the room rental, the prices increasing and them adding extreme upcharges to items, it all added up extremely quickly. Overall, we would never recommend the Alex Johnson as a wedding venue. Our experience was chaotic and expensive and not worth the stress when weddings are already stressful enough. It is such a shame as my husband and I so fondly love the...