Stayed at this hotel with my 18 year old daughter the weekend of July 27th, 2007. I have stayed at this hotel a few other times over the years, but I won't be staying there ever again. Here's why... The main reason I chose to stay at this particular hotel (instead of downtown) was because I wanted to avoid paying the high parking fees, and I wanted easy access to my car (rather than having to wait for a valet to get it every time). The previous times I had stayed at this hotel, there was no parking fee, and the parking lot is right in front of the entrance - very convenient. So as we drive up to the hotel this time, what do you think we see? A big sign stating that valet parking is MANDATORY - i.e. you cannot park your own car. Also, there is major construction going on on the premises, and the whole place is quite a mess. I'm glad I was staying on the weekend - I can only imagine how noisy and dusty it must be during the work week! And then when I checked in and gave my credit card, the RUDE manager informed me that I would be charged $16/night for parking! WTF??? This really pissed me off, because nowhere on their website does it state that there's a parking charge. He lied through his teeth and did major CYA. Typical hotel stooge. I told him I've never paid a fee for parking there before, and that there was no disclosure whatsoever. He told me the website says "addiotnal hotel charges may apply". Sure, idiot. As if that means parking?!? What a jerk. And he told me they've been charging for years, but a maintenance guy who had been there for decades that I spoke ot on Saturday said they just started charging about 6 weeks ago. Believe me - it's not that $32 is going to make a difference in my life, it's the principle. If I would have known beforehand, then I could have made a choice. Instead of apologizing and offering to make it up to me, this "manager" acted indignantly and like I was a cheapskate. Bottom line: the two main reason I wanted to stay at the Crowne Plaza were shot down within a few minutes of arrival, plus I had already had this encounter with an a-hole manager. heheh. Not a great start! If not for the fact that I booked the room with Priceline, at that point I would have told them to go f themselves, and gone to another hotel. The room we were given was on the ground floor at the end of the hall was ugly, dirty, and worst of all incredibly HUMID. As the previous poster wrote, the heat wave was just too much for the dinky a/c unit in the room. But my problem wasn't really the a/c and temperature of the room - it was the HUMIDITY. Something was wrong. (Ventilation?). Sure, it was too warm, but not unbearable. It was the HUMIDITY in the room that was insane. My unpacked clothes were actually WET after a few hours in the room! Even the hallway was dank and dirty - all the outsides of the doors were dirty. Blech. There was a balcony and bay door, but it had been bolted shut - obviously they had security problems, which surprised me and had me a bit concerned too. The bathroom was "ok", but the water pressure in the shower was dismal. Never experienced that at a hotel before. I'm not one to complain - we were only going to be there for TWO nights, got a great price on priceline, so what the heck - right? Grin and bear it. Anyways...the next day I see some kind of housekeeping manager in the hallway, so I figure I'll ask her about the humidity and see if anything can be done. (BTW - although we were out the whole day, when we got back to the hotel Saturday late afternoon, the room was still not made up. When I informed this "manager" about it, she got someone to clean it almost immediately). So she comes to the room, and can't believe it herself. lol. She calls someone in housekeeping, and tells them to get a dehumidifer to my room asap. It was very nice of her to try and help, but I told my duaghter the odds of anyone actually showing up with a unit were between slim and none. I was right. It never showed. So Saturday night we got back to the hotel at about 11pm. No dehumidifier, and the room was insnaley humid and way too hot. I go tot eh front desk to inquire about the dehumidifier. The girl there was absoltuely TERRIFIC - she said that she had been informed of the problem, and that all the dehumdifiers were already in use - but would I like to be bumped up to the executive floor comp? Hell yeah, I told her. As long as it's less humid/cooler, I'll be ready in 2 minutes. heheh. Not onyl that, but she gives me two coupons for a complimentary buffet breakfast at the hotel's restaurant. Now THAT is more like it. Too bad I didn't speak to her upon check-in. SO we pack up, switch rooms, and it's like walking into a different hotel. Room was COOL, just a touch of humidity. CLEAN. Fresh. Nice bathroom. Only one propblem - king-size bed. My teenage daughter was hung up about sleeping with ehr old man (kids!),s o I went down and asked that nice lady if she had any other room with two doubles. Nope. SO instead she offered to have a cot sent up - free of charge. Once again - being treated properly by someone who understood what client service was all about. Aside from the problems I mentioned above, my other imressions are that this hotel is not maintained well, it's really declined since my last stay. Perhaps they're waiting for the construction to end before sprucing the place up? I don't know. The key thing is that it's NEGLECTED. The pool was FILTHY (not the water - the sides of the pool). There's absolutely no excuse for that! Everywhere I went int eh hotel, there was somethign damaged, out of order, bugs, dirt. Outside on a terrace near teh bar, there were cigarette butts everywhere, ashtrays full. Once again - there's no excuse for that. How hard is it to have someone clean that up once/day? Everywhere you look, they are pretending to have all the features and amenities of an upscale hotel, but they fail terribly. Why bother? Why not just stick to the basics and get those things right. Spare me the sleep shtick with the earplugs, blinders, linen scent, and CDs. I'd much prefer you KEEP your hotel CLEAN!!! On a bright note, the two beds I slept in were both very comfortable. Most of the staff was very helpful and friendly. Enjoyed myself at the bar (ordered some food there after the restaurant was closed, which was very good). And a nicely maintained baby grand piano which I was able to play for a few hours in the wee drunken hours of the morning. :) Would I stay there again? Only when a)the contruction has finished, b)free non-valet parking returns (if ever), c)they clean up the hotel, and d)only in a room on one of their better two top floors (executive, and another I can't remember the name of). In other words: highly unlikely. Bottom line: this hotel is not managed well. Someone (to level mgmt) is not doing their job. Great potential, and the staff is fine, but it's rundown, poorly maintained, poorly executed.
