The D Hotel and Suites is promoted as a boutique hotel, so when I needed a place to stay for a week while my bathroom was being renovated, I decided to have a little mini-vacation and treat myself and my kids to a nice place. Unfortunately, the actual experience of staying here was not at all what ads (and price...) would lead you to believe.
Compliments first - the staff was wonderful. Friendly and helpful, and check in/out was a breeze. I also had a pedicure in the spa - Jillian was fabulous. Beds and pillows were lovely and the room was a nice size for myself and three kiddos. It would be wonderful if the bedroom suites had kitchenettes, though - it doesn't make much sense to have a room that only sleeps 2 or 3 to be the only room with a kitchen. My kids LOVED the breakfast and are still raving about it.
That said...the rest was awful.
Our room had not been properly cleaned prior to check-in. We were greeted by 3 crusty washcloths hanging on the shower rod.
Bathrooms in general are tiny - with tiny tubs and curtains that don't adequately span the tub, leaving the floor wet no matter what you do. We were given - daily - 2 teeny, tiny bottles of shampoo, conditioner, soap and mouthwash for 4 people - and one washcloth. For four people. Every day. I got tired of dealing with it and just bought some.
Speaking of rooms - if you like hearing literally everything that happens in the rooms on either side of you, this is the place to be. I could hear every cough, sniff, and headboard bang. There is apparently NO soundproofing, and entire conversations, television shows, and toilet flushes sound like they're happening in your room.
Keys had to be recoded every day. Nothing like coming back to the hotel after a very long day to find that you can't get into your room and need to go all the way back downstairs. I was told not to keep it near my cell phone or credit cards...I didn't. Still needed recoding daily.
Room Service - skip it. On our first night there, we waited over an hour for our first try from The Mick, the hotel's attached casual dining, and it came missing several items that it turned out were never entered on the order. The food was not good, but to their credit, the entire order was comped. We tried again on our last night and ordered from the Delaney House, the more upscale dining at the hotel. This was a bit better, but definitely not up to the price margin - the ahi tacos would have been amazing with MUCH less salty sauce and the steaks were overcooked. The calamari was soggy and also drowning (literally, soaked) in thick, overly flavored sauce.
24 Hour Coffee Bar - I was ELATED to hear that there was a 24 hour coffee bar. I was really disappointed at the reality of this - cold coffee that had been sitting there all day, and that's when there was actually coffee in the carafes...they were usually empty.
There is a lovely little pool that is open to children for very little time...when you are only in your room/in the hotel at the end of the day, your children don't have long to swim. "Adult Swim" is from 7-10, even if the pool is empty. Thankfully, some of the staff have the sense to know that that's ridiculous and had mercy on my kids - thank you!!
Last but not least - the laundry "amenities". This is a coin-op washer and dryer that are older than me (I am as old as Star Wars...). The dryer took 3 hours (and $5) to dry a normal sized load. For rooms that are booking at over $100/night, we can't get ourselves a nice, modern dryer? Really? For the price one night's stay in 2 or 3 rooms, a brand new dryer could be purchased!
All in all, overpriced and overhyped - lovely staff, though. My impression is that this hotel has an ownership and management problem; it could (and should) be much nicer for the price.
Edited to correct room price and to add that the owner, Linda, called me to discuss my experience and concerns. She is clearly dedicated to this property and wants it to be the very best that it can be. Rooms are being renovated and she sincerely took my concerns to heart and listened to my suggestions. I absolutely look forward to trying again in the future - I think that new businesses should always be able to grow and improve, and I have no doubt that Linda will make The D Hotel and Suites a special place to stay. read more