I really really want to support local businesses. Local businesses though can't be inept or have stupid cancellation policies during a PANDEMIC. I just got charged 97.00 for cancelling beyond their 4pm the day before. I was putting up an out of town guest at the Unscripted. That guest had to cancel their trip due to large snow storm in Chicago. I had to wait on hold forever to cancel and the front desk staff was horrible on several calls I had with them. This hotel will never make it, go to The Durham or several other local places. read more

This review is for the rooftop bar of the Unscripted Hotel. Arriving at the hotel, the vallet always reaches for the door so we may enter. We headed up to the 3rd floor and had a choice of outdoor seating. The waitress reviewed a list of drinks that weren't available for the evening. She was very friendly and informative. The architecture is art deco/modern. There is a little pool with lounge seating. There are various forms of seating. The views of Durham are pretty good. The menu is very limited though. They can do so much better. How about offering some dessert options? The food is okay but a bit over priced. In my experience, you will wait a while for the food to come out. read more

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We stayed two days after the hotel had its Grand Opening. We stayed on the 2nd floor. Where do I begin? The plumbing from the upstairs room was loud and water going down the pipes was not to be missed. Doors on our floor were constantly opening and closing and it was like they were right next door every time. The bathroom lighting was tied into the entry way light switch. The only chair in the room was extremely uncomfortable making it tough to relax for any period of time. Lastly, there was not Hotel Welcome guide in the room for things to do locally, such as restaurants, shopping, parks, etc. I just believe there are too many better options in and around Raleigh/Durham. This hotel should not be on your destination options. read more

Stopped in here last night by chance and I just fell in love with the place! Super cute decor and friendly staff! There was a dj there last nights got that was on point and the three of us found ourselves singing along and even facing a bit right there near the cozy couch that we had found to lounge on. Two of us had drinks-which were reasonably priced. The area was also festively decorated for the Christmas holiday. Looking forward to a future visit and maybe even an overnight stay at the swanky lil hotel! read more

Even with Covid this was a great experience. Stayed here for a date night Saturday - Sunday. The staff was friendly and attentive. The hotel is beautiful. The pool was a great experience. We loved having a cocktail waiter and the dj was great. It was so fun. Will definitely stay here again. read more

Soooo ... most of my fam have been to Unscripted. Made my 1st venture in and I really like the vibe. Had a Mystic Lemonade ... after having vegan Orange Lychee frozen scoop from The Parlor. I digress, the music at Unscripted is early 70s ... I think. Nice vibe. Also ... met local couples who are here to make an evening of it. One is here from Raleigh to go to DPAC for show; other couple are escaping painting their home and plan to make a night if it. Heard the rooms are cute. Will be treating myself soon!!! read more

Super friendly and attentive staff for the most part. I think it was the easiest check in I've ever experienced. Parked right outside the elevator door each night. Room was clean with very comfy bed and pillows. They use some great fragrances and I'm fairly sensitive. Trendy decor. There was always someone available downstairs at the bar for the free coffee or to purchase snacks from. Great location to everything we were there to do in Durham that weekend, not too far off the freeway. There's a nice urban park across the street. I had a street side room with lots of good lighting and really appreciated the roller blinds they added to the black out curtains. I used both at different times. No real desk to use and I do like to have a decent desk in my hotel room, especially one with a mirror that can do double duty as a vanity. There is a small space by the TV to use for such but I'm glad I didn't need to use my laptop and bring out any paperwork or it would have never worked. Full length mirror was conveniently located by the window for the best lighting. Shower was designed for the minimalist with no bars for hanging or holding on to while showering. If you are the least bit unsteady in the shower it's going to be uncomfortable as I was. Towels and wash clothes were thick and felt great. Lots of hot water and again good lighting. The lobby was used mostly for the locals. I mean I get it, the hotel has found another money making opportunity for themselves. They rent out the space in the lobby for events. They even have live bands come in to play. I never heard the music downstairs or from the pool when I was in my room but my friends that were poolside did. The group I was there with typically use the lobby a lot so it made it inconvenient to go down and see Reserved on every piece of furniture. This is what made it a three star. It was as if every thing was considered for your guest but we've got this side hustle and sorry if it inconveniences you but we're doing it anyway. When I say everything was reserved I mean everything, it was even uncomfortable to walk through the lobby. We were able to use the lobby on Wednesday late afternoon to sit and get some work down but with no warning a band came in and started setting up. We continued with our work as we were over to the side. This was until a new manager came on duty and keep shooting us glares like we didn't belong and needed to leave. Not the hotels fault on this comment but just an FYI I was not impressed with any of the restaurants surrounding the hotel. I've heard it's a great city for food so I was very disappointed. read more

the location itself is awesome. unfortunately the bar crew was in a really bad mood. i got a frozen cocktail and had foil from the mixer inside. i got it immediately replaced but this was not sooo nice... read more

Unscripted Durham - Hotels Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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Here for a business trip, there are no coffee makers in the rooms. When you are switching time zones the way to be alert first thing in the morning is to be able to make coffee in a pot in your room, which almost every other hotel I've ever been to offers ... except this one. They told me I could come down to the lobby at 5 am to get it, gee thanks I'll wear my robe. It's a good location but lacks some really basic amenities. The layout of the room is odd, very high ceiling and the window starts about 4 feet off the ground, I'm short so have to stand on a chair to look out. Luckily that staff are friendly, that and the location are about all it has going for it. read more

This hotel is great if you are under the age of 25 and enjoy being intoxicated. I was in town for business and decided to try this hotel. Music blasts from 11am to 10pm and you can hear it all. Bring earplugs. Take no phone calls during the day. Forget trying to work. Staff indicated other people have complained but there is nothing that can be done. Pool is open to the public. Be warned. read more

Oof Unscripted! Cmon man-you're too cute to be this much of a mess. Great location! Super cute setting. Underwhelming service. Drinks are expensive and mediocre. Go for the pictures on the roof at sunset and then bounce. read more

I had a minor problem while visiting tonight and decided to leave. While chatting about the issue in the elevator with my friend, their manager, Jordan, stepped in and totally resolved the issue. I would've left and never come back, but Jordan completely righted the wrong. While we didn't end up staying, I will certainly be back because of how swiftly and appropriately the issue was handled. Well done! read more

I always enjoy my experience here. The drinks are great. The food is okay. We asked to see a room just to pass the time and Jordan at the front desk happily showed us several. This will be my new summer time spot! read more

Fraud alert: hotel does not refund cancellations even if it is within the free cancellation period claimed online. I cancelled my room several days in advance of the cut-off date and was charged for an entire night plus other fees. When I initially reached out I was told they would get back to me - i heard nothing from them. I reached out again and was told to email a manager who didn't reply after several attempts. After calling for the 3rd time I was finally told that they do not issue refunds from bookings made using third party sites regardless of the written confirmation I received claiming a full refund. It seems fraudulent... they know this happens quite often and yet do nothing to stop it because i'm sure it generates a nice return for their NYC based "Luxury Hotel" management group. This whole experience has been incredibly frustrating and Unscripted's lack of responsiveness and transparency is something that I did not expect for what seemed like a reputable business. read more

I can't speak on staying at the Unscripted, but I can say I've always enjoyed my visits to their lobby bar and the rooftop bar. Specifically, my fiancé and I had part of our engagement photoshoot there. Our photographer was great and asked permission beforehand and we were told it would be no problem, just to check in at the front desk when we arrived. To our surprise, Jordan, a super fun employee of the Unscripted offered to be our right hand man and help with the photoshoot. He got the drinks we wanted to use as props (and obvi drink) before we could even blink and escorted us around, making sure we had access to everything we needed for our special shoot. He went above and beyond and some of our favorite photos were from him making us laugh and have fun. The sweetest part of it all was he wasn't even on the clock yet, just offered to help us out in his free time while waiting for his shift to start. Rockstar employee if I've ever met one! read more

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I enjoyed staying here on my way south, when I decided to hang a right & check out Durham for the first time. Parking was easy, the staff at check-in and out were friendly & accomodating, the room was basic & clean, & the decor & vibe were fun. If you're up for partying, I was in on a Saturday night, two days before New Year's Eve, & the lobby was jumping with a DJ, seating throughout, & the bar/coffee bar open until late. I was ready for bed, but if you're not, it's a fun scene. The place is really close to downtown restaurants, & there is an independent market across the street for odds & ends. Next time I'll come with more time to hang out & explore Durham. This was a sweet introduction. read more

I would give this place 10+ stars if I could. We had made reservations for a roof top gathering got there and it started raining. Ana and Cassidy did a wonderful job at accommodating us due to the weather. Not to mention Oleg who was wonderful with communicating in order to set this up. And then you have Jordan at the front desk who makes all guest feel welcome and inviting. This is a lovely and relaxed place. None of the uprightness you get at other hotels. read more

There are two reviews to give: 1. 4 stars for the cool vibe and styling of the hotel with clean rooms and fun poolside atmosphere. This hotel looks cool and people visiting will enjoy the surroundings. 2. 2 stars for the manager Jane Atenido. 2 stars because she wasn't ever rude, but she was by far the least helpful person you could imagine running a hotel. As a large party we planned to reserve a large portion of the hotel for a wedding. We got off to a bad start because it was so difficult to contact Jane or get a response, after we had already decided we liked the hotel. It felt like we had to beg to arrange to spend a lot of money with them. Later when many rooms were booked she never became more helpful, making guest welcome bags and guest block review way more challenging than it needed to be. Fortunately, our guests really enjoyed the hotel. I think it could be a really great experience for another large group with a new manager. read more

The service that we received was deplorable! We had an event that was confirmed and booked over a month ago. Unfortunately, it rained and per the agreement we moved the festivities inside. Once we got inside the staff was rude and unwilling to provide service. After we reminded them of the agreement between the party and the manager they said we could stay after attempting to put us out! This was 45 mins of no service. It was ample staff and only one server for our large party. The manager who had a striped shirt on 8/19 said they all were working but them doing nothing but watching us and whispering doesn't count when you have a lobby full of guest who need service. It was a party of 40 ppl and 1 Waiter by the name of Josh! He was pleasant but clearly over worked with the amount of people in our party. Pictures show multiple staff members and NONE aiding Josh in providing adequate service! They watched as he hustled to take orders, deliver food and drinks and get the small things in between. When I asked one of the other staff members for a straw, they said they'd relay the message to our server! You can't even hand me a straw!?!?!?!?! Never again will I spend my dollar in this place! read more

Unscripted Durham - Pictures of other staff not helping just standing there looking and talking - Hotels Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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Review is based solely off of my experience at the bar. I sat down at the bar and was told to wait for the bartender and was served a water while waiting. After waiting for about 15 minutes I was told that they were closed. I think when you work in the customer service/hospitality industry, if you have someone wait around because you didn't know the place you work is currently closed, you serve the drink because you screwed up. The bartender wasn't very nice about it which was a little uncalled for. Thanks for the wonderful hospitality! read more

I stayed at this hotel recently with my son. We were given a room with no windows for a three night stay. When I asked to switch, they said they were full but would work on it. I never heard another word. When we checked out my son left behind some headphones. I called immediately to get them back. No one found them. I know they were there. Repeated calls to the hotel yielded no results. This place is poorly run and managed and they steal. Not happy. read more

The staff was very rude. This is Durham...not LA. Don't forget that southern hospitality is still the norm around here. They have a lot to learn and should take pointers from the Durham Hotel on how to accommodate guests and visitors. I'm hoping that they get it together and learn to embrace the essence of our diverse city. It will take them much farther. read more

Very pretty on the outside but service is terrible, not high end at all. Tries to be like the Durham and 21C but honestly I'd rather stay at the Marriott city center than here again. It looks more like a high end hostel than a hotel and the front desk staff aren't service professionals rather college students who do not seem to care. Housekeeping staff never even came my first night. read more

Spent a short week here. Superior for what it strives to be. A refreshed mid-century motel style property in heart of Durham business district. Room fresh and tasteful, if you like harvest gold and avacado. OK bar and simple restaurant; adequate for breakfast, not appealing for lunch or dinner [especially considering the alternatives within 2-3 blocks]. Location is tops, can walk to plenty of coffee shops and all types of restaurants. Block from free bus. This location enabled me to skip a car rental. Rooftop pool with bar service in evenings. Will return. read more

My friend and I had been planning a visit to Unscripted's rooftop bar since it opened this summer. Sadly, we did not make it until the end of October. That did not stop me from ordering the HUGE $30 Moscow Mule. It is recommended for 4 people but the two of us shared it and for the amount of drink you get it was not a rip-off. They were out of some of their signature cocktails which some of my friends wanted to order but all of our drinks were still tasty. We also ordered some appetizers. The guacamole was very good but didn't have quite enough chips. We ordered two rounds of the french fries because they were awesome. Come wintertime the fire pits become a hot commodity. We had to wait a bit before we could snag one. The evening we visited the staff was very nice and even brought us nice pool towels because it was so blustery and cold out. You can take your drinks from the rooftop bar downstairs but it sort of takes away from the ambiance of the inner city rooftop pool/bar. I'm sure I will be back with my girlfriends for another night out. read more

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This hotel is cool, modern, clean, and an absolutely terrible place to stay with young children. The bar is loud and open from 10 am to 11 pm and no naps, decent bedtime are possible. Also all the food is ridiculously over priced and parking costs an insane amount. I'd give it four stars if I were single and 20. Bit for families: do not stay here. read more

This hotel is modern, eclectic, and geared towards the younger generation. The rooms were average size, clean bathrooms, and had comfortable beds. They provied bottle water at no charge (nice touch!) and free wi-fi. There are no coffee pots in the room but you can get coffee any time you want it at the front bar. They also sell specialty coffees at the front bar. They offerred us all a glass of bubbly at check in (another nice touch!), which was an easy process. I loved the way we were greeted and the friendliness of the staff at the front desk area. However when we asked a housekeeper for something we got a "I don't speak any english" response (recorded). Call the front desk and things do get taken care of quickly though! They had a beautiful pool with comfortable small cushioned areas to sit in during the warm months. But the pool was not heated and there are no hot tubs. They have a small workout room with some equipment so you can get exercise in. The lobby was decorated more like a coffee shop type setting which provided a comfortable feel. They had music and dancing in the lobby till the early morning (2am) both Friday and Saturday nights. Everyone was made to feel very welcome and even though the music was loud we could not hear it on the 2nd floor. No breakfast is included but they sell breakfast sandwiches and there are several really great locally owned restaurants within a very easy walk from the hotel. I am evaluating this hotel on it's own merits but one warning. It is more expensive to stay here than some of the neighboring hotels. We paid $255 plus taxes per night and they charge a $20 per night parking fee (they waved 2 nights parking fee for us!), so almost $900 for 3 nights.. So if you are looking for value you may get a better deal at other hotels where you get a cheaper rate and/or there is no charge for parking and/or you get breakfast included in the cost of your room. If your looking for the comfortable, friendly, almost "family" type feel of a hotel experience and don't mind paying a little more for it, then you would enjoy this hotel. read more

Not only is Unscripted a really cool place to stay it is also a great place to stop in and grab a cup of coffee and snack! I'm hoping to meet with my new Bumble BFFs for my favorite BIRCHER MUESLI ! read more

Kwame was amazing!! He accommodated our terribly behaved group and was so so kind! He seriously was amazing and I can't say enough positive things about him and our experience!! read more

Love this hotel! Excellent service and loved the variety of all the different food and beverage places! Great coffee shop Allday and super fun rooftop pool The Patio featuring a delicious restaurant and bar! read more

This place is perfect for a girls night out and the rooftop overlooks Downtown Durham. A couple of my friends from Bumble BFF meet up here all the time to catch up and have a chic night to dress and hit the town. read more

I went here for brunch on the rooftop this past weekend. The food was decent, drinks were better. I ordered the mystic lemonade, which was a perfect choice for an early summer afternoon in August. There was a show going on when we visited so having some extra entertainment was nice, but it was loud as a result even though we were sitting on the other side of the pool. Service was also good. If you're looking for a fun atmosphere with some good drinks, this is a good spot. read more

Stayed here for my hubby's birthday weekend. There's a lot of issues they need worked out. Understandable since they opened less than 2 weeks ago. We got a package deal that included reserved lounge chairs at the pool. How're, we were then told we need to reserve them for a specific Time?? Nobody mentioned this to us... hmmmm. The lights work weird in the bathroom in our room. You need to have the switches on near the room door for the bathroom lights to work. Our room phone was out of commission which had to be fixed. But I think the worst part was the flashing light in our windowless room. I believe it was from the smoke detector or sprinkler? No idea but annoying when trying to sleep. Ok so that's all the negatives. Positives is that everyone is friendly. The location can't be beat! And it's pretty much a hip party hotel. Love the pool area where there's a bar! Just wish the pool was bigger. Read somewhere that this place reminds them of a carnival cruise. I concur :) read more

Unscripted Durham - Hotels Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Went there a few nights ago with several friends to celebrate my sister's birthday. I brought a little cake for her so we can sing and, well, celebrate her birthday. As I was about to open it up, a blond guy came bee lining towards us and very sternly informs us that we cannot have that cake served unless we pay the $20 cake fee. It honestly just slipped my mind that we brought a cake from outside of the establishment and I would've happily paid it had he not been so weird and rude about it. I asked if we could just sing to her then and he said that was fine. That is not as ridiculous as it gets. We put a little faux tea light on the cake(maybe we shouldn't have) and sang to her. This got him steamed because as soon as we were done he grabbed the faux tea light from the top of our cake! WITH HIS BARE HAND!!! It took us by surprise and killed everyone's buzz. Was it necessary to act that childish? He then proceeded to stand there and stare us down like we were children. It gets worse. Then he comes over to us and tells us, "YOU CANT HAVE THAT CAKE HERE! PUT IT AWAY! PUT IT IN YOUR PURSE!" Put a cake in my purse? You'd think a manager wouldn't be so disrespectful considering hardly anyone else was there and each one of us bought at least 2-3 rounds of drinks. It was humiliating the way he treated us and I really hope they hire better management in the future. The place has potential so it's sad that they think it's ok to treat customers that way. We won't be coming back. Also, all the bartenders were in a bad mood. Very bad night for service! read more

My wife has already written a review, however I would be remiss to not include some more details of our stay. When we checked in with the rude front desk employee, I reminded her we had booked a "Room Type: Our Poolside King room overlooks our retro swim lounge, The Patio, and is your perfect urban oasis. " she just rolled her eyes. So yes, windowless room. Not what we paid for. Also the lacked toilet paper. No big deal, just call and have some sent up, right? 20 minutes later I hunted down the cleaning staff to acquire some. The ice machine on our floor was out of commission. No big deal, I'll go to the bar down downstairs. Waited 5 minutes while the bartender took care of the only 2 other people, and proceeded to dig around in cabinets before looking at me, and telling the bar back " he needs ice" no greeting, no nothing. Barback took the buck filled it returned it without ever even acknowledging me. Felt very unwelcome. Then had to get deal with the security to prove I was a guest to get back to my room and not wait in line for the elevator. Getting ready for dinner- I wanted to take a nice hot shower. Too bad it was only lukewarm. Out of the 4 showers taken, none were warm. A lot of this and what was included in my wife's review may have been able to be fixed had we alerted management. We had absolutely no desire to speak to anyone who was associated with this hotel because we were trying to enjoy our anniversary and I would have just become more dissatisfied had the response been even close to what we had already experienced. I've heard of you take a group of 8-10 people to pool and take it over, it's a good time. But I'll never know. read more

The décor is the only good experience I had at this hotel. I'm a 100% disable vet that suffers from PTSD from tours in Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan. I was prescribed medical marijuana to help with my symptoms which I'm very respectful of others and businesses. I take extreme caution not to offend individuals and businesses so I conceal it in an airtight jar, only smoke in my car or away from others. Despite explaining this to the GM and Assistant Manager Eric Stoddard and ensuring them I did not smoke in the room, I was charged $250 smoking fee. I was supposed to stay 5 days, but I had many other issues I left early, but was still charged. Definitely I do not recommend this place especially if you are a Vet with PTSD. read more

Horrible experience. They cater to people off the street not their guest at the hotel. They allow everyone to come to the pool area that is not staying at the hotel. My friends walked into their room and somebody was in there room sleeping. At 200 bucks a night you don't even get coffee in the morning! They need to do make some major changes if they want this place to make it. 1st - stop letting people off the street come in and take advantage of what the hotel guest pay for! 2nd - don't kick the guest out of the pool area after they close the bar - why not let the real guest sit and relax by the pool. 3rd - they need to train employees better - they couldn't even split our check 4th - Why do they need security with guns - maybe it's because of the people you are letting in off the streets 5th - read more

Stayed at the hotel for a wedding in September 2019. Everyone else stayed across the street at the 21C and they were sorry they didn't stay with us. The hotel looks "Retro" when you pull up. Nothing like the other hotels in the area and looks like a 1970's throwback. We were greeted by Jennae and she couldn't have been nicer or more accommodating. She took great care of us and made sure we understood everything the hotel offered. Nicest girl we met! Our room was on the 4th floor slightly away from the pool. We couldn't hear anything from our room, so the music was no problem. The room is kinda basic, but has a nice bed, a TV, and a walk in shower. Not much else you need for a stay. They did have a DJ at the pool throughout the weekend, but nothing offensive, loud or more than we were expecting. It was nice change from just a boring lobby. We didn't use the pool, but it had plenty of lounge chairs, couches and seats to enjoy the sun which we took advantage of. We enjoyed out stay and would definitely stay at this hotel or other Unscripted if in an area we visit. read more

Super loud. I was in town for business (on a Monday night) and needed some rest. I asked for a quiet room but could hear the music thumping way into the night. The only reason it wasn't one star was the desk attendant was very kind and offered me some wine the second I walked in the door. read more

I've driven by this place so many times and never knew it was as sexy as it is! I'm only referring to the lounge space. I was invited to a birthday party here and it was a perfect spot to chill. The atmosphere was great because the DJ was awesome and I appreciated the fact that I could still hear and engage without having to scream and yell. I will definitely return for sure...we were there on a Friday night, so I'd be curious to see what the Saturday vibe is like. read more